ERO

Rather than a physical visit for Year 2020, ERO conducted distance interviews with Mr Timoteo and Mr Wearmouth around the school actions leading up to and through the Covid Lockdown, their feedback to the schools is below. 

Tēnā kōrua Mr Timoteo and Mr Wearmouth

Thank you for the conversations. We enjoyed talking with you. We have learned a great deal from what you have shared and appreciate this is an evolving space. We are looking forward to seeing how your new and emerging approaches are progressing in the current climate.

As promised, we are sharing with you the key points from the discussion. We are not looking for more detail at this point, simply to share the bigger picture ideas from what you have told us. If there is anything significant that we have left out, please let us know.

As leaders you shared your main successes were around communication, strategic planning, curriculum design and future opportunities.

Communication:

• maintaining regular communication across the school community in a collaborative and transparent way in order to convey timely and consistent messages
• a strong focus on the wellbeing and dignity of staff, students and families.

Strategic planning:

• deliberate planning that enabled school leaders and the board to implement expedient and appropriate practices to support staff, students and families before, during and after the COVID-19 lock-down
• Michael Quinn Patton’s notion of ‘Think globally, act locally’ is reflected in the school’s use of research, professional readings and experiences that has influenced the school’s future direction.

Curriculum design:

• providing learning programmes with a project-based approach that are underpinned by the school values and charism 
• reviewing the curriculum to address new ways of learning from the COVID-19 experience including managing the implementation and delivery of Distance Learning
• carefully considered transition approaches back into school for all groups of students.

Future opportunities:

• school leaders express a vision for the school in growing leaders for tomorrow.  The school aspires to instil hope for the future in all students.

As leaders you identified challenges around families encouraging students to return to school. This resulted in some students not being fully engaged in their learning. One way of addressing these challenges was continuing with on-line distance learning programmes.

You intend to build on the successes you had by further consulting the community around project-based learning approaches and promoting future leaders that could contribute positively to the community.

If you would like to share any documentation with us, we will happily receive it. It is not required for this part of the evaluation. ERO always appreciates what schools can share that might help us give other schools concrete examples of what schools have done.

Many thanks for your consideration and time.

We look forward to talking with you again at a later date and wish you, your staff, students and whānau all the very best.

Ngā mihi nui ki a kōrua,

Carleen Blucher and Maria Huni