Source: Radio New Zealand
The Education Review Office said there is a need for a stronger, system-wide approach in order to improve struggling schools. Unsplash/ Taylor Flowe
The Education Review Office wants tougher action on struggling schools that do not improve.
In its annual report the office criticised the lack of support for under-performing schools and called for “stronger consequences” for those that did not demonstrate progress.
It told RNZ that could see high-performing schools provide intensive mentoring for the leaders of schools that did not improve.
It said school principals were the key to lasting improvement.
The report said ERO was involved with 168 “schools of concern” and published reports for 54 of them in 2024/25 year, recommending statutory intervention or Education Ministry support for 32.
The report said review office staff had increased their engagement and support for struggling schools but “results are mixed”.
Only one-third of schools receiving support had improved, a third got worse and a third did not change.
“Too many schools are not turning things around fast enough. There is a real need for a stronger, system-wide approach,” the report said.
“In particular, we need to provide better and more sustained support for school leaders, since strong leadership is key to making lasting improvements in schools and helping all learners succeed.”
“ERO’s view is that schools of concern will benefit not only from ongoing support, but also from stronger accountabilities placed on them as part of the education system. Clear expectations, regular and rigorous follow-up, and robust mechanisms should be in place to monitor progress.
“Schools that do not demonstrate the necessary shifts in practice and outcomes should face meaningful and timely consequences.”
The review office told RNZ in a statement that underperforming schools had low regular student attendance, a large proportion of students who were regularly and chronically absent, low student achievement, and a significant number of students leaving school without NCEA qualifications.
“These schools face complex challenges, including around health, safety and wellbeing, leadership and teaching capability – which impacts the ability for the school’s leaders to turn things around and drive the necessary improvements,” it said.
The office said the school system already provided support for struggling schools, but more was needed for their principals.
“As a system, we haven’t invested deeply enough in leadership capability. Investing in leadership development, targeted professional learning for teachers, and robust support systems for learner wellbeing is critical to narrowing the equity gap and ensuring every student achieves and can thrive,” it said.
“We need to wrap around our school leaders better than we have in the past, so they are set up to meet the unique challenges that their school is facing – turning things around, so that every child gets a quality education.”
Asked what “meaningful and timely consequences” should be applied to schools that did not improve, the review office said its approach was educative, not punitive.
“Where traditional intervention has not been able to shift the dial for these schools, we have to think differently. This could be intensive mentoring for school leaders and boards by leaders from high performing schools – sharing their insights, strategies and successes,” it said.
It also said higher-level interventions, like replacing boards with commissioners, needed “more vigour and fidelity”.
“Interventions need to be carefully targeted, better planned in relation to improvement actions signalled in ERO’s reports, tightly monitored with more resources and stronger accountability for everyone involved,” it said.
It’s not the first time the review office has criticised the support provided to struggling schools.
It made similar warnings in its briefing to then-incoming Education Minister Erica Stanford in November 2023 when it said the process for turning around the worst-performing schools was too slow and needed immediate attention.
In its 2022 annual report, the review office said responsibility for improving schools was shared across multiple agencies including ERO and was not a problem teachers and principals should deal with on their own.
Most schools on track to meet government goals
The report said ERO reviewed 745 schools in 2024/25.
It said most schools were not meeting government targets for regular attendance or achievement against new reading, writing and maths curriculums, but most were on track to improve.
But about a third were not doing enough.
It said only 29 percent of schools visited in the 12-month period were yet to see improvement in attendance and 33 percent were not making sufficient progress in reading, writing and maths.
The report said most schools, 92 percent, were offering “sufficient or rich opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum” but academic achievement was a complex challenge.
“While 13 percent of almost all schools are considered high performing in achieving learner success and wellbeing, over one-third of schools (35 percent) are not yet meeting expected standards for learner success and wellbeing.”
The report said a large portion of schools had not yet embedded student wellbeing and engagement practices and their leadership and strategic planning might lack the coherence to drive sustained improvement.
“These figures signal a significant systemic concern. When over one-third of schools are not yet meeting expected standards for learner success and wellbeing, it reflects a widespread vulnerability in the foundational conditions that support learner achievement and equitable outcomes.”
The report said overall the education system was making progress but it needed to be more widespread and urgent.
“High compliance with government directives, such as close to 100 percent of schools implementing “phones away for the day” and 98 percent delivering daily literacy and numeracy instruction, shows that schools are responding to clear expectations for urgent