Te Oraka

The roll ERO recorded, and when

ERO writes a roll into each report it publishes: a count taken for that report, on the day shown, by the review team that was there. The Ministry of Education’s current roll for this school is 192 — the figure at the top of this page, and the one to use for how big the school is now. These are a different measurement by a different body, so they will rarely agree, and a difference between them is not a change in the school.

1. September 2019

   151

   Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 12 December 2019

2. March 2017

   175

   Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 24 May 2017

We draw no line between these. Each was counted for its own report, years apart, by a different review team, and a roll moves between reviews for reasons none of these figures record — so the difference between any two of them measures nothing.

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 27 October 2023 — “Shirley Intermediate October 2023” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.

1 Findings

Shirley Intermediate has made significant progress in relation to the priorities identified in this report. Leaders, staff, and the board are aware of the need to sustain momentum for improving the school’s performance for its learners and their community.

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

Shirley Intermediate is situated in Christchurch and has a roll of 173 students, 97 who are New Zealand European/ Pākehā, 48 Māori , 8 Pacific and 20 learners from a range of ethnicities.

The Education Review Office has been working alongside Shirley Intermediate since 2018. ERO’s focus was designed to promote increased improvement for the school in providing better outcomes for students.

Over this period ERO engaged with the school’s leadership team and board to support and bring about necessary changes in the following areas: effective teaching, curriculum development and supporting leadership, staff and board governance. The school had support from the Ministry of Education through the appointment of a Limited Statutory Manager in December 2019. This intervention ended September 2022.

The school has gone through recent building developments with the addition of new facilities. Changes in personnel occurred in 2022 when the deputy principal was appointed as principal, several new staff joined the school and new trustees were elected to the board. Since 2019, the school has steadily addressed the areas identified for improvement.

The school and community acknowledge the importance of education for their children and how this taonga can make a difference to their children’s lives. Ko te manu e kai ana te miro nōnā te ngahere . Ko te manu e kai ana te mātauranga nōnā te ao . The bird that feasts on the miro berry, theirs is the forest. The bird that feasts on knowledge, theirs is the world.

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

Overall, the school has made substantial progress in addressing the priorities identified for improvement, particularly over the last two years. The principal, senior leadership team and staff are enthusiastic about the future direction the school is progressing towards. They are committed to ensuring students are provided with positive learning outcomes within their two years at Shirley Intermediate.

Priorities identified for review and development.

ERO identified four terms of reference to evaluate the progress and performance of the school in relation to supporting and improving student outcomes. These are:

school climate and student wellbeing

learner outcomes - attendance, progress and achievement

teaching effectiveness and curriculum development

effective leadership and stewardship.

School climate and student wellbeing

The school’s climate and student wellbeing were a concern five years ago, with a high number of behaviour issues occurring at that time. Teaching practices and strategies were not effective in supporting learning and engagement. These areas have significantly improved, most noticeably since 2022.

The school has a positive tone and culture. A new leadership team, new staff, and a clearly articulated forward direction for all in the school have helped create a culture that is calm and conducive for learning. Student wellbeing, provided from within the school and through external agencies, is benefitting from clarity of expectations, the setting of high standards, and numerous support processes.

Teaching is focused on the quality of learning provided for students, resulting in increased engagement and learning. A more vibrant and positive tone is evident in classes. Through participating in the Kahui Ako Community of Learning wellbeing surveys, the school has been able to analyse aspects which apply to Shirley Intermediate school to inform its decision making.

New systems support staff in building their capacity and manage their responsibilities more effectively. Team building, localising curriculum design and engaging the community have impacted positively on the school. Interactions with the Shirley Village Project in relation to the attendance strategy have strengthened these initiatives. The access to counsellors and youth workers who provide targeted support for students in better managing their own behaviours and emotions is enabling more cohesive learning to occur.

There is now a sense of ownership, belonging and pride across those who have contact with the school from students to staff, board members, parents, and community. New buildings have significantly improved the physical and learning environments. However, playground areas have not yet been repaired following the new build and older school buildings require ongoing health and safety management.

