The Terrace School (Alexandra)

The Terrace School (Alexandra)

 Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 24 months of the Education Review Office and The Terrace School Alexandra working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website www.ero.govt.nz

Context 

The Terrace School Alexandra is located in Alexandra, Central Otago. The school provides education for students in years 1 – 8. Their mission states: We R.A.I.S.E. caring connected learners, who enrich their place.

The Terrace School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • confident learners, who build and maintain positive relationships in their place/turangawaewae

  • learners/ākonga engaging in a rich local curriculum, driven by effective assessment

  • learners/ākonga are successful in practising learning behaviours that support their progress.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on The Terrace School Alexandra’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well assessment information is being used to inform teaching and accelerate progress rates in literacy and mathematics for all learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

  • the school has identified an aspiration to grow the collective capacity of all staff to make effective use of assessment information across the curriculum

  • school leaders and teachers are exploring what makes the most difference to improving outcomes for learners in literacy and mathematics.

The school expects to see improved assessment practices and high-quality analysis accelerating learners’ progress rates in literacy and mathematics.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how well assessment information is being used to inform teaching and accelerate progress rates in literacy and mathematics for all learners.

  • school leaders have high expectations for teaching and learning and a strong focus on continuous improvement

  • a coherent plan for professional learning to strengthen teachers’ use of assessment information

  • a dedicated assessment team of teachers to lead change and deliver professional learning internally.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • growing the collective capacity of teaching staff to make sense of their assessment information and use it to accelerate progress rates in literacy and mathematics
  • embedding schoolwide assessment and reporting systems to ensure consistent practice across the school that supports an emphasis on learner progress as well as achievement.

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.  

​​Kathy Lye 
Acting Director Review and Improvement (Southern) 
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini​ 

10 March 2023 

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.  educationcounts.govt.nz/home

 

The Terrace School (Alexandra)

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of November 2022, The Terrace School (Alexandra) Board of Trustees has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:

Board Administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Personnel Management

Yes

Finance

Yes

Assets

Yes

Further Information

For further information please contact The Terrace School (Alexandra) Board of Trustees.

The next Board of Trustees assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.

Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.

​​Kathy Lye 
Acting Director Review and Improvement (Southern) 
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini​ 

10 March 2023 

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

The Terrace School (Alexandra) - 15/06/2016

1 Context

The Terrace School is a large, full primary/Years 1 to 8 school in Alexandra. Its onsite technology facilities are used by students from this and some other local schools. The school roll is increasing. An enrolment scheme is in place.

The staff is a mix of long-serving and new leaders and teachers.

The school is in the early stages of implementing a school-wide Ministry of Education programme supporting positive behaviour and learning and is part of the Dunstan Community of Learning.

2 Equity and excellence

The school's mission is to provide a caring learning environment where each individual has opportunities to gain 'satisfaction from success through effort' (Ma te kaha-ka u). It aims to promote this through the development of its values based on relationships, environment, learning, and achievement.

School-wide achievement information over the last three years indicates that most children (around 90%) achieve at or above the National Standards for reading and mathematics. The proportion is slightly smaller for writing. Māori learners achieve at similar levels to their peers at the school. These high achievement levels reflect leaders' and teachers' focus on meeting the needs of individual children.

Since the 2012 ERO review, the school has continued to refine its guidelines for teaching and learning for reading, writing, mathematics, ICT and te reo and tikanga Māori.

The valuing of Māori culture across the school has been extended. A recent innovation is the formation of a preschool programme, Te Puna. This programme aims to support whānau and children to learn te reo together and to promote positive relationships between the school and whānau. Māori culture is also more evident in the school's physical environment.

A professional learning focus on numeracy has raised school-wide learner achievement in recent years. The school has reviewed and improved its appraisal process for teachers. The board has revised its charter with improved processes for reporting. The school's policy and procedure framework has been reviewed and simplified. Leaders and teachers have strengthened children's understanding and ownership of their learning. There has been increased use of ICT.

3 Accelerating achievement

How effectively does this school respond to Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

The school effectively responds to Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

Leaders and teachers use very effective systems and practices to identify and monitor the progress of individuals and groups of children at risk of not achieving the National Standards. They develop specific targets at classroom and syndicate levels to guide the way they plan for and respond to these children. The school makes very good use of a wide range of learning interventions to meet the needs of individual children. Where children's progress does not meet expectations, leaders and teachers investigate and trial new approaches, programmes and interventions to better promote their success.

Children who are new to the school have their learning needs quickly identified and supported.

