The school has made substantial progress since the 2007 ERO report in the areas of student behaviour, school culture and purposeful teaching.

The board, principal and teachers have focused on building meaningful relationships with students and their families.  They have developed clear expectations for students and adults regarding behaviour.  Effective systems support students to learn how to regulate and manage their own behaviour.  Students have been regularly surveyed to monitor their physical and emotional safety.  They told ERO they had noticed an improvement in behaviour particularly in the playground.  The school values of respect, achievement, integrity, support and enjoyment (RAISE) are becoming embedded throughout classroom programmes and are well understood by students.

Students are benefiting from teachers’ use of a range of effective approaches. Teachers are more purposeful in their teaching.  They have made good use of professional development to improve the way they help students understand what they are learning and why.  Students are benefiting from learning to measure their own success and progress. 

Students have good opportunities to experience Maori language and culture within the school environment through weekly whanau hui and te reo Maori instruction in classes.  The board has a good knowledge and awareness of protocol for involving the Maori community in school planning and events.

Teachers use a variety of assessment tools.  Some tests are graphed against national norms to show how well students are achieving compared to the expected achievement of students in New Zealand at that year level.  Teachers use assessment information well at classroom level to inform their planning and teaching practices. 

The school knows most about the achievement of students in literacy and numeracy.  Students at this school have a very wide range of achievement.  Many students achieve above and below expected levels for their age.  The school has systems in place to respond to these diverse needs.  However, it would now be timely to review the effectiveness of these practices.

Cooperative leadership is supporting the development of the school.  The board, principal and teachers have effectively prioritised areas of need and systematically brought about sustained school improvement.  The new principal provides effective leadership to the board and teachers in the development of school wide curriculum initiatives.  He leads and supports teachers to achieve high quality learning and teaching.  Teachers’ strengths are well used to support school development.  The board is clear regarding its role and responsibilities.  It is making good use of community consultation to ensure the school is reflecting and being responsive to community needs and parents’ aspirations for their children. 

The next steps for the board, principal and teachers are to:

•           review the policies and procedures for learning support and evaluate the effectiveness of these in supporting students’ diverse learning needs;
•           strengthen the way they collect, manage and report on student achievement data schoolwide; and
•           develop systems for curriculum review, and the review of board practices.

The board have effective systems in place to monitor safety at the school.  ERO identified no areas of concern in relation to health and safety.

Future Action

ERO is confident that the board of trustees can manage the school in the interests of the students and the Crown and bring about the improvements outlined in this report.  

Quality of Learning and Teaching

Background

Since the 2007 ERO review a new principal has been appointed at the school.  The principal and teachers have focused on building and maintaining effective relationships and improving student behaviour to provide a more positive learning environment.  Teachers have had professional development in improving teaching approaches.  The school-wide values of respect, achievement, integrity, support and enjoyment (RAISE) have been developed and incorporated into all aspects of the school life.

Areas of good performance

•          Learning culture. Students learn in a culture that promotes successful and independent learning.  This was identified as an area for improvement in the 2006 ERO review.  Teachers now help students to understand the purpose for lessons and the criteria they need to achieve to be successful.  Students set individual goals each week to focus their learning.  Teachers help students to set realistic and manageable goals.  Goals are set for learning across the curriculum, and for behaviour.  Emphasis is given to students understanding the goal setting process and their responsibility for evaluating how successfully they have achieved them.  Students’ successes are celebrated in the classroom and at whole school level.  Students told ERO that they feel their learning is well supported. 
•          Relationships. Relationships between students and adults are respectful, supportive and caring.  Individual students are very well supported to meet personal and learning needs.  They are encouraged to be positive and supportive of others.  Teachers work effectively with each other and provide positive role models for students to follow.  Parents are made to feel welcome and many now participate in school activities.  The board has given priority to improving relationships between board and staff, and with the parent community.  Students spoken with said there have been improvements in relationships between each other and with their teachers. 
•          Behaviour expectations. There has been a significant improvement in the behaviour of students.  The board, principal and staff have a shared focus on promoting and maintaining high standards of behaviour.  The principal and teachers work with students to establish clear guidelines for acceptable behaviour.  Students are given considerable support and encouragement to develop strategies to manage their own behaviours.  Teachers work together to make sure expectations are consistent school-wide.  Students spoken with by ERO said good behaviour from other students makes them want to be at school and focus on their learning. 
•          Teaching approaches. Students’ learning is well supported by teachers’ effective use of a range of teaching approaches.  Teachers plan programmes based on well gathered diagnostic assessment information.  They place an emphasis on students’ understanding and use of learning processes.  Students receive constructive oral feedback about their learning successes and their next learning steps.  They learn through whole class, group and individual teaching in well managed classrooms.  Teachers help students learning by giving them opportunities to develop and follow their own interests.  Teachers’ knowledge and understanding has been enhanced by the school-wide professional development programme.  Their work reflects findings of current research that relate to good classroom practices.  ERO observed teaching practices that were consistent across classrooms. 
•          Leadership. Students are benefiting from a cooperative approach to leadership within the school.  Senior students are given opportunities to develop leadership and decision making skills through activities such as the school council and the environment committee.  Teachers are empowered to use their expertise through a range of school responsibilities.  This is particularly evident in curriculum development.  The new principal has worked with the board and staff to make significant improvements to the school culture, especially for students.  He leads and supports teachers to achieve high quality learning and teaching.  The board places high priority on meeting students’ needs and supports staff to achieve this.  Consultation with the community has increased and the outcomes are being used to develop a vision and strategic plan for the future of the school.  

The recommendations that came out of the report are 

• the principal and teachers review and report to the board on the effectiveness of learning support policies and procedures in meeting the diverse learning needs of students;
• the principal strengthen the way school wide achievement information is collected, managed and reported to the board across all curriculum areas;
• the board, principal and teachers develop more effective systems for self review at classroom, school wide curriculum and board level.