2009 ERO Report

Below is the 2009 report from the New Zealand Education Review Office.

You can find the original document by visiting http://www.ero.govt.nz/ and searching for 'bluestone'

EDUCATION REVIEW REPORT
BLUESTONE SCHOOL

AUGUST 2009

1 About the School

2 The Education Review Office (ERO) Evaluation

3 The Focus of the Review

4 Areas of National Interest

5 Board Assurance on Compliance Areas

6 Recommendations

7 Future Action

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	Timaru
Ministry of Education profile number	2113
School type	Full Primary (Year 1 - 8)
Decile rating[1]	5
Teaching staff: Roll generated entitlement Other Number of teachers	32.32 35
School roll	483
Gender composition	Girls 51%, Boys 49%
Ethnic composition	New Zealand European/Pākehā 84%, Māori 10%, Other ethnic groups 6%.
Special features	Timaru Technology Education Centre
Review team on site	June 2009
Date of this report	12 August 2009
Previous ERO reports	Education Review June 2006

2. The Education Review Office (ERO) Evaluation

Bluestone School was established in 2005 following a review of educational provision in the Timaru area. It caters for students in Year 1 to 8. The school roll was 483 at the time of this ERO review in June 2009. The innovative learning environment provides a range of flexible spaces to support students’ learning, including a spacious library and music facilities. The board, principal and staff are united in their desire to provide students with a high quality education.

Students learn in a positive climate where people care for each other. Relationships are warm and supportive. The interactions and attitudes of students and teachers reflect the school’s values. Students can talk confidently about the qualities of a learner promoted in the school’s curriculum. The board wants to increase parents’ involvement in their children’s learning and extend these attitudes and values beyond the school into the wider community.

Students have a wide range of interesting learning experiences. The foundation skills of literacy and numeracy are well taught across the school. Other features of the curriculum at this school include music, art, physical activities and information and communications technologies. Senior students run a radio station and prepare a video each week for the school assembly. Trials of integrated units using an inquiry approach are giving students more opportunities to follow their own interests. These approaches have the potential to stimulate and extend students’ learning further.

Teachers set high expectations for student achievement. While students arrive at school with a range of skills, most students are achieving at or above national expectations in reading and numeracy as they move through the school. The teachers set targets for and monitor groups of students who are just below expectations or at risk of not achieving well. Support for these students is well planned and evaluated. Team leaders are improving the processes for reporting to parents, using a record of learning and three-way conferences with students and their parents.

The board also governs the Timaru Technology Education Centre that caters for about 800 students from 16 client schools. The centre manager and teachers provide high quality programmes in technology in a purpose-built, well resourced facility. All students follow a consistent design process as they work out solutions to real-life problems using a range of materials and tools. The teachers plan units carefully and monitor students’ progress and effort. The next steps for the manager and teachers are to extend teaching strategies and further develop the way they evaluate the quality of the programmes.

Self review is well developed at the school. All teachers are involved in reflective practice and action research that is focused on improving learning for students. They confidently presented ERO with evidence that they had gathered on the impact of their work. It is evident that teachers are showing leadership is a wide range of school activities. The board makes it clear that it expects all reports to include analysis of evidence from a range of sources and recommendations for next steps to improve outcomes for students. Students are frequently asked their opinions about the learning, safety and other aspects of school life and their views are acted upon.

The board and teachers are using internal and external evaluation very well to ensure that they are bringing about ongoing improvements that benefit students. The teaching of reading has improved significantly since the 2006 ERO review. During this review, the principal and staff identified the school’s next steps using the school’s own knowledge as well as ERO’s findings.

Future Action

ERO is confident that the board of trustees can govern 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 four to five 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.

The teachers are using a good range of nationally standardised and other assessment tools to identify and monitor students’ progress. The board receives regular reports about progress towards the school’s targets and about achievement in other learning areas.

In reading, students progress well during their time at the school. School entry information indicates that many students are below average levels in knowing about letters and words when they arrive. Teachers have recently lifted their expectations for reading as a result of discussions with external advisers and consideration of the draft literacy progressions. Nationally standardised tests in March 2009 showed that students in Years 5 to 8 are achieving on average higher than national expectations.

The board received information about students’ listening comprehension in March 2009 that indicates that, overall, students’ levels vary. The school’s analysis is well used with other assessment information to address students’ needs. Gender differences are not significant.

Similar variations were evident in nationally standardised testing in Term One 2009 in mathematics. The senior teachers intend to retest students’ numeracy levels at the end of the year and compare their results with recently adjusted national expectations for numeracy stages.

