Who we are?
Our school, located in the main service town on the Hauraki Plains is a full primary (Years 0-8), English medium school currently funded as a Decile 6 school. Our current roll is 299 students including 50 students who identify as Maori, 7 Pasifika and 5 Asian. As a school we have strived to raise levels of engagement and achievement, primarily through our 1 - 1 digital learning programme (BYOD) which was introduced in 2012, initially to Year 7 & 8, then expanded to include Years 4 - 6. This was the first of its kind on the Hauraki Plains.
What is the impact?
The consistent decile ranking of 6 has impacted on our school in a variety of ways. Staff and BoT use school-wide entry data, assessment data and current research available to help identify trends within the school and how best these can be resourced. The impact of lower socioeconomic status on educational achievement is well documented (APA, 2016; UNICEF, 2016; Snook & O’Neill, 2014; Thrupp, 2014) where what the child ‘brings to school’ is heavily influenced by their health, home environment, resources available and parent stress. Partly due to our Decile ranking of 6 and our minor urban area we have limited access to MoE schemes or initiatives that would support our student's educational achievement (E.g Fruit in schools), targeted funding for professional development and other support programmes in the school such as Sanitarium Breakfast Club and Eat my Lunch. The school’s BoT identifies this as a priority within the school and funds ongoing professional learning programmes for staff, additional learning support in-class and discretionary funds for those who need support. There is a strong focus on building a school culture and learning environment that is both responsive and inclusive. As part of the ongoing professional development, the school is enthusiastic about investigating further, the work of Nathan Mikaere-Wallace.
NPS School Culture
The first impressions of a school can heavily influence any prospective parents/whanau choice in where they choose to enrol their children. This is known as the school culture - not only the values and beliefs of that school but how they act and react in different situations. Stoll (1998) refers to culture as “situationally unique” and what may work in one school may not necessarily work well in another school. The school needs to be clear in its reason for being, what sets it apart and where it is heading.
Ngatea Primary School (NPS) is very aware and mindful of the impact culture has. We constantly revisit what it is to be part of NPS; our values and goals, how we can achieve more (professional development, student outcomes, engagement with our community and beyond), support to take risks, the why and where to next. All of which are included in what Stoll and Fink (cited in Stoll, 1998) identify as cultural norms that influence school improvement.
An area that staff have identified as needing more focus is celebration, at times we are so intent on the next steps that we neglect celebrating what we (teachers and students) have achieved!
All of the above are built on the positive and meaningful relationships we have with each other as teachers, with our students and whanau and the wider community. If these are strained or lacking the result is mixed messages and a feeling of ‘going through the motions’.
References:
Snook, I. & O’Neill, J. (2014). Poverty and inequality of educational achievement. In Carpenter, V., Osborne, S. (Eds.), Twelve thousand hours: Education and poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand (pp. 19-43). Auckland, New Zealand: Dunmore Publishing.
Stoll. (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture
Thupp, M. (2014). Deficit thinking and the politics of blame. In Carpenter, V., Osborne, S. (Eds.), Twelve thousand hours: Education and poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand (pp. 88-101). Auckland, New Zealand: Dunmore Publishing.
UNICEF. (2016). Child poverty in New Zealand. Retrieved from
https://www.unicef.org.nz/learn/our-work-in-new-zealand/Child-Poverty-in-New-Zealand
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