Ero review 2012

Pukekohe Hill School 21/12/2012

From: http://ero.govt.nz/index.php/Early-Childhood-School-Reports/School-Reports/Pukekohe-Hill-School-21-12-2012© ERO 2010Page / 1 9

Pukekohe Hill School Education Review1 Context 2

2 Learning 3

3 Curriculum 5

4 Sustainable Performance 7

About the SchoolLocation Pukekohe, Auckland

Ministry of Education profilenumber

1451

School type Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

School roll 604

Gender composition Boys 56%Girls 44%

Ethnic composition NZ European/PākehāMāoriIndianother EuropeanTonganother Asianother Pacific African

50%22%8%7%4%4%3%2%

Special Features Satellite class from Parkside School

Review team on site November 2012

Date of this report 21 December 2012

Most recent ERO report(s) Education ReviewEducation ReviewEducation Review

June 2009June 2006November 2002

Pukekohe Hill School Education Review Report 21/12/2012


The Purpose of an ERO ReportThe purpose of ERO’s reviews is to give parents and the wider school community assuranceabout the quality of education that schools provide and their children receive. An ERO schoolreport answers the question “How effectively is this school’s curriculum promoting studentlearning - engagement, progress and achievement?” Under that overarching question EROreports on the quality of education and learning outcomes for children and for specific groupsof children including Māori students, Pacific students and students with special needs. EROalso reports on the quality of the school’s systems for sustaining and continuingimprovements.

Disclaimer

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

1 Context

http://ero.govt.nz/index.php/About-ERO/Contact-ERO



1 ContextWhat are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?

Pukekohe Hill School is a large, long-established primary school. It has a strong sense ofhistory and serves a culturally diverse community in Franklin. Many families stay in thecommunity for only short periods. School information shows that just over half of the studentsin Year 6 began their schooling as a new entrant at this school.

The board and senior leaders responded positively to ERO’s previous report, using it as abasis for strategic planning over the past three years. Professional learning that hassupported developments in the school includes:

a focus on leadership and assessment

numeracy and literacy teaching and learning

increasing student awareness of their own learning.

In 2010 the school community revised the school’s vision and mission statements and createda new school logo to better reflect the community and school setting.

Since 2011, the school has been working with a Ministry of Education (MoE) StudentAchievement Function Practitioner (SAF). As a result an action plan to further raise Māori andPacific student achievement has been developed. Another important feature has been theschool’s Involvement with a cluster of Pukekohe/Franklin schools and early childhood centresin the Te Huarahi initiative to strengthen partnerships with Māori whānau and improve theachievement of Māori students.

2 Learning



2 LearningHow well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’engagement, progress and achievement?

The board and senior leaders use achievement information well. Achievement reports indicatethat most students achieve at or above the National Standard in reading, writing andmathematics. Senior leaders analyse data for the whole school, for separate groups andreport this information to the board. It would also be useful to report to the board on trendsand patterns of achievement over students’ time at school, to demonstrate the impact ofteaching and learning practices on outcomes for students.

The board and senior leaders identify and set school-wide targets that focus on acceleratingthe learning of priority students to help them meet the appropriate National Standard. Thesetarget priorities inform the school’s professional learning focus and resource allocation. Seniorleaders monitor and report to the board on achievement progress during the year. It would beuseful for the board if senior leaders made the progress of targeted students more explicit intheir reports.

Senior leaders and teachers make good use of a wide variety of valid, reliable achievementinformation to:

identify students with special abilities and needs, and those at risk of not achieving

inform some in-class ability groupings, support programmes and strategies to accelerateprogress

consider the success of school initiatives

support students to set goals and to understand ways of identifying and monitoring theirown progress and achievement.

Teachers increasingly use plain language in their twice yearly reports to parents. Thesereports are useful for parents to support ongoing learning at home.

Students are confident and collaborative in their interactions with their teachers and eachother. Respectful and supportive relationships are evident throughout the school. There areexamples of tuakana/teina relationships where older or more able students support and arerole models for their peers.

The school’s vision of supporting lifelong learners is evident in the ways that staff promotestudent self management, risk taking, independent thinking and learning, and in the highlevels of student participation in classroom discussions.



The board and teachers have worked to strengthen relationships with and increase theinvolvement of families in school life. They have worked positively with the Ministry ofEducation to respond to suggestions from the Pacific community and have formulated plansto raise the achievement of Pacific students.