A school-wide review of science was carried out in 2008. The report presented information about how well students were able to develop and communicate scientific understanding using scientific ideas in their explanations. The analysis found no significant difference between boys’ and girls’ achievement but found that Māori boys performed less well than other boys. The report included a critical look at the assessment processes used and some recommendations for improving the quality of assessment in science.

Senior managers and teachers are using the planning and reporting process required by the Ministry of Education to identify and monitor groups at risk of not achieving in reading and numeracy. The board receives regular reports about the progress of these groups. In the 2008 analysis of variance, the targeted groups had made good progress. There were no significant differences between boys and girls. While Māori boys were over-represented in the target group, all students reading well below expected levels were receiving appropriate support.

The mathematics report did not compare the targeted groups with whole school data. The analysis indicates that most students in the targeted groups made good progress during the year. Overall, there were more students in Years 5 to 8 achieving below expected levels than in Years 1 to 4. More girls than boys were in the groups of students just below or well below expected levels. As a result of the 2008 results, teachers are focusing on improving particular aspects of their teaching in 2009.

The 2009 targets cover a broader range of learning areas: reading, numeracy, music, ICT and physical activity. Action plans have been developed for each target. The literacy and numeracy targets continue to focus on those students who are not working within the expected range for their Year level.

School Specific Priorities

Before the review, the board of Bluestone 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 Bluestone School.

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

· learning and teaching, with an emphasis on literacy; and

· the quality of programmes at the technology centre.

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

Learning and Teaching

Background

The teachers have been involved in professional development in assessment and literacy since the 2006 ERO report. The school proposed a focus on reading since the 2006 review had focused on writing. ERO decided to include reading as part of a wider focus that included learning and teaching across all learning areas. This allowed the review team to consider the progress the school had made in responding to ERO’s 2006 recommendations and to review the many initiatives in the school since 2006.

Areas of good performance

· Focus on learning. Students are interested and engaged in learning. They know what they are learning and how they learn. The teaching is student-centred so that students are involved in the process of learning and can set goals and evaluate their own work. Sometimes students and teachers learn together and from each other, for example in information and communications technologies (ICT), languages and music.

· Learning environment. Students learn in stimulating, exciting learning spaces. The layout and flexibility of the physical environment allows students to work on whole class, small group and individual tasks as necessary with the support of adults. Learning areas have quiet spaces as well as areas where the whole class or syndicate can gather. Students have very good access to ICT to support their learning. Learning takes place outside the classroom in authentic contexts, such as running a radio station and presenting videos at assembly about the week’s activities and visitors.

· Relationships. Positive relationships between teachers and students, and among students, support learning. Students are polite, friendly and thoughtful. Teachers create a positive tone in classrooms and around the school by using praise and reinforcing the school’s values. Students can talk about what these values are and how they can show them in practice. High levels of collegial support are evident among staff. The shared workspaces and whole school professional development promote a climate where everyone works together to get the best outcomes for students.

· Learning opportunities. Students experience a broad curriculum that focuses on the foundation skills in literacy and numeracy as well as providing interesting, relevant experiences across the curriculum. Teachers are trialling ways of integrating learning across the curriculum using an inquiry model. This approach is giving the students opportunities to follow their individual interests and to learn in practical real-life contexts. Features of the curriculum include music, art, physical education and languages where students are taught by teachers with particular expertise in these areas. Students ERO spoke with during the review said that they appreciated the extra opportunities they have at the school, particularly through the music programme.

· Support for students’ learning. Students who need support or extension with their learning are well catered for. Teachers use well developed processes for identifying, supporting and monitoring these students. Teacher-aides benefit from regular professional development. The board receives regular, detailed information about how the resources have been allocated and the impact on students’ progress. The programme for students with special abilities is being extended during 2009 to include a class once a week when identified students work in a small group. The new programme has been developed after thorough action research that included surveys of parents, staff and students, professional reading and advice, and visits to other schools. The teachers are aware of the need to continue professional development for the whole staff so that the needs and abilities of all students are being met within the classroom as well as through extra programmes.

· Reading programmes. Students are receiving consistently well-taught reading programmes. The senior staff acted on the recommendation in the 2006 ERO report to improve the quality of reading programmes in Years 5 to 8. They have purchased a greater range of reading materials that meet the interests, needs and abilities of the older students. The impact of literacy professional learning and development is evident in the ways teachers are now planning, assessing and teaching reading. Teachers make very good use of reading assessments to identify groupings and plan the teaching focus. Any students at risk of not achieving expected levels are targeted and monitored closely. Evidence of the effectiveness of the reading programmes can be seen in the assessment data that indicates that students in Years 5 to 8 are achieving on average above the levels of students in similar schools.

