Planning and Reporting
Introduction
Strategic and annual planning and reporting, focused by student
achievement, is a requirement for all schools.
The amendments to the Education Act in October 2001 [s60A] changed the way
schools plan and report to their communities and the government. A school's annual charter must
contain long-term and annually updated sections describing the school’s
priorities for improvement. Schools
also report on progress against their targets in the Analysis of Variance section
of their annual report.
The strategic and annual plans are documented in an annually updated
charter. Progress against the plans is
reported to the school community in the Analysis of Variance report, which is
part of the school’s annual report.
Both the charter and annual report documents should be available from the
school.
Further information about planning and reporting requirements can be
accessed on the Ministry of Education website.
Charter
The school’s charter should be prepared in consultation with the
school community. The community should
know about the plans and targets for improving student outcomes. The local Maori community should be
consulted about the plans and targets for improving the achievement of Maori
students [NAG 1 (v)].
Strategic Plan
The strategic plan [NAG 2] establishes the board of trustees’
priorities and objectives for the next three to five years for intended
student outcomes and management of the school’s resources.
Annual Plan
The annual plan should describe the school’s annual achievement
targets relating to intended student outcomes, and use of the school’s
resources for the relevant year. In
the annual report, the board must report to the community on the achievement
of students as a whole group, and of student groups who are at risk of not
achieving [NAG 1(iii)a].
Special Character
In addition, the board should also document objectives related to the
special character of the school. The
charter should include policies and practices that reflect New
Zealand’s cultural diversity, including steps taken to provide
instruction in tikanga Maori (culture) and te reo Maori (language) for
students whose parents ask for it.
The development of the plan and the monitoring of progress against annual
targets is the responsibility of the board of trustees.
NZEI Te Riu Roa supports
- The
practice of schools to prepare and maintain adequate long term and
annual planning
- the
practice of schools to plan, set and monitor targets for their own use
- the school plan being made publicly available.
NZEI Te Riu Roa opposes
- bureaucratic requirements made on schools in a self-managing environment
- the
development of a template that standardizes school responses
- the distorted effect that high-stakes targets can
have on the curriculum.
NZEI Te Riu Roa is concerned that
- The focus
on data collection and exception reporting will compromise teacher
professionalism
- the
requirement for data to be published and reported externally converts
the assessment to summative rather than formative which is in total
contradiction to the culture of primary schooling
- standard
reporting will occur, negating the unique nature of individual schools
- there continues to be the potential for increased
paperwork and bureaucracy.
