1   The Education Review Office (ERO) Evaluation.................................................. 1

2   Marist Primary School (Mt Albert)’s Curriculum.................................................... 1

3   Board Assurance on Legal Requirements............................................................ 1

4   Future Action.........................................................................................................1

About The School........................................................................................................... 1

To the Parents and Community

General Information about Reviews

 

 

Confirmed Education Review Report:
Marist Primary School (Mt Albert)

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

1                   The Education Review Office (ERO) Evaluation

Marist School (Mt Albert) is a well established Catholic school providing students from school entry to Year 6 with a sound education.  The school has a long history of positive ERO reports and is well served by a stable senior management team and an effective board of trustees.  Well developed self-review processes mean that the school is on a path of continuous improvement.  Teaching and learning programmes and practices are underpinned by the school’s Catholic character.  Marist values are reflected in students’ positive and reciprocal relationships with one another and in their increasing awareness of their social responsibilities. 

The 2007 ERO report noted that students were enthusiastic, purposeful, and proud of their school.  These positive attributes continue to be evident.  Students enjoy the wide variety of interesting learning experiences they are offered.  They talk confidently about their learning and participate actively in a relevant and meaningful curriculum.  Students make good progress within each year and as they move through the year levels.  Teachers make very good use of achievement data to design programmes.  School information about students’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics shows that a significant majority of students achieve very well.  Appropriate learning support programmes are in place to help all students to enjoy success. 

Teachers are effective classroom practitioners.  They have benefited from in-depth, school-wide professional learning and development on teaching writing and numeracy skills.  Teachers frequently engage in professional discussion about student progress and achievement and effective teaching practices.  They reflect on and evaluate their practices so that they can continue to respond accurately to students’ learning needs.  They critique each others’ professional practices to ensure that the good teaching practices currently in place are sustained and further improved. 

Senior managers work collaboratively and provide staff with strong professional leadership in curriculum development.  The senior management team has established strong relationships with students, staff, trustees, parents and the community and parish. 

The board of trustees provides the school with sound governance.  The board is focused on students and ensures that they have the resources and facilities they need to achieve in a broad curriculum.  Trustees receive regular information about student achievement and the achievement of different groups of students.  They are well informed about all aspects of the school.  They bring expertise and knowledge to their roles and undertake relevant training.  Good succession planning is likely to ensure that effective governance systems currently in place will continue to operate for the benefit of students. 

Parents are supportive of the school and value opportunities to be involved in school activities, events and classroom programmes.  The school benefits from the generous contributions to school resourcing from an active and supportive Parent Teacher and Friends Association (PTFA).

Trustees agree with the ERO that the next steps for the board and staff are to continue to consider Ka Hikitia, and the Pasifika Education Plan, the Ministry of Education’s strategies to improve the achievement of Maori and Pacific students.  Other agreed priorities are for teachers to continue to focus on developing the school’s own curriculum, and to share assessment data more fully with students to acknowledge their progress and achievement. 

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 be highly effective in using self-review procedures to further promote student learning: engagement, progress and achievement.  ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four to five years.

2                   Marist Primary School (Mt Albert)’s Curriculum

How effectively does the curriculum of Marist Primary School (Mt Albert) promote student learning:  engagement, progress and achievement?

School context and self review

Well developed self-review processes mean that the school is on a path of continuous improvement.  Students are provided with a broad curriculum that is underpinned by the Catholic character of the school.  High priority is placed on the key curriculum areas of numeracy, literacy and religious education. Curriculum contexts are relevant and meaningful for students.

Teachers are effective practitioners.  They have benefited from participation in school-wide professional development on the teaching of writing and numeracy, and document and implement programmes that are well differentiated to meet the needs of individuals and groups of students.  They are increasingly transferring the effective teaching strategies they have learned in reading, writing and numeracy to their teaching in all curriculum areas. They reflect on and evaluate their practices so that they can continue to respond accurately to students’ learning needs. 

Areas of strength

Student engagement.   Students are highly engaged in learning experiences.  They actively participate in the wide variety of interesting and enjoyable learning experiences offered to them.  Students talk confidently about their learning and progress, are motivated to learn, and are positive about the opportunities provided for them.

Leadership.  Senior managers provide teachers with strong professional and educational leadership.  They have a very good overview of student progress and achievement and use this knowledge effectively to make decisions about interventions, support programmes, curriculum development and resourcing.  They ensure that professional learning and development is manageable for teachers and that effective practices for teaching and learning are used in all classrooms. 

Monitoring student progress.  Teachers use reliable, norm-referenced assessment tools to assess students’ skills in reading, writing and mathematics.  Assessment data are regularly collated, analysed and used to guide further improvements in student learning, and in resourcing, and reporting to parents, the board and the school community.  Senior managers use assessment data to track and monitor student achievement over time and to identify trends and patterns in the achievement of specific groups of students. 

Student achievement.  School data show an upward trend in student achievement over the last three years.  Information about student achievement in reading, writing and mathematics shows that a significant majority of students achieve at levels that are at and above national age-related expectations.  On entry to school, students have good levels of early knowledge about literacy and numeracy.  Data analyses show the further gains that students make in learning literacy skills in their first year at school.  Students make good progress within each year and as they move through the year levels.  Senior managers and teachers have appropriate strategies for supporting students who are underachieving. 

Assessment data are analysed separately for Maori and Pacific students and for other specific groups of students.  The numbers of both Maori and Pacific students are small, but school data show that almost all Maori and Pacific students achieve at and above national levels of achievement in reading vocabulary and comprehension.  In mathematics, most Maori and Pacific students in Years 4 to 6 achieve at and above nationally expected levels of achievement. 

Reporting student achievement.  Senior managers have identified, and ERO agrees, that teachers could now review systems for reporting to parents to ensure that they use plain language to report against the national standards.  Senior managers are also keen to explore ways in which teachers can share levels of achievement with their students to enhance their current good knowledge of their own progress, and to help them to identify their next steps in learning. 

Areas for development and review

Further development of The New Zealand Curriculum.   Senior managers and teachers are looking forward to ongoing development work on the New Zealand Curriculum in the context of this school.   

Maori and Pacific student achievement.  Trustees agree with the ERO that the next steps for the board and staff are to continue to consider Ka Hikitia, and the Pasifika Education Plan, the Ministry of Education’s strategies to improve the achievement of Maori and Pacific students.  The challenge is to ensure that Maori and Pacific students continue to achieve well in a culturally responsive context. 

Review provision for gifted and talented students.  Students respond positively to teachers’ high expectations.  Trustees, senior managers and staff could consider how best to identify and provide additional challenge for gifted and talented students. 

3                    Board Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the board of trustees and principal of Marist Primary School (Mt Albert) completed an EROBoard 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.

ERO’s investigations during the course of the review did not identify any areas of concern.

4                   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 be highly effective in using self review procedures to further promote student learning: engagement, progress and achievement.  ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four to five years.

 

 

 

 

Richard Thornton

National Manager Review Services

Northern Region

 

3 May 2010

 

About The School

School type	Contributing Primary (Years 1-6)
Decile[1]	7
School roll	262
Gender composition	Boys 51%, Girls 49%
Ethnic composition	New Zealand European/Pakeha 56%, Maori 9%, Indian 13%, Samoan 7%, Filipino 4%, Chinese 3%, Tongan 3%, other 5%
Review team on site	March 2010
Date of this report	3 May 2010
Previous three ERO reports	Education Review, May 2007 Education Review, February 2004 Accountability Review, February 2000