· Assessment for learning. Students can talk about their learning, what they have achieved and their next steps in learning. They can do this because teachers share assessment information with them on a daily basis giving them useful, constructive feedback. Students use this information to set and evaluate learning goals, supported by their parents and teachers in three-way conferences. They are also able to work cooperatively, give feedback to peers and evaluate their own work as they move through the year levels. Both teachers and students are able to make good use of assessment for classroom learning.

· Professional learning and development. The focus on professional learning is a strength of this school. All teachers carry out action research into an aspect of teaching and learning as part of their appraisal process. These projects cover a wide range of topics, for example, improving reporting to parents, developing the gifted and talented programme, enhancing physical activity and using ICT to improve the teaching of additional languages. Teachers gather a range of evidence, for example, student voice, assessment and observational data, and examples of best practice. They share their experiences of using new strategies and teaching approaches. This process empowers teachers to provide leadership in their area of interest or strength and builds leadership capability across the school. The impact of this work can be seen in the consistently good quality of teaching observed during the review.

· Professional leadership. Leadership is effective at all levels in the school. Teachers share a coherent vision of what teaching and learning should look like in the school. The model of learning that has been developed includes attitudes and values, learning, environment and the curriculum programmes (ALEC). The framework includes goals in each aspect, the actions students and teachers will demonstrate and what classroom learning will look like in practice. Students are able to talk confidently about what is important for them in the ALEC model of learning. The effective team culture within the school ensures that developments in curriculum and teaching approaches are ongoing processes.

· Self review. Reflective practice is well established across the school. Trustees, managers and teachers gather and analyse a range of information to evaluate outcomes for students and measure the effectiveness of policies and programmes. Students are often involved, as teachers ask their opinions about aspects of school and their learning and act on their feedback to improve things further. The board sets clear direction for reporting to the board. They expect all reports to have an analysis of a range of information and then a “so what” section that includes recommendations to the board for next steps. Internal evaluation practices focus on improving outcomes for students.

Areas for improvement

The school has an effective self-review process through which it has identified and is working on the following areas for further development.

· Reporting to parents. Team leaders are trialling new ways of reporting to parents as part of an action research project. They are modifying the content of the record of learning so that parents receive clearer information about their child’s progress and achievement. They are looking at ways of strengthening the student’s role in three-way conferences with parents and further developing goal-setting and self evaluation as part of this process.

· Inquiry learning. Students are carrying out a year-long inquiry on the topic of toys in each syndicate. Teachers intend to use this as a trial to see what works well and what needs further development. As they use this inquiry approach in integrated units, teachers know that they need to think more about the learning outcomes that are most important and how to assess that learning as part of the units.

· Classroom evaluation. An internal audit found that some teachers were more thorough than others in evaluating the effectiveness of their teaching and students’ learning. ERO’s evaluation supported this finding. Senior managers are working to improve the consistency and usefulness of teachers’ evaluations.

In addition, ERO has identified the following areas for further improvement.

· Extending assessment practices. Senior managers have some processes for tracking coverage of the school curriculum but assessment of learning beyond literacy and numeracy is variable. Their next step is to decide what learning is important, what the school’s expectations are and how they will track students’ progress in key aspects of the curriculum as they move through the school. This information will give the board a clearer picture of the school’s effectiveness in educating young people from school entry to the end of Year 8. [Recommendations 6.1 & 6.2]

· Extending learning beyond the classroom. The school’s inquiry model includes some of the principles of the New Zealand Curriculum, such as a future focus and enterprise. Some students are using resources beyond the school in their learning, for example, working with elderly people living in a local rest home. There is scope for extending learning into the community and local area more, using the inquiry process to bring about change and social action. During camps and other education outside the classroom (EOTC) activities, the education focus could be further developed so that students do real learning in relevant contexts. The board would also like to see a closer connection between the school’s attitudes and values and students’ lives outside the school and in the wider community. [Recommendation 6.2]

Timaru Technology Education Centre

Background

The board requested an evaluation of the Timaru Technology Education Centre (TTEC) because it was not reviewed in the 2006 ERO review of the newly formed school and it is a significant feature of the school. The centre opened on its present site in a purpose-built facility at the beginning of 2007 and caters for about 800 students from 16 schools in the surrounding districts as well as some homeschooled students. This evaluation covered the quality of technology teaching as well as the quality of management and governance of this centre.

