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ERO Report

Education REVIEW REPORT:
TAI TAPU SCHOOL

JUNE 2009

2............ The Education Review Office (ERO) Evaluation

4............ Areas of National Interest

5............ Board Assurance on Compliance Areas

6............ Recommendations

7............ Future Action

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Disclaimer

Individual ERO school and early childhood centre reports are public information and may be copied or sent electronically. However, the Education Review Office can guarantee only the authenticity of original documents which have been obtained in hard copy directly from either the local ERO office or ERO Corporate Office in Wellington. Please consult your telephone book, or see the ERO web page, http://www.ero.govt.nz, for ERO office addresses.

This report has been prepared in accordance with standard procedures approved by the Chief Review Officer.

1 About the School

Location	Tai Tapu, Christchurch
Ministry of Education profile number	3549
School type	Full primary (Years 1 to 8)
Decile rating[1]	9
Teaching staff: Roll generated entitlement Number of teachers	13 13
School roll	261
Gender composition	Boys 52%; Girls 48%
Ethnic composition	New Zealand European/Pakeha 97%; Maori 3%
Review team on site	March/April 2009
Date of this report	4 June 2009
Previous ERO reports	Education Review February 2006 Education Review May 2003 Accountability Review September 1998 Effectiveness Review March 1995 Assurance Audit July 1993

2 The Education Review Office Evaluation

Tai Tapu School caters for students from Years 1 to 8. The school is situated in the small rural town of Tai Tapu, 20 kilometres from Christchurch. The school roll is increasing. The school has close links with its community and maintains many traditions of a country school such as an annual pets’ day.

Students are friendly and proud of the school. They said that it was a caring and supportive place.

The school environment is welcoming. Parents are actively engaged in school activities. They provide extensive support for a wide range of activities. The grounds and play areas are spacious and well used by students for whom physical activity and sports are particular interests. The teachers and students also benefit from well presented classrooms, the library and an updated administration area. A special feature of the school is the vegetable garden created by students when studying issues of sustainability in 2008.

Students are well engaged in their learning in all classes. They are improving their levels of achievement. Most achieve at or above the level expected for students of the same age in literacy and numeracy. The teachers focus on identifying what students know and where they need to improve. They provide clear direction for students about working effectively in groups and encourage students to assess and evaluate their own work and that of their peers. Other features of learning programmes include:

· the progress teachers have made in updating the school curriculum in response to revisions made to the New Zealand Curriculum;

· the confidence students are developing in sharing ideas, developing efficient work habits and valuable life skills; and

· the inquiry learning approaches that teachers use to encourage students’ interest in their learning and their use of information and communication technologies and other methods for research.

Learning support programmes are well planned. Students with special learning needs and their parents are welcomed at the school. Parents are involved in developing appropriate learning targets. The special needs coordinator, with the support of the class teachers, closely monitors the progress of these students and reports this information to the parents and the board.

Governance and management systems are effective. The principal and the senior managers are experienced. They work as an effective team. The trustees are supportive and knowledgeable. They are interested in school development and student achievement. The school is building close links with its Maori community. Health and safety procedures are well developed. No areas of non-compliance were identified during the review.

The next steps are:

· to set more challenging targets for monitoring and reporting on achievement levels at the school, particularly for students who achieve above national expectations;

· improve self-review practices by focusing more on the learning outcomes for the students;

· evaluate the impact of teaching and learning programmes on student achievement; and

· for teachers in the senior area of school to consider providing students with a greater element of choice in designing their own learning programmes.

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.

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

3. The Focus of the Review

Student Achievement Overall

ERO’s education reviews focus on student achievement. What follows is a statement about what the school knows about student achievement overall.

In 2008, the teachers monitored student achievement closely in reading. Their information showed that 80% of Year 1 students achieved at or above their chronological age. In Year 2, 87% of students achieved above the level expected for students of a similar age. Eleven percent achieved below these expectations. Testing done in numeracy indicated that most students are achieving at above expected levels with some variation evident at various year levels and between boys and girls.

The teachers also attempted to indicate whether there had been improvement in students’ understanding of sexuality as part of the health and physical education curriculum. The teachers were able to show that the threshold figure of 80% of the students showing knowledge and understanding was achieved with girls achieving better than boys.

In 2009, the school has set the goal that 80% of students will achieve at a level at or above students of a similar age in standardised testing reading and numeracy.

