Kia Toa Street, Ngaruawahia
View on mapGood progress has been made in addressing the areas for improvement identified in the 2018 ERO report. Leaders, trustees and teachers have improved their capability to use internal evaluation systems and processes to improve outcomes for students. Professional learning has been undertaken by staff and this is supporting a more targeted approach to accelerate progress and achievement of students.
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Waipa School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.
Waipa School, located in the town of Ngāruawāhia, has students in Years 1 to 8. The current roll of 402, includes 336 students who identify as Māori. Since the November 2018 ERO review the principal and deputy principal have remained the same. A new assistant principal has been appointed and there have been several changes to the teaching team. The last report identified aspects of school operation requiring improvement to more effectively provide excellent and equitable outcomes for students. This report summarises the progress made during the past two years. It also provides some next steps for the school to continue to promote positive outcomes for all learners.
Leaders have strengthened internal evaluation processes in the school. A useful system is in place to collate and analyse schoolwide student achievement information, with an emphasis on showing progress and acceleration across year levels. There is clear identification of at-risk learners across the school. Achievement information is gathered, using a range of sound assessment tools and increasingly dependable teacher judgements linked to curriculum levels. This information is scrutinised by leaders and teachers to inform decisions about teaching programmes and initiatives.
School processes are in place to gather community and student aspirations, including information about health and wellbeing needs. Leaders and trustees are highly responsive to this feedback and provide extensive curriculum opportunities and resourcing to meet identified priorities and improve equitable outcomes for students.
Leaders have developed and implemented schoolwide systems and expectations about planning for learning, assessment and tracking student progress. Online planning and tracking tools are accessible to all staff and promote sharing, collaboration and consistency of practice. Leaders regularly monitor these expectations and provide feedback to teachers that has led to improved confidence and competence in these areas.
In response to student achievement trends and patterns, school leaders have accessed external professional development to build teacher capability, particularly in literacy and mathematics. This is beginning to provide teachers with a wide range of strategies and practices to deliberately target student progress and acceleration. Additional resourcing provided by the board, including teacher aides in classrooms, supports a strong focus on engaging and accelerating the progress of at-risk learners.
Leaders need to further embed internal evaluation processes. This should include:
Leaders and teachers should continue to build collective capacity through targeted professional development in literacy and mathematics, including a focus on high expectations for student progress and achievement.
Waipa School is developing the capability to sustain and continue its performance. Factors contributing to sustainability are:
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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
In order to improve current practice, leaders should:
Good progress has been made in addressing the areas for improvement identified in the 2018 ERO report. Leaders, trustees and teachers have improved their capability to use internal evaluation systems and processes to improve outcomes for students. Professional learning has been undertaken by staff and this is supporting a more targeted approach to accelerate progress and achievement of students.
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Waipa School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.
ERO’s Framework: Overall Findings and Judgement Tool derived from School Evaluation Indicators: Effective Practice for Improvement and Learner Success is available on ERO’s website.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
14 December 2020
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.
Waipa School is located in the town of Ngāruawāhia and caters for children from Years 1 to 8. The school roll has grown significantly and is currently 408 students of whom 84% identify as Māori. The school’s vision is for young people to become ‘literate, numerate, self-motivated life-long learners, thinkers and achievers’. The school’s well-established values are embedded in the school culture and enhanced through the Waipa Way. Priority is placed on students showing respect for themselves and others.
Areas identified for development in the 2015 ERO report remain. These are:
raising student achievement in reading, writing and mathematics especially for boys
building student agency
developing partnership with parents and whānau
a sequential te reo and tikanga Māori programme.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, school-wide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
reading, mathematics, writing.
The school is not achieving equity and excellence for all students. Student achievement data for 2017 shows that approximately half of the students achieved at or above the expected level in reading and mathematics. Less than half the students achieved in writing. This pattern has remained consistent over the last three years.
School data also shows that girls achieve at significantly higher levels than boys in reading and writing. This pattern of disparity between girls and boys has increased over the last three years. Boys and girls achieve at similar levels in mathematics.
Students with additional learning needs participate in learning opportunities that provide appropriate support and challenge.
The school is accelerating progress for Māori students and other identified groups who need this. However, leaders are yet to develop a concerted approach to collating, analysing and reporting acceleration for at-risk learners. Achievement information analysed during the onsite stage of the review shows effective acceleration for:
Māori students in Years 5 to 8 in reading, writing, mathematics
boys achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.
The broad curriculum is responsive to the holistic needs and strengths of students. The senior leadership team and teachers actively promote and prioritise initiatives for student wellbeing. Students are involved in numerous extra-curricular activities. Successes are acknowledged and celebrated school wide and there are extensive opportunities for student leadership. Trustees, leaders, teachers and the community provide an extensive range of healthy eating and living initiatives so that all students are ready and able to learn. This empowers students to be socially, emotionally, competent, resilient and confident.
An inclusive culture that values and celebrates diversity is clearly evident. The school actively engages with whānau, specialist support agencies and external experts to provide wrap-around pastoral and learning for support.
Further developments are needed for the achievement of equity, excellence and acceleration in the following areas:
building leaders’ and teachers’ understanding of acceleration school wide
a process for clearly identifying the specific needs of every at-risk learner
charter targets that focus on accelerating the achievement of at-risk students
the alignment of targets with school processes and practices such as teaching as inquiry, appraisal and professional development
a clear processes for reporting progress against targets throughout the year
effective internal evaluation to measure the impact of school processes and practices on accelerated outcomes for targeted students.
Strengthening leadership for learning to build teacher capability to raise and accelerate student achievement, is a priority area for development. Teachers inquiring into their practice, responding to individual needs, evaluating the impact and modifying programmes accordingly, is necessary to improve educational outcomes for all students.
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.
The school was unable to show documented evidence for the appraisal of all staff.
ERO identified non-compliance in relation to:
In order to address this, the board of trustees must:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
a holistic curriculum and a culture of care that supports student wellbeing and equitable access to learning.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
building leadership and teacher knowledge and capability to address low levels of achievement in writing and for boys
the use of data from a range of sources, for internal evaluation that better identifies what is working well for students’ learning and where improvements are needed
targeted planning to accelerate learning [ERO will monitor and discuss progress with the school]
internal evaluation processes and practices. [ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop for trustees and senior leaders.]
ERO recommends that the Secretary for Education consider intervention under Part 7A of the Education Act 1989 in order to bring about improvement in:
governance
leadership of learning
student achievement
health and safety.
ERO intends to carry out a process of ongoing external evaluation to support development over the course of one-to-two years.
Adrienne Fowler
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
2 November 2018
|
Location |
Ngāruawāhia |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
2064 |
|
School type |
Years 1 to 8 |
|
School roll |
408 |
|
Gender composition |
Boys 51% Girls 49% |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 75% |
|
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) |
Yes |
|
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
|
Review team on site |
August 2018 |
|
Date of this report |
2 November 2018 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review April 2015 |