Planning and Reporting


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Introduction

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. The changes sharpen the focus on student achievement. The legislation requires each school to lodge a copy of its annually updated Charter, and a copy of its annual report, with the Ministry each year, by a date chosen by the school.

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)].

A school's annual charter [s61] must contain

  • an introductory section; which sets out aims for school policies, practicies and reflects New Zealand’s cultural diversity
  • a long term strategic planning section; which 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.
  • an annually updated section; 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].

Schools must report on progress against their targets in the Analysis of Variance section of their annual report and is also reported to the school community.

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.

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.

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.