Learner outcomes - attendance, progress and achievement

The school reports that the majority of students enter the school at Year 7 are below or well below their curriculum levels in most subjects. It is an ongoing challenge to raise students’ achievement outcomes during their two years at the school.

The Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT) along with the Learning Progression Framework (LPF) introduced through targeted professional development focused on moderation, has improved teachers’ validation of assessment. The reset and recalibration of PaCT at the beginning of 2023 is helping embed these improvements.

Attendance from 2020 through to 2022 was interrupted significantly due to the impact of COVID-19. Staff were also affected causing major disruptions for students and parents. School leaders have good monitoring systems in place to identify attendance issues requiring a targeted approach. While 2020 data showed that attendance had declined significantly, the 2022 analysis showed better attendance in Term 4 than the previous year. Lifting attendance remains an ongoing priority.

Teacher effectiveness and curriculum development

Students are being encouraged to engage in their learning through teachers’ redesign of the localised curriculum, their recognition of student learning needs, parental aspirations and improved teaching strategies. An effective, consistent schoolwide approach to planning and resourcing is being embedded.

Curriculum design is becoming more culturally responsive through teachers’ active exploration and acknowledgement of cultural narratives and histories. Deliberate acts of teaching scaffold and develop students’ awareness of their learning and includes their voice in this process, engaging the learner, mitigating barriers and developing pathways for students to succeed.

Targeted professional development around key school priorities including the alignment of teachers’ professional growth cycles with the charter, strategic plans and their teaching practice have all lifted an expectation by the principal for accountability.

The redevelopment of learning support systems continue to be a priority. Many students come to Shirley Intermediate with issues that impact on learning. The school works well with external agencies to support students in liaison. Learning support is an area of school strength and of benefit to students engaged in its programmes.

Effective leadership and governance

The current senior leadership team has been together for less than a year. The team has worked cohesively to bring about the changes and expectations they have for the school. They have a strength-based united approach to support students achieve better outcomes through addressing teaching practices, curriculum development and design, student underachievement and professional development. The principal and leadership team are clear about their priorities and how they will further address these over the next year. The building of a reflective culture and internal evaluative processes have significantly improved the culture of professionalism across the school.

Since September 2022 when the Limited Statutory Manager was removed, the board has continued to develop its capacity and capability to govern and manage the school. Improvement in reporting across all curriculum areas by the leadership team has occurred and enables the board to have robust discussions about school matters. Three of the current trustees are parent representatives. Historically the school has not had parent representatives. Board members have been involved in relevant professional learning and have attended conferences to support their governance responsibilities. They have reviewed the restraint processes and policy and have had support from the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) over the last few years.

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

Shirley Intermediate has made considerable progress over the past five years.

The leadership team led by its principal has set the groundwork with high expectations for staff to pursue the best for students within their two years at the school. A settled staff with a clear sense of direction and continued professional learning and development has set the school on a forward pathway.

The board has established goals for improved governance. Trustees are focused on understanding how internal evaluative processes can raise their knowledge of student improvement.

Key Next Steps

The leadership team will need to:

continue improving students’ confidence, capability and capacity to ask questions, debate, explore and lead their learning

support teachers better facilitate these skills in an environment that enhances and informs students’ ability to navigate their learning more successfully

develop teacher capacity in assessment moderation to sustain and support valid assessment outcomes

embed the new curriculum design and expectations for effective teaching across the school

evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives and strategies, including teachers’ internal evaluative capacity.

The board should seek further professional development focused on strengthening and sustaining stewardships practices. This includes improving regular monitoring of annual improvement targets and using internal evaluation processes to judge the board's impact on lifting valued learner outcomes.

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

school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014.

Conclusion

On the basis of these findings Shirley Intermediate will transition to Te Ara Huarau : ERO’s approach for school evaluation for improvement.

Shelley Booysen Director of Schools

27 October 2023

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →