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Education Review Office
TE TARI AROTAKE MATAURANGA
Confirmed
Education Review
Report
Clevedon School
June 2010
Location: Clevedon, Manukau City
Ministry of Education profile number: 1249
Disclaimer
Individual ERO school and early childhood services 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.
Table of Contents
1 The Education Review Office (ERO) Evaluation 1
2 Clevedon School's Curriculum 2
3 Agreed priorities 4
4 Board Assurance on Legal Requirements 4
5 Future Action 5
About The School 6
To the Parents and Community
General Information about Reviews
EDUCATION REVIEW OFFICE
TE TARI AROTAKE MATAURANGA
Confirmed Education Review Report:
Clevedon School
This report has been prepared in accordance with standard procedures approved by the Chief Review Officer.
1. The Education Review Office (ERO) Evaluation
Students at Clevedon School, situated in the south-east rural hinterland of Auckland, enjoy school and are willing learners. In classrooms they readily participate in lessons and show capability to manage their own learning. Their learning opportunities are enhanced by the attractive, well resourced school environment.
The school charter sets out school aspirations to provide a curriculum that develops students as 21St century learners through innovative approaches. This curriculum intent aligns well with the vision, values and principles of The New Zealand Curriculum. It has a clear focus on developing the learning capabilities of students. However, the teaching practices used in most classrooms do not support these aspirations or cater sufficiently for the learning potential of many students.
While the reasons for the mismatch between curriculum intent and current practices are complex, the trustees, school managers and ERO agree that the principal and staff need to work collaboratively to lift the overall quality of teaching. This includes ensuring that current professional learning plans incorporate teacher development needs identified through internal appraisal processes and external reviews.
The school makes strong efforts to be a vital part of the Clevedon community and celebrates its place in the rich history of the area. However, a considerable amount of the board of trustees', and school managers' recent focus has been on dealing with complaints from some members of the community. The Secretary of Education has recognised that current situation is unsatisfactory, and has provided an intervention under Part 7 A of the Education Act 1989 to assist the board to strengthen community confidence in the school.
In this review ERO discussed with the board and school managers opportunities for the school to consult with the community to review curriculum priorities. Other areas discussed included the need to work collaboratively with the teaching staff to implement improvements to teaching and learning aligned to these priorities. The principal has a pivotal leadership role to fulfil in fostering a cooperative, productive staff environment within the school and in supporting the board to lift community confidence.
Future Action
ERO intends to carry out another review within one year.
2 Clevedon School’s Curriculum
How effectively does the curriculum of Clevedon School promote student learning - engagement, progress and achievement?
School context
The charter sets out school aspirations to provide a curriculum that develops students as 21st century learners through an approach that incorporates the teaching of thinking skills within an integrated curriculum model. School leaders enthusiastically promote the school curriculum model, and provide professional learning opportunities for themselves and teaching staff to develop the school teaching and learning environment.
A considerable amount of the board of trustees' and school managers' recent focus has been on dealing with complaints from members of the community. Shortly before this ERO review the board requested support from the Ministry of Education (MoE). In response to this request the Secretary of Education approved an intervention under Part 7A of the Education Act 1989, in the form of a limited statutory manager (LSM). The LSM is charged with supporting the school to resolve governance, management and community concerns through more open corn m unication processes.
Areas of strength
School curriculum development. The school curriculum intent aligns well with the vision, values and principles of The New Zealand Curriculum. It has a clear focus on developing the learning capabilities of students. While the guiding documents for teachers are currently under review, notable aspects of the curriculum apparent in the school include:
· an explicit focus on key competencies such as thinking skills;
· inclusion of student interest and community oriented learning contexts;
· recognition of New Zealand's bicultural heritage through the teaching of to reo and tikanga Maori;
· provision of second language learning and careers education opportunities for Year 7 and 8 students; and
· developing use of a 'teaching as inquiry' approach supported by the use of nationally referenced assessment tools.
The ongoing self review accompanying the implementation of the school curriculum provides an opportunity to evaluate if the current balance of learning area time allocations, particularly for literacy and numeracy, is sufficient to promote the highest levels of student achievement.
Student-centred teaching. Teaching strategies in some classrooms match with the school's student-centred curriculum. These practices include:
· making the purpose of the lesson clear;
· stimulating students' thinking through questioning and discussion;
· having learning contexts linked to student interests;
· using ICT effectively to support teaching; and
· using assessment information well to form learning groups and to identify teaching priorities.
Further professional development is underway that aims to increase the use of these and other effective teaching strategies in all classrooms.
Student engagement. Students enjoy school and are willing learners. They are polite, responsible and resourceful, and responding keenly to leadership opportunities. In classrooms they are interested learners and show the capability to manage their own learning. Assessment data indicates that many students are capable of high levels of achievement.
School environment. Student learning opportunities are enhanced by the attractive, well resourced school environment. The school celebrates its place in the rich history of the Clevedon area. The cultural contribution of Maori is acknowledged as are the school links to the local iwi, Ngai Tai. The school is well equipped and student learning is promoted through the extensive use of information and communication technologies.
