Reporting

At the end of last term, I was at the NZPF conference in Queenstown. There was some media coverage over the last two days of the conference about National Standards. Again it was reiterated that most, if not all schools believe in the notion of standards to measure children against. It is how they have been introduced, the speed that this has happened, and the use of data that is of concern to the NZPF. 

Our Board of Trustees have taken this stance as well; upskilling themselves around the issues through readings and discussions, supporting the staff in attending training and development of reporting practices. 

Ernie Buutveldt, the President of the NZPF, in introducing Anne Tolley said in his speech, “Lifting the achievement of all our students is clearly what schools and their leaders are about and not surprisingly, also a stated aim of government. Just how we use the tools, policies and resourcing in pursuit of this aim is sometimes contentious.

The happy place would be where policy-makers and professional practitioners, those charged with carrying out policy, are engaged in discussion so that good policy is informed by good practice, which in turn, enhances better practice toward achieving the shared aim.”

I know that we have great support from the Wairakei School community about how we report progress and achievement. The comments received about the written documentation and the information shared in Student Led conferences has been very positive. We will continue to refine what we do, but please remember that you are always welcome to talk to your child’s teacher about progress and achievement. Your child’s work in the classroom is one of the best ways to see evidence of progress and achievement, so make some time during the term to see this.