School Specific Priorities

Before the review, the board of Tai Tapu School was invited to consider its priorities for review using guidelines and resources provided by ERO. ERO also used documentation provided by the school to contribute to the scope of the review.

The detailed priorities for review were then determined following a discussion between the ERO review team and the board of trustees. This discussion focused on existing information held by the school (including student achievement and self-review information) and the extent to which potential issues for review contributed to the achievement of the students at Tai Tapu School.

ERO and the board have agreed on the following focus areas for the review:

· the quality of learning and teaching with an emphasis on inquiry approaches and community involvement.

ERO’s findings in these areas are set out below.

The Quality of Learning and Teaching with an Emphasis on Inquiry Approaches and Community Involvement

Background

The board, principal and staff have introduced an inquiry approach to the school curriculum. They believe this approach is making learning more meaningful for students and will give them the skills that they will need to be competent, life-long learners.

The board, principal and staff place a high priority on parent involvement in their children’s learning and in school programmes. The board regularly consults with parents to find out how well the school meets their expectations for learning and home-school partnerships.

Areas of good performance

· Student engagement. Students are active participants in their learning. The teachers encourage them to think deeply, share their ideas and respect the opinions of others. Teachers focus on what students need to learn to help them become confident and independent learners, especially in the junior and middle schools. They make good use of group work across the school in helping students work cooperatively. Teachers praise students for their ideas and the ways that they work together. Students told ERO that they find learning fun and worthwhile.

· Student attitudes. Students know that the teachers value good work skills and habits. The teachers regularly make reference to the school values and to the key competencies of the New Zealand Curriculum. They share examples of the way individuals or groups of students demonstrate these qualities. Newsletters and classrooms displays remind students and parents of the values and competencies. Students assess their own progress and that of their peers. Trustees and senior managers told ERO that parents often support their children in achieving these values and competencies.

· Inquiry approaches. Teachers make good use of an inquiry approach to make learning meaningful and interesting for students. Study topics link to learning across the curriculum and involve the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and the school library. Students are developing skills to think critically, to evaluate the information they collect and to consider the views of others. Parents also help their children achieve programme objectives. Learning tasks become more complex as students progress through the school. For example, the junior school focuses on students asking good questions. The middle and senior schools concentrate on collecting and locating data, skimming and scanning and evaluating new theories and opinions.

· Relationships. The board, parents and teachers work together effectively in enhancing student learning. They model the relationships that they expect from students. They work collegially to maintain a strong focus on student learning and welfare. Teachers take a positive approach to their relationships with students. They set high expectations for both students’ learning and behaviour. ERO observed students who were cooperative and worked well together and with their teachers.

· Literacy and numeracy. Students participate in well planned and delivered literacy and numeracy programmes. The teachers use assessment information to monitor student progress and to identify the next step for learning. They use a range of national and school-based assessment tools. Classroom wall displays help students improve their own work. For example, class writing goals and criteria for achieving them are often displayed and referred to during teaching programmes.

· Learning support. The board, managers, teachers and students provide a welcoming and supportive environment for students with special needs and their families. Parents are involved in programme development. A special needs coordinator manages the programmes and liaises with families, specialists, classroom teachers and teacher-aides. She carefully assesses students and monitors their progress. Programmes for students diagnosed with dyslexia are well developed. The board provides considerable additional funding for these programmes. It is kept well informed on student progress and the effectiveness of the programmes. Students told ERO that one of the good things about their school was the number of students with special needs attending.

· School-wide planning, assessment and reporting. School-wide planning, assessment and reporting processes provide for continuity in learning and teaching programmes. Teachers use the same planning and assessment formats across the school. They share criteria to identify students who are achieving and those who need more support. Information from national tests is collated to help meet the needs of individuals and groups of students. Teachers share this information at syndicate meetings and use it to target learning programmes. The school has a good system for analysing and reporting student achievement for groups of students as they progress through the school.

· Learning environment. Teachers provide well organised and interesting classroom environments. Rooms are well resourced. Learning materials are attractively displayed. Students’ work reflects the depth and breath of their learning. Teachers provide spaces where students can work independently or cooperatively. Classrooms and the library have computers that are easily accessed by students for literacy and numeracy and research.

