22 June 2010
To the Parents and Community of Karaka School
These are the findings of the Education Review Office's latest report on Karaka School.
Karaka School is a medium-sized, full primary (Years 1 to 8) school
located in Franklin District. The school has a history of favourable ERO
reports and is producing very positive outcomes for children.
Students report that they enjoy learning within the family/whānau like
atmosphere at the school. They confidently participate in a wide variety
of academic and co‑curricular activities. The school's curriculum
continues to foster leadership responsibilities and participation in
education outside the classroom, particularly for senior students. The
inclusive school culture promotes positive relationships between adults
and students.
Student achievement information shows that most students are achieving
at or above national expectations in reading and numeracy. Senior
managers have established good processes for monitoring student progress
over time and this information is reported regularly to the board.
Teachers use a variety of national and school-based assessment tools to
identify students' strengths and areas for support. Separate information
is gathered and reported on the achievement of Māori and Pacific
students. The board and senior managers agree that it would now be
useful to use student achievement information to better identify and
target priority learning areas, and to review and refine annual
achievement goals.
Teachers provide good quality learning programmes in stimulating and
attractive classroom environments. Staff are collaborative and share
high expectations for student achievement. Senior managers report that
they are underway with implementing The New Zealand Curriculum and are
about to undertake professional development in implementing the national
standards. A variety of teaching models are in use school-wide,
reflecting the strengths and preferences of individual teachers. It
would now be useful to establish a school-wide understanding of
effective teaching and learning practices that respond to the needs of
students at Karaka School.
The community are actively engaged in decisions about the priorities for
school direction. The board and the principal regularly survey the
community to establish their aspirations for their children's learning.
Parents continue to assist teachers within classrooms and with outdoor
programmes and activities, including the school's annual agricultural
day.
The newly elected board reflects a mix of new and experienced trustees.
The previous board provided well considered governance, using some good
self-review practices to promote sustainable governance practices.
Trustees valued the information that senior managers provided and used
it to guide decision-making about resourcing for educational programmes.
Future Action
The board of trustees has demonstrated that it is governing the school
in the interest of the students and the Crown. The board, together with
the principal and school leaders, continues to focus on improving
student learning - engagement, progress and achievement. ERO is likely
to carry out the next review within three years.
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 Māori 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.
[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.
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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.
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This report has been prepared in accordance with standard procedures approved by the Chief Review Officer.