Effective, ongoing evaluation helps leaders and teachers know what works to accelerate children's progress. Teachers set meaningful and specific learning goals with children and their parents. ERO observed many examples of students effectively involved in monitoring their own progress.

A next step for leaders and teachers is to extend the analysis of student achievement information to better show rates of progress school-wide and for groups of children who are at risk with their learning. This can usefully be reported to the board.

How effectively does this school respond to other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

This school effectively responds to other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration. School data shows other children needing to make accelerated progress did so at a rate consistent with that of Māori children. This level of acceleration is supported by many similar processes, systems and practices as identified above.

4 School conditions

How effectively do the school’s curriculum and other organisational processes and practices develop and enact the school’s vision, values, goals and priorities for equity and excellence?

The school's curriculum and other organisational processes and practices are effective in enacting the school's mission, values, goals and priorities for equity and excellence.

Children value the wide range of learning experiences they have in the region's unique environment. They also enjoy the opportunities they have to learn about and participate in Māori culture. Children learn in very settled, well-managed classrooms. They are very well supported by teachers, resources and prompts in the learning environment to understand, reflect on and extend their learning.

Leaders and teachers need to ensure that children have meaningful opportunities to share their ideas and views on what is important to them in their learning and to inform internal evaluations.

Teachers know children very well as learners and as individuals. Children generally spend two years with the same teacher to ensure stability and continuity in their learning.

Leaders have high expectations for teaching and learning. They provide explicit guidelines for teaching, assessment and learning, which are regularly reviewed. This ensures assessment practices are rigorous. The school has identified, and ERO agrees, it needs to re-establish reporting to the board on learning areas other than literacy and numeracy.

There are very well planned and managed transitions for children and learning across the school.

There is effective leadership in the school. School leaders are building leadership capacity and maintain efficient systems and practices. They encourage teachers to reflect on their practice to ensure positive outcomes for children.

The board of trustees receives detailed information on student achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. The board is committed to maintaining high levels of student achievement through responding to the needs of individual children. It demonstrates this through resourcing smaller classes, specialist teachers and resources, and additional staff training.

It is now timely for the board to review and clarify its vision for learners and consider how well it supports the enactment of the vision and principles of the New Zealand Curriculum in the school.

The school has a range of established practices for connecting with parents and whānau of new students, including new entrants, and those new to the school. It recognises it needs to strengthen its relationship with its Māori whānau as a group. It has a longstanding relationship with a local Māori community organisation Te Ao Huri which it consults with on policies and initiatives and reports to on outcomes for Māori learners.

5 Going forward

How well placed is the school to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children?

Leaders and teachers:

  • know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
  • respond effectively to the strengths, needs and interests of each child
  • regularly evaluate how well teaching is working for these children
  • act on what they know works well for each child
  • build teacher capability effectively to achieve equitable outcomes for all children
  • are well placed to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children.

Teachers are well supported to plan regularly and effectively to meet the needs of individual children. Robust processes for evaluating the outcome of teaching and learning mean that leaders and teachers know what works best and for whom.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

6 Board assurance on legal requirements

Before the review the board of trustees and principal of the school completed the ERO board assurance statement and Self Audit Checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to the following:

  • Board administration.
  • Curriculum.
  • Management of health, safety and welfare.
  • Personnel management.
  • Asset management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:

  • Emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment).
  • Physical safety of students.
  • Teacher registration.
  • Processes for appointing staff.
  • Stand down, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions.
  • Attendance.
  • Compliance with the provisions of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

ERO and the school agree it is timely to review some processes and guidelines for appointment procedures, regular surveying of staff wellbeing and use of public excluded provisions during board meetings.

7 Recommendation

ERO recommends the school continues to improve its focus on achieving excellent and equitable outcomes for all children by implementing the next steps highlighted in this report.

Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

15 June 2016

About the school

Location

Alexandra

Ministry of Education profile number

3844

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

370

Gender composition

Male: 55% Female: 42%

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Other

17%

81%

2%

Review team on site

April 2016

Date of this report

15 June 2016

Most recent ERO reports

Education Review

Education Review

Education Review

November 2012

July 2009

March 2006

The Terrace School (Alexandra) - 28/02/2013

1 Context

What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?

The Terrace School is a large co-educational school providing well for students in Years 1 to 8. Students enjoy their attractive outdoor area, centrally placed in Alexandra, Central Otago. The school has had significant roll growth since the last ERO review in 2009. An enrolment scheme is now in place. The board prioritises staffing, by funding additional teachers, to reduce class sizes. Ensure students and teachers have the resources they need for learning.