Areas for development and review
Teaching and learning. The good teaching practices observed in some classrooms are not widespread. Overall, classroom activities do not provide learning opportunities that cater for the high potential of the students. While the reasons for the mismatch are complex, ERO and the board discussed opportunities the current situation presented for the board, school leaders and teachers to improve the quality of teaching and learning. These include the opportunity for:
· the newly elected board to build community confidence in the school's capacity to deliver sound education for children, through clear reporting against improvement priorities set in consultation with the community;
· school leaders and teachers to work collaboratively, using school and external review information, to implement a staff development programme that lifts the quality of teaching and increases teachers' capability to make overall judgements on student achievement levels from multiple sources of assessment information;
· the principal and curriculum managers to ensure that teachers receive suitable support and guidance to inform improvement in their teaching and students' learning opportunities; and
· the principal and teaching staff to ensure the board and the community receive ongoing useful information about the impact of teacher professional development, especially on the progress and achievement of students overall and of groups of students, including Maori and Pacific students.
The principal has a pivotal leadership role to fulfil in fostering a cooperative, productive staff environment within the school and in supporting the board to lift community confidence.
3 Agreed Priorities
ERO and the board of trustees agree that the next stages of school development should focus on improving:
3.1 the effectiveness of teacher professional guidance and support to lift the quality of classroom programmes experienced by students;
3.2 collaboration between the board, school leaders and teachers focused on identifying priorities for student learning;
3.3 the effectiveness of self review of school strategic plans to assess areas of progress and areas for further development.
4 Board Assurance on Legal Requirements
Before the review, the board of trustees and principal of Clevedon 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 legal 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.
In the course of review ERO became aware that the current tensions within the school and between school and community do not provide a safe emotional environment for some staff members. In order to improve current practice, the board of trustees, as a good employer, should ensure that procedures and practices are in place to maintain a safe working environment for all employees.
5 Future Action
ERO intends to carry out another review within one year.
Richard Thornton
National Manager Review Services Northern Region
About The School
School type Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)
Decile1 10
School Roll 351
Gender Composition Boys 52%, Girls 48%
Ethnic Composition NZ European/Pakeha 82%, Maori 10%
Pacific 1 %, other European 3%
other ethnicities 4%
Review team on site May 2010
Date of this report 19 June 2010
Previous three ERO reports Education Review, December 2007
Education Review, May 2005
Accountability Review, May 2001
1.School deciles range from one to ten. Decile one schools draw their students from low socio-economic communities and at the other end of the range, decile 10 schools draw their students from high socio-economic communities. Deciles are used to provide funding to state and state integrated schools. The lower the school's decile the more funding it receives. A school's decile is in no way linked to the quality of education it provides.
Education Review Office
TE TARI AROTAKE MATAURANGA
19 June 2010
To the Parents and Community of Clevedon School
These are the findings of the Education Review Office's latest report on Clevedon School.
Students at Clevedon School, situated in the south-east rural hinterland of Auckland, enjoy school and are willing learners. In classrooms they readily participate in lessons and show capability to manage their own learning. Their learning opportunities are enhanced by the attractive, well resourced school environment.
The school charter sets out school aspirations to provide a curriculum that develops students as 21st century learners through innovative approaches. This curriculum intent aligns well with the vision, values and principles of The New Zealand Curriculum. It has a clear focus on developing the learning capabilities of students. However, the teaching practices used in most classrooms do not support these aspirations or cater sufficiently for the learning potential of many students.
While the reasons for the mismatch between curriculum intent and current practices are complex, the trustees, school managers and ERO agree that the principal and staff need to work collaboratively to lift the overall quality of teaching. This includes ensuring that current professional learning plans incorporate teacher development needs identified through internal appraisal processes and external reviews.
The school makes strong efforts to be a vital part of the Clevedon community and celebrates its place in the rich history of the area. However, a considerable amount of the board of trustees', and school managers' recent focus has been on dealing with complaints from some members of the community. The Secretary of Education has recognised that current situation is unsatisfactory, and has provided an intervention under Part 7 A of the Education Act 1989 to assist the board to strengthen community confidence in the school.
In this review ERO discussed with the board and school managers opportunities for the school to consult with the community to review curriculum priorities. Other areas discussed included the need to work collaboratively with the teaching staff to implement improvements to teaching and learning aligned to these priorities. The principal has a pivotal leadership role to fulfil in fostering a cooperative, productive staff environment within the school and in supporting the board to lift community confidence.
Future Action
ERO intends to carry out another review within one year.
Review Coverage
This report provides an evaluation of how effectively the school's curriculum promotes student learning - engagement, progress and achievement. ERO's evaluation takes account of the school's previous reporting history and is based on:
· what is known about student achievement information, including the achievement of Maori and Pacific students;
· decisions made to improve student achievement using assessment and self-review information; and
· teaching strategies and programmes implemented to give effect to the school's curriculum.
ERO also gathers information during the review to contribute to its national reports. The national reports are published on ERO's website.
If you would like a copy of the full report, please contact the school or see the ERO website, www.ero.govt.nz.
Richard Thornton
National Manager Review Services Northern Region
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 integrates the following:
· school curriculum;
· national evaluation topics —contribute to the development of education policies and their effective implementation; and
· Board Assurance Statement, including student and staff health and safety.
ERO's review is responsive to the school's context. When ERO reviews a school, it takes into account the characteristics of the community from which it draws its students, its aspirations for its young people, and other relevant local factors.
ERO also builds on the school's own self-review information. ERO is interested in how a school monitors the progress of its students and aspects of school life and culture, and how it uses this information to improve student learning.
This helps ERO to answer the major evaluation question for reviews:
How effectively does this school's curriculum promote student learning - engagement, progress and achievement?
Areas for Development and Review
ERO reports include areas for development and review to support on-going improvement by identifying priorities. Often the school will have identified these matters through its own self review and already plans further development in those areas.
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