Pomare School

Education institution number:
2961
School type:
Contributing
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
89
Telephone:
04 939 7421
Address:

Partridge Street, Taita, Lower Hutt

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Pomare School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background 

This Profile Report was written within 18 months of the Education Review Office and ​Pomare School​ working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz 

Context  

Pomare School is situated in Taita at the Northern end of Hutt City. It provides learning opportunities for learners in Years 1-6. Several changes to leadership have occurred during the period of this review. Two Ministry of Education appointed Limited Statutory Managers are currently working with the school. 

​​Pomare School​’s strategic priorities for learners are to: 

  • raise achievement by providing an innovative, curriculum, personalised to the needs and interests of individual learners. 
  • ensure all feel included through promoting learning focused relationships so that all students and whānau feel a true sense of belonging. 
  • foster well-being by providing a responsive culture where all students feel supported, safe, and happy. 

You can obtain a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan from ​Pomare School​’s office. 

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the school is promoting student engagement, wellbeing and achievement for all students.  

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:  

  • an understanding of how a strong engagement in learning opportunities can support student learning and wellbeing and the mana of all students. 
  • a desire to increase communication with, and involvement of whānau in the learning of their tamariki. 
  • a desire to improve student wellbeing and school-wide behaviour management processes to enable increased engagement in learning opportunities all learners. 

The school expects to see an increase in the attendance, desire to learn, and engagement of all students. It also wishes to increase whānau and community engagement to further support student wellbeing and achievement. This should support an improvement in student outcomes. 

Strengths  

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to increase student wellbeing and engagement. 

  • Cultural capital that supports the mana of students and whanau. 

Where to next? 

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:  

  • improving student attendance. 
  • the development of schoolwide behaviour management programmes that support the provision of positive learning environments. 
  • providing classroom programmes that engage students in positive learning opportunities. 

ERO has concerns about 

  • the quality of leadership to bring about the improvements required in school wide safety and wellbeing, behaviour management practices, student attendance and achievement levels, effective assessment practices and reporting processes.    

Recommendation  

ERO recommended that the Secretary for Education consider intervention(s) listed in section 180 of the Education and Training Act 2020 in order to bring about improvements to: 

  • health and safety practices 
  • attendance 
  • positive behaviour for learning 
  • effective teaching practices 
  • monitoring and reporting of progress and achievement 
  • employment processes and practice. 

The Ministry of Education is working alongside the school to bring about improvements to the areas listed above.    

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.  

​​Shelley Booysen​
Director of Schools​ 

​​3 May 2024​   

About the School 

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.  educationcounts.govt.nz/home 

This school has satellite classes from the Kimi Ora Specialist School onsite. 

Pomare School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report ​2024​ to ​2027​

As of ​April 2024​, the ​Pomare School​ Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements: 

Board Administration 

​​No​ 

Curriculum 

​​No​ 

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare 

​​No​ 

Personnel Management 

​​Yes​ 

Finance 

​​Yes​ 

Assets 

​​Yes​  

Actions for Compliance 

​​The board has​ identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process: 

  • Consultation with and reporting to Māori whānau in regard to plans, policies and achievement is insufficient 

     [s127(d)(i)and(ii) Education and Training Act 2020] 

  • The board has not, at least once every 2 years, after consulting the school community, adopted a statement on the delivery of the health curriculum

     [s91 Education and Training Act 2020} 

  • Insufficient procedures, records and reporting in regard to physical restraint reporting and requirements is evident. 

    [s99(2), s100, and s101 Education and Training Act 2020]. 

The board has since ​not yet addressed​ the areas of non-compliance identified. 

Further Information 

For further information please contact ​Pomare School​, School Board. 

The next School Board assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years. 

Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website. 

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools 

​​3 May 2024​ 

About the School  

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home 

Pomare School - 12/04/2019

Findings

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Pomare School performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.

1 Background and Context

What is the background and context for this school’s review?

Pomare School in Taita, Lower Hutt provides education for students from Years 1 to 6. The growing roll of 68 students includes 30 who identify as Māori and 24 of Pacific heritage. The main Pacific nationality represented is Samoan.

In 2018, Pomare School became host to two off-site satellite classrooms from Kimi Ora School.