Areas of good performance

· Learning opportunities. Students attending the centre enjoy a wide range of interesting learning experiences in technology. The programmes incorporate biotechnology, electronics, food technology and ICT, along with opportunities to work with materials like acrylics, fabrics, silver and other metals and wood. The students work with mechanisms, structures and materials in designing practical design solutions to real-world problems. The innovative design of the technology facility strongly supports the teaching programmes.

· Design process. A feature of the programme is the strong emphasis in all rooms on using a consistent design process. The process starts by identifying a need that is relevant to the students and developing a design brief. Students then research and investigate the problem, develop ideas that meet the specifications, plan, make and modify the product. Students are taught to evaluate their work during each session as well as at the end of the unit. All units include a creative design focus, in which students learn about the principles of design, graphic techniques and design history. During the ERO review, students had used Art Deco style as a model for menu designs in food technology and the Bauhaus school of design for the graphics element in advertising lights. This focus on creative design and communication gives added depth to the students’ learning in the technology curriculum.

· Planning and assessment. Teachers use thorough and consistent processes in planning for and assessing students’ learning in technology. The centre manager provides very detailed guidance and support for staff in these processes, making excellent use of ICT. Teachers monitor students’ progress and attitudes to learning regularly. They report to parents after each unit against the strands of the technology curriculum: technological knowledge, practice and characteristics. They also report on students’ behaviour, effort, quality of work and presentation. Information about the students is shared with the client schools after each lesson. These processes ensure that students experience effective programmes in technology.

· Management and governance. The technology centre is well managed by the centre manager and a management committee. The committee represents the Bluestone School board of trustees, the client schools and the local education community. It monitors the work of the centre and reports regularly to the board of trustees and participating schools. The centre is developing its website and using newsletters to let those interested know what is happening for the students. The structures in place provide the board of trustees with good levels of assurance about the quality of the programmes provided.

Areas for improvement

· Professional learning and development. Teachers have regular professional development with a focus on the technology curriculum. This is necessary because several of the teachers are new to this curriculum area or are changing the units they teach. The next step is to take part in more professional development in teaching approaches, using the leadership available at Bluestone School. Some aspects to consider are: using strategies that promote student-centred learning; developing the use of key competencies as a learning tool; and further developing self and peer assessment in the classroom. [Recommendation 6.2]

· Extending evaluation and reporting. The centre manager provided a report for the board in 2008 that outlined the technology programme and provided some information about students’ ICT skills. In 2009, the teachers have set a target that students will improve the way they use a design brief in technology projects. As they carry out an evaluation of this target, the teachers could consider the use of pre and post testing to measure progress over time in the selected skills. They also need to consider the criteria they will use to make judgements about students’ skills and how they will moderate the judgements across the centre. Teachers could also survey students and seek feedback from the client schools to find out what difference the teaching programmes are making. Improving the quality of evaluation and reporting will assist the centre in continuing to improve the quality of the programmes offered.
[Recommendations 6.1 & 6.2]

· Links to technology learning beyond the centre. The teachers have identified that they would like to develop better links between the TTEC programme and technology learning in the secondary schools. They should also consider extending the links down to Years 1 to 6 so that students can experience a more seamless, sequential education in technology. As they work with real-life design briefs, the teachers could explore ways of developing better links with business and enterprise in the community.

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 Bluestone 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.

Success for Māori Students: Progress

In this review, ERO evaluated the extent to which the school was familiar with the Māori Education Strategy – Ka Hikitia: Managing for Success and progress made since the last review in promoting success at school for Māori students.

The school reports it has considered Ka Hikitia and made changes to some of its practices as a result.

The 2006 ERO report stated that the school had in place initiatives to promote Māori student achievement and that student progress was well monitored. At the time of this review 9% of the roll identified as Māori.

Areas of progress

The school has a well-developed action plan to raise the achievement of Māori students. All Māori students are monitored for reading and numeracy and interventions are put in place as needed.

Teachers have received professional development on how to raise the achievement of Māori students and have been surveyed about their confidence and knowledge of te reo and tikanga Māori. All teachers have resources to assist with curriculum planning, identification of Māori students and the pronunciation and use of te reo Māori. Teachers are making efforts to use te reo Māori in class.

A kapa haka group is well established and involves both Māori and non-Māori students. This group performs in the school and the community.

Areas for further improvement

Attempts by the school to develop closer connections and undertake consultation with whānau and iwi have had limited success. The board and principal recognise the need to find more effective ways to strengthen this contact.

