Titahi Bay Intermediate

School Context

Titahi Bay Intermediate caters for students in Years 7 and 8. At the time of this review there were 122 children on the roll with 61% identifying as Māori and 16% as Pacific.

Values of manaakitanga, risk taking, high expectations, ownership, pride and effective questioning underpin the school’s renewed vision of: ‘Find the way, know the way, lead the way’.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:

• reading, writing and mathematics including results from focused initiatives for priority learners

• programmes and activities in wider curriculum areas

• student engagement and wellbeing through specialised programmes designed to build resilience, confidence and independence.

Since the July 2014 ERO review, there have been changes in trustees and staff. The leadership team has been expanded to include an assistant principal.

Professional learning and development (PLD) for teachers in a Ministry of Education (MoE) initiative, Accelerated Literacy Learning (ALL), since 2015, has focused on writing. There has also been PLD in mathematics and Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L).

The school is a member of the Te Puna Mātauranga Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – valued outcomes for students

1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?

Achieving equitable outcomes for all students continues to be a challenge for the school.

Achievement data from 2016 and provisional 2017 results indicate that approximately half of the students achieve at or above relevant expectations. Overall levels of achievement have declined since 2014. There is a deliberate focus on raising achievement of Māori and Pacific boys in reading, writing and mathematics as the school has identified this as an area of large disparity.

1.2 How effectively does this school respond to those Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

School leaders report that some students identified in 2017 targets have made accelerated progress in writing. The school is not yet successful in accelerating the progress of the majority of students at risk of not achieving at expected levels.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence

2.1 What school processes and practices are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?

Processes and systems are being strengthened by the board and leadership to promote equity and excellence.

A key focus has been a well-considered review by trustees and leadership of the school’s charter involving consultation with all members of the community. The new vision and strategic plan is centred on raising student achievement and provides the school with appropriate direction, purpose and a framework for achieving equity and excellence.

A range of creative and positive ways are used to engage whānau and families in the life of the school. Their expertise, input and ideas are acknowledged and valued. Learning partnerships are promoted, and have led to higher levels of engagement and increased parent understanding and knowledge. Collaboration and consultation is actively fostered with an increasing emphasis on learning. There is a growing relationship with Ngāti Toa which supports Māori students’ identity, language and culture.

The school has a respectful and welcoming culture. Students are engaged, able to share and make decisions about their learning. They respond well to positive and constructive feedback from their teachers. Routines are clear and well understood. Students have opportunities for leadership and participate in a range of cultural, sporting and academic activities. Digital tools are used appropriately to support learning. Students have a strong sense of belonging, ownership and pride in the school. They interact positively and support each other.

Students with additional needs are identified and their strengths, interests and needs are well known. External support and agencies work with teachers to appropriately respond to their needs.

2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence?

Trustees, leaders and staff are building a shared understanding and knowledge about accelerated learning to achieve equity and excellence in student outcomes. Ongoing developments in key systems and processes are needed to support accelerated student achievement.

School leaders and teachers should collate, effectively analyse and use robust data to report on progress and acceleration to enable the board and leaders to establish and monitor learning targets. Regular reporting of the rates of acceleration to the board, staff and parent community should support effective decision making.

A more coherent approach to improvement should be established through the alignment of all processes, plans, teaching practice, PLD, appraisal and teacher inquiry, with identified schoolwide learning targets.

Curriculum statements should be reviewed to give clear guidance for effective teaching practice and expectations of student outcomes. The curriculum should also acknowledge the unique place of the school in the community.

These improvements should be underpinned by ongoing internal evaluation of what is working, what is not, and what needs to change.

3 Board assurance on legal requirements

Before the review, the board 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
• finance
• 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 and certification

• processes for appointing staff

• stand down, suspension, expulsion and exclusion of students

• attendance

• school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

Appraisal audit

Improvement to appraisal processes is needed so that they align with Education Council Guidelines.

Areas for improved compliance practice

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should undertake regular review and development of policies and procedures, related to employment processes.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:

• direction set by the board of trustees, including a well-considered strategic plan that focuses on raising student achievement

• learner partnerships with parents, whānau and Ngāti Toa, that value and promote student learning and success

• a culture of respectful learning relationships, that support students to identify strongly with their school, engage and take pride in their learning.

Next steps

For sustained improvement and future learner success, development priorities are in:

• achieving equity for all groups in the school and raising levels of achievement overall through effective teaching practice that responds to needs

• using assessment processes to reliably know about the progress and achievement of all students

• building cohesive and aligned processes that focus on raising achievement overall and, in particular, accelerating the progress of identified students

• strengthening internal evaluation, so that trustees, leadership and teachers can determine the impact of teaching programmes to inform decision making.

Recommendations

ERO recommends that:

The school seek support from the Ministry of Education in order to bring about improvements in:

• use of student achievement data
• curriculum development
• professional leadership and teaching capacity
• evaluation, inquiry and knowledge building.

The board seek support from the New Zealand School Trustees Association to assist trustees to:

• strengthen and support their governance role
• undertake policy and procedure development and review.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

ERO intends to carry out a process of ongoing external evaluation to support development over the course of one-to-two years.

Patricia Davey

Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)

Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region

6 June 2018

About the school