Students benefit from a positive, welcoming, inclusive culture. There are high expectations for students’ learning and behaviour. Staff are respectful and encouraging in the way they interact with students. Students described their school as fun and caring. They learn within a very safe, physical and emotional environment. ERO observed them learning in classrooms that were settled, well-managed and purposeful.

Teachers are very committed to student success. They motivate students to strive to do their best. Staff support each other well as individuals and in learning teams. This helps sustain the strong focus on student support, achievement and progress.

2 Learning

How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?

The school makes good use of achievement information to make positive changes for learners.

Teachers use student achievement and other information very well at the classroom level. This information is used to plan programmes for all students including those with specific learning needs. Learning intervention programmes are put in place as soon as the need is identified. The progress of students at risk of not achieving as well as they should is carefully monitored. Their progress, as with all students, is evaluated and reported to leaders and trustees term by term. If any of these students have not made sufficient gains with their learning their programme is adapted to better meet their needs.

At syndicate level, teachers make good use of analysed data to set appropriate targets to accelerate the progress of students. They reflect on and evaluate how well students are progressing towards the National Standards.

Leaders and teachers use trends and patterns in student achievement and progress information to ensure that the current curriculum is still relevant to the students and is meeting their needs.

Student achievement information is reported to the board and informs trustees’ resourcing decisions to ensure better outcomes for students. The school’s end of 2011 information shows that most students are achieving well in relation to the National Standards.

3 Curriculum

How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?

The school’s curriculum is effectively promoting and supporting student learning.

Students are involved in a range of learning experiences across all learning areas. For example, new entrant students enjoy specialist, well supported technology learning. Teachers use the local environment and community to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of their surroundings in and beyond the school.

Students benefit from the good use made of teachers’ strengths. The school strives to match teachers with the learning styles of students. There is a range of relevant and effective support programmes provided by specialist teaching and skilled teacher aides.

Teachers and school leaders have developed useful systems to support and guide the planning and implementation of the curriculum. There is a focus on developing the key competencies with the students through some specific planning and teaching.

ERO’s finding, that students receive very good to high quality teaching, confirms the views of the senior leadership team. Teachers know their students’ strengths, abilities and interests well. They provide purposeful teaching relevant to students’ needs.

How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?

Teachers and leaders have an improved focus on providing a curriculum and environment where Māori students can confidently take their culture into their school and classrooms. This includes:

  • all school staff taking part in professional learning to extend their awareness of Te Ao Māori
  • strengthening the school-wide te reo Māori programme.

The principal, trustees and teachers continue to explore ways to involve parents and whānau more fully in the life of the school.

4 Sustainable Performance

How well placed is the school to sustain and improve its performance?

The school is being led and managed very well. The school will be better placed to sustain its performance when the board fully implements effective systems of governance.

Effective leadership and management are evident in the:

  • ways staff are empowered to develop their leadership skills and experience
  • high expectations leaders set for learning and achievement, and for teachers as professionals
  • establishment of an effective learning community where decisions are based on student achievement, useful professional learning and a robust appraisal process for teachers.

Trustees have undertaken training and support to increase their knowledge and understanding of good governance. The next step is to develop and implement board systems to ensure high levels of governance. The board has identified the need to develop a more useful and better used charter for trustees and parents.

Self-review findings inform decision making at all levels of the school. The principal acknowledges, and ERO agrees, that the school needs to strengthen its processes to give a more in-depth view of what is going well and where improvements could be made. This could include reviewing students’ engagement with and awareness of their own learning.

Provision for international students

The school is a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students established under section 23F of the Education Act 1989. No international students were enrolled at the time of the review.

Board assurance on legal requirements

Before the review, the board of trustees and principal of the school completed the ERO Board Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to:

  • board administration
  • curriculum
  • management of health, safety and welfare
  • personnel management
  • financial management
  • asset management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:

  • emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
  • physical safety of students
  • teacher registration
  • processes for appointing staff
  • stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
  • attendance.

At the time of the review the principal’s appraisal process for the 2012-2013 cycle had not commenced. To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:

  • ensure it complies with Ministry of Education requirements for the appraisal of principals. SOURCE: s77C State Sector Act 1998.

When is ERO likely to review the school again?

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

Graham Randell

National Manager Review Services

Southern Region

28 February 2013

About the School

Location

Alexandra

Ministry of Education profile number

3844

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

392

Number of international students

0

Gender composition

Boys 50%

Girls 50%

Ethnic composition

NZ European/Pākehā

Māori

Other

73%

18%

10%

Special Features

Technology centre for local schools

Review team on site

November 2012

Date of this report

28 February 2013

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Education Review

July 2009

March 2006

December 2002