· Community support. Parents are active members of the school community. Managers and teachers welcome parent contributions. They provide training and support for parents where necessary. Parents help in classrooms for students in Years 1 to 5 for literacy and numeracy. They regularly visit classes across the school to share their life experiences as part of inquiry learning topics, to coach sport and to support cultural activities. Assemblies and school events and projects are well supported. The board undertakes an in-depth parent survey every five years. The resulting information is closely analysed and shared with parents. It is also used for strategic planning and school development. Parents know their expertise is valued and they are making a valuable contribution to students’ learning.

Areas for improvement

· School targets. The school’s achievement targets are general. They do not identify specifically where levels of achievement could be improved. More analysis of the achievement information the teachers collect across the school would be helpful in showing where groups of students are achieving well or where there are particular needs. From this analysis, the teachers should identify achievement targets specifically for groups of students with particular learning needs or abilities. [Recommendation 6.1]

· Self-review practices. Self-review practices focus mainly on what programmes provide for students and give little information about the effectiveness of learning and teaching programmes. The managers have developed some useful formats for recording programme evaluation. More effective use of the school guidelines should provide more information on student achievement, what helped students to learn and where teaching could be improved. Analysis of achievement information should help to make self review more useful for the teachers, the managers and the board. [Recommendation 6.2]

· Senior student choices for learning. During the review, learning programmes observed by ERO in the senior area of the school were well structured and interesting. The teachers had made the decisions about the choice of topic and how this would be taught. Students said that they would like more opportunity to make decisions about the programmes. This should help learning be more centred around students’ interests and encourage them to take extra responsibility for their learning. [Recommendation 6.3]

4. Areas of National Interest

Overview

ERO provides information about the education system as a whole to Government to be used as the basis for long-term and systemic educational improvement. ERO also provides information about the education sector for schools, parents and the community through its national reports.

To do this ERO decides on topics and investigates them for a specific period in all applicable schools nationally.

During the review of Tai Tapu School ERO investigated and reported on the following areas of national interest. The findings are included in this report so that information about the school is transparent and widely available.

The Achievement of Maori Students: Progress

In this review, ERO evaluated the progress the school has made since the last review in improving the achievement of Maori students and in initiatives designed to promote improved achievement.

In 2006, the board was not monitoring the progress of Maori students separately because it had only two Maori students, both of whom had been at the school for less than six months. In 2009 the school has seven Maori students on its roll.

Areas of progress

· Maori student achievement information. The principal and teachers are gathering and analysing information for Maori students. This information shows that the majority of Maori students are achieving at or above expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics. Programmes are in place to help Maori students who are achieving below expectations, including musical instrument tuition to increase confidence.

· Links with local Maori community. The teacher responsible for Maori students has established close links with Maori families and Maori living in the wider community. She maintains close contact and regularly consults with the families about initiatives set to increase Maori language and culture in the school. She told ERO that Maori families give her considerable support and this is enabling her to provide additional support to other teachers for their Maori programmes.

Area for further improvement

· Increasing Maori perspectives in school programmes. Teachers include some te reo and tikanga Maori in their programmes but this could be increased. During 2008, a topic focused on Maori language and culture. Linking Maori perspectives more closely to the school vision, the key competencies and school programmes should increase student knowledge, understanding and pride in New Zealand’s dual cultural heritage. [Recommendation 6.4]

The Teaching of Reading and Writing in Years 1 and 2

As part of this review, ERO looked at how well teachers assess, plan and teach reading and writing to students in Years 1 and 2, and how well the school promotes high levels of student achievement in reading and writing in Years 1 and 2.

Areas of good performance

· Assessment information. Teachers gather and use assessment information well to identify students’ individual needs in reading and writing. They have identified the assessment tasks they consider give them the best information. Teachers work together to make sure they are implementing tests consistently. Assessment information is used to group students for teaching. Students who need additional learning support receive instruction in specialist programmes.

· Literacy learning environment. ERO observed teachers establishing a positive learning environment in calm, settled classrooms. Teachers set clear expectations for learning and behaviour. They make sure students understand the purpose for learning within each reading and writing lesson. Routines are explained clearly to students so they can work effectively in groups and independently. Learning activities are purposeful and result in good levels of on-task behaviour during independent learning. Teachers affirm students’ effort and learning successes.