The senior leadership team is now developing ways to better evaluate the effectiveness ofinterventions and initiatives introduced to accelerate student achievement.

3 Curriculum



3 CurriculumHow effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?

The school’s curriculum is linked with the board’s strategic direction and promotes andsupports student learning effectively. The school’s curriculum is based on The New Zealand

and strongly reflects local contexts. It places an emphasis on literacy andCurriculumnumeracy teaching and learning. Alongside these areas, teachers deliver the other essentiallearning areas within an integrated approach. Useful guidelines for presenting the schoolcurriculum are well documented and classroom implementation is closely monitored.

Teachers and children use resources well to support learning programmes. Children useinformation and communication technology tools competently. Classroom environments andprogrammes are strongly learning focused and are welcoming and well organized.

Good quality teaching practices are generally consistent throughout the school. The focus ofteachers’ professional learning and development is highly evident and teachers regularlyreflect on their teaching and learning. There are good examples of teachers continuing tostrengthen their evaluation of the effectiveness of programmes in promoting positiveoutcomes for students.

ERO and senior leaders agreed that in order to enhance teacher self review senior leadersshould:

continue to establish expectations and guidelines for evaluation

extend teachers’ understanding about in-depth inquiry into their practice.

How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?

The school is continuing to build on recent positive developments to meet the goals of TeHuarahi. Through this initiative the school has made progress in raising the achievement andattendance of Māori students and involving whānau in their children’s education. Tailoredprofessional development has increased teacher understanding about culturally appropriatepractices for teaching Māori students. Linking the MoE publication: Tātaiako, Cultural

, to performance management systems should enhanceCompetencies for Teachers of Māoripositive outcomes for Māori students.

Teachers focus particularly on supporting Māori students who are not succeeding to theirpotential. Separate information about Māori student progress is shared with the board as partof the regular student achievement report. Information shows that Māori students are makingsteady progress in relation to National Standards over the year.



Whānau support the school’s plan to establish a Māori enrichment class for senior students in2013. Student leadership and identity is supported through a strong kapa haka, schoolambassador programme and Māori concepts are included in classroom programmes. Regularwhānau hui and a whānau survey provide opportunities for consultation. A hauora room hasbeen established where the school is able to engage with the community. Links have beenestablished with the nearby Ngā Hau e Whā marae.

The school is situated in Tainui and senior leaders should now consult with kaumātua aboutestablishing an appropriate kawa for school events.

4 Sustainable Performance



4 Sustainable PerformanceHow well placed is the school to sustain and improve its performance?

The school is well placed to sustain existing good practices and continue to improve itsperformance.

The board is well informed, has pride in the school and is conscientious about its legalobligations. Trustees work collaboratively with senior leaders and are transparent in theirgovernance role. They have established good systems for self review and use achievementdata to inform resourcing decisions, with a focus on improving outcomes for students. Manyteachers and trustees have served the school for long periods of time.

A recent focus on investigating the school’s history has drawn the community more closelyinto the school. Improved communication and relationships with families contribute to theongoing sustainability of the school.

There is good alignment between the board’s strategic plan, self review, school operationsand the curriculum. The board could consider refining policies and procedures to reflect theboard’s awareness of the distinction between governance and management. Senior leadershave developed indicators of achievement and core competencies that support the schoolvision statement. They will use these to critique performance and identify ways to enrichschool practices.

The school has allocated resources to foster improvements for Pacific students and tostrengthen community and whānau relationships. Ongoing professional development with TeHuarahi and with other external providers is likely to support continuing improvement in theschool.

Provision for international studentsThe school is a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International

(the Code) established under . NoStudents section 238F of the Education Act 1989international students were enrolled at the time of the ERO review.

Board assurance on legal requirementsBefore the review, the board of trustees and principal of the school completed the ERO Board

. In these documents they attested that theyAssurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklistshad taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to:

board administration

curriculum



management of health, safety and welfare

personnel management

financial management

asset management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially highimpact on student achievement:

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

physical safety of students

teacher registration

processes for appointing staff

stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions

attendance.

When is ERO likely to review the school again?ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

Makere SmithNational Manager Review ServicesNorthern Region (Acting)

21 December 2012

Ero review 2012

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