The achievement of some Māori students, especially boys, in literacy and numeracy is below expectations. The action plan is designed to address poor achievement by improving teaching and learning.

At present, there are few visual indicators of New Zealand’s bicultural heritage around the school. The board and principal are in discussion with local iwi to ensure that appropriate steps are taken to rectify this.

Recommendation

ERO recommends that the board explores further ways of consulting with the parents of Māori students so that it can respond fully to their aspirations and goals for their children and evaluate the impact of its strategies.

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

· Use of assessment information. Teachers have comprehensive records of students’ developing skills in reading and writing. They analyse the data to identify groups of students at risk of not achieving the benchmarks, and monitor the progress of these groups, and other groups of students, including Maori students. The teachers also identified, from the tests after one year at school in 2008, that students’ reading vocabulary needed to be extended and made this a particular focus of their teaching in 2009.

· Consistent teaching approaches. Students experience well planned, assessed and evaluated literacy programmes in all classrooms. They know what skills they are learning and are able to monitor their own progress towards their learning goals. The same indicators of success are used in all rooms so that students experience consistent, sequential learning as they move through the junior school. Examples of students’ writing are displayed along with the learning goal being achieved.

· Raising achievement expectations. The teachers have raised their expectations of students’ reading and writing in the first two years at school as a result of professional development and advice. They are familiar with current literacy resources and are using their professional reading to improve teaching programmes. Students benefit from the expertise of the teachers, including several with specific training in reading recovery. Some of these teachers contribute to literacy leadership across the school.

· Learning partnerships with parents. Parents receive encouragement and guidance to help them support their child’s literacy learning at home. During the ERO review, parents were invited to parent education workshops at the school about how children learn to read. They had the choice of day and evening sessions and a crèche was provided. This was part of a regular programme of parent education. Students’ transition to school has been supported by a number of effective strategies. They now have more opportunities to visit the class before they start. A notebook gives parents guidance on how they can help their child’s learning at home, including a top ten list of tasks that children new to school should be able to achieve. These practices are strengthening the partnership with parents and helping children to make a successful transition to school.

Implementing the New Zealand Curriculum in 2010

Progress to date

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

· been involved in ongoing professional discussions about implementing the NZC;

· used the assistance of external advisers and facilitators;

· reflected on the school vision and values with input from board, staff, students and parents;

· developed HEART awards to reinforce and promote values;

· used ALEC as an approach to support teaching and learning;

· focused on key competencies and how to incorporate them into curriculum planning and delivery;

· developed templates to record curriculum coverage in learning areas;

· considered curriculum principles and started to find ways to incorporate them into programmes; and

· provided students with the opportunity to learn an additional language.

Next steps

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

· reword the school vision, making sure that the school community is consulted and has a good level of understanding;

· review the way values are stated in the HEARTs and how they are promoted in the school;

· continue professional development for teachers with a focus on teaching practice;

· evaluate how well key competencies are included in planning and decide how they will be monitored, measured and reported;

· review curriculum statements and assessment processes; and

· improve the application of the curriculum principles to teaching and learning.

5. Board Assurance on Compliance Areas

Overview

Before the review, the board of trustees and principal of Bluestone 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

ERO’s investigations did not identify any areas of concern.

Board self review. The board uses effective processes for evaluating its own performance. It has reviewed its compliance with legislative requirements and meeting procedures. Trustees follow a consistent process for reviewing policies. They use internal and external personnel to review the board’s performance. Review processes include questionnaires and surveys of trustees, parents, staff and students. The board has developed useful guidelines for reports to the board that make it clear that the purpose of reviewing policies, plans and programmes is to bring about ongoing improvements. To achieve this goal, reports must include analysis of results and recommendations for the board. The links between review information and annual planning are clear.

6. Recommendations

ERO and the board of trustees have developed the following recommendations to further improve student achievement. That:

6.1 the board and senior managers gather and analyse school-wide data to identify and track trends and patterns over time so that the board can evaluate the quality of education students receive and make informed decisions about allocating resources; and

6.2 the principal and teachers continue to improve curriculum delivery, assessment and evaluation across the school curriculum, including integrated studies, the inquiry process and technology, so that important aspects of students’ learning are taught and monitored in a coherent, sequential way.

7. Future Action

ERO is confident that the board of trustees can govern 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 four to five years.

Dr Graham Stoop
Chief Review Officer

12 August 2009

To the Parents and Community of Bluestone School

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

Future Action

ERO is confident that the board of trustees can govern 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 four to five 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.

Dr Graham Stoop
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.