Area for improvement

· Expectations for achievement. Teachers have identified how well they expect students to achieve at each year level but achievement expectations could be higher. At present, teachers use national expectations to evaluate the learning and progress of students. However, a significant number of students achieve above national expectations. Teachers could make more use of school entry information to set expectations for the progress of new entrant students. Ongoing analysis of data gathered for each group would help teachers evaluate improvements in learning over time. It would also allow teachers to further evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching and the overall literacy programme. [Recommendation 6.1]

Implementing the New Zealand Curriculum in 2010

The school is well advanced in designing its own curriculum.

Progress to date

In preparing for teaching the New Zealand Curriculum in 2010 the school has:

· sent the principal and teachers to professional development meetings about the revised curriculum and managing change;

· developed the school vision and incorporated key competencies into class programmes after consultation with the school community; and

· reviewed school curriculum programmes for literacy, health and physical education and the arts; aligned these with objectives of the revised curriculum and implemented them.

Next steps

The school has agreed/decided that its priorities for preparation over the next three to six months are to:

· continue to review programmes for science, social sciences and numeracy, and align these with the revised New Zealand Curriculum by the end of 2009.

5. Board Assurance on Compliance Areas

Overview

Before the review, the board of trustees and principal of Tai Tapu School completed an ERO Board Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. 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; and

· asset management.

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

· emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment);

· physical safety of students;

· teacher registration;

· stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions; and

· attendance.

Compliance

During the course of the review, ERO identified no areas of non-compliance.

ERO identified that the board minutes make no mention of the board going into committee. Trustees told ERO that some staff requests for leave have been discussed and shared with the community in newsletters.

In order to improve current practice, the board of trustees should:

5.1 record in their minutes that they have gone into committee whenever they discuss staffing issues or individuals are named.

6. Recommendations

ERO and the board have developed the following recommendations to improve learning outcomes for students. The principal and teachers should:

6.1 identify specific areas where student achievement levels could be improved and develop relevant benchmarks to improve student achievement further;

6.2 make more use of student achievement information in school self review to identify where learning and teaching could be further improved;

6.3 continue to increase student involvement in decision making for their learning; and

6.4 continue to increase understanding of Maori perspectives in school programmes.

7. 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.

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

Isabell Sinclair Irwin

Area Manager

for Chief Review Officer

4 June 2009

To the Parents and Community of Tai Tapu School

These are the findings of the Education Review Office’s latest report on Tai Tapu School.

Students are friendly and proud of the school. They said that it was a caring and supportive place.

· the progress teachers have made in updating the school curriculum in response to revisions made to the New Zealand Curriculum;

· the confidence students are developing in sharing ideas, developing efficient work habits and valuable life skills; and

· the inquiry learning approaches that teachers use to encourage students’ interest in their learning and their use of information and communication technologies and other methods for research.

The next steps are:

· to set more challenging targets for monitoring and reporting on achievement levels at the school, particularly for students who achieve above national expectations;

· improve self-review practices by focusing more on the learning outcomes for the students;

· evaluate the impact of teaching and learning programmes on student achievement; and

· for teachers in the senior area of school to consider providing students with a greater element of choice in designing their own learning programmes.

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.

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

Review Coverage

ERO reviews do not cover every aspect of school performance and each ERO report may cover different issues. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to student achievement and useful to this school.

If you would like a copy of the full report, please contact the school or see the ERO website, http://www.ero.govt.nz.

Isabell Sinclair Irwin

Area Manager

for Chief Review Officer

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT REVIEWS

About ERO

ERO is an independent, external evaluation agency that undertakes reviews of schools and early childhood services throughout New Zealand.

About ERO Reviews

ERO follows a set of standard procedures to conduct reviews. The purpose of each review is to:

· improve educational achievement in schools; and

· provide information to parents, communities and the Government.

Reviews are intended to focus on student achievement and build on each school’s self review.

Review Focus

ERO’s framework for reviewing and reporting is based on three review strands.

· School Specific Priorities – the quality of education and the impact of school policies and practices on student achievement.

· Areas of National Interest – information about how Government policies are working in schools.

· Compliance with Legal Requirements – assurance that this school has taken all reasonable steps to meet legal requirements.

Review Coverage

Review Recommendations

Most ERO reports include recommendations for improvement. A recommendation on a particular issue does not necessarily mean that a school is performing poorly in relation to that issue. There is no direct link between the number of recommendations in this report and the overall performance of this school.

[1] Decile 1 schools draw their students from areas of greatest socio-economic disadvantage,
Decile 10 from areas of least socio-economic disadvantage.