The 2016 December ERO report identified areas for strengthening practice and recommended that the Ministry of Education (MoE) provide support for the school to bring about improvements in raising student achievement, documenting an agreed Pomare School curriculum, developing internal evaluation processes and capacity building across the school.

Since then a MoE limited statutory manager (LSM) and a MoE senior adviser have provided trustees and leadership with training, support and guidance. The LSM role finished at the school in 2017.

Staffing and board membership has remained stable. Trustees have received training and support from the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA). The principal and teachers continue to participate in MoE professional learning and development (PLD) to strengthen systems, processes and practices to improve literacy provision for learners.

2 Review and Development

How effectively is the school addressing its priorities for review and development?

Priorities identified for review and development

The December ERO 2016 report identified key areas for ongoing development. These were for trustees, the principal, and staff to:

  • prioritise the raising of achievement levels in reading, writing and mathematics

  • develop an explicit school curriculum which includes valued competencies and outcomes for Pomare students and clear expectations for effective teaching practice

  • strengthen the use of appraisal and internal evaluation to inform ongoing improvement

  • build effectiveness of leadership and governance.

Progress

The school has made good progress in addressing the priorities identified for review and development.

There is a deliberate and focused response to learners at risk of underachievement. A range of achievement information is gathered and used effectively by the principal and teachers to identify, track and monitor the progress of these students and to inform teaching and interventions. Staff work collaboratively to share good practice and moderate achievement decisions through evidence-based discussions.

Student achievement data is dependable and shows significant overall improvement, especially in literacy. Pacific students and girls achieve well in reading and writing. An agreed focus for the school is on accelerating achievement in mathematics.

Trustees, the principal and teachers have an increased understanding of the importance of acceleration for those that need it. Effective programmes to address disparity and accelerate achievement are in place. School data shows evidence of groups of children whose progress has been accelerated. However, some disparity remains but is reducing.

Students identified with specific learning needs have tailored individual plans, inclusive of family and whānau. There are effective processes to track and record student’s learning, social development and wellbeing. External support is accessed when appropriate.

Trustees and the principal are committed to building teacher capability. Targeted PLD has supported them to establish a shared understanding of effective practices. Components of the appraisal process have been strengthened. Inquiry has become more responsive to targeting students’ learning needs. A next step is to fully embed the appraisal process by continuing to build effective teaching strategies and promote consistent expectations of good practice through focused feedback and next steps for leaders and teachers.

The principal works productively and collaboratively with external advisers to support her leadership.

The school is making good progress in reviewing and developing a responsive, localised curriculum aligned with The New Zealand Curriculum and the aspirations of the community. A guiding framework, based on the school’s pepeha acknowledging its unique place in the community, has been developed with extensive input from children, staff and whānau. Ongoing development is needed to further shape this document so that it provides clear guidelines and expectations for teacher practice.

Internal evaluation practices are at an early stage of development. A next step is to continue to build on processes to effectively measure the impact of the school’s actions on student outcomes.

The principal and trustees have worked effectively in partnership to better meet their legislative obligations and strengthen systems and processes that promote improved student achievement, wellbeing and safety.

3 Sustainable performance and self review

How well placed is the school to sustain and continue to improve and review its performance?

The school is well placed to sustain and continue to improve its performance.

Key next steps

Key next steps to support ongoing improvement are to:

  • build understanding and use of internal evaluation to ascertain the effectiveness of teaching programmes, initiatives and strategies

  • continue to develop and refine the school’s curriculum so it provides clear guidelines and expectations of teacher practice.

Board assurance on legal requirements

Before the review, the board of trustees and principal of the school completed the ERO Board Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklists. 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
  • asset management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact 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.

In order to improve practice, trustees and the principal should:

  • develop explicit procedures to further guide practice in relation to the Physical Restraint Policy, Child Protection Policy and the Bullying Prevention Policy.

Conclusion

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Pomare School performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.

Alan Wynyard

Director

Review and Improvement Services Southern

Southern Region

12 April 2019

About the School

Location

Lower Hutt

Ministry of Education profile number

2961

School type

Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

School roll

68

Gender composition

Girls 35, Boys 33

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pacific
Pākehā
Other ethnicities

30
24
5
9

Special Features

Satellite site for Kimi Ora School

Review team on site

February 2019

Date of this report

12 April 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review
Education Review
Education Review

December 2016
February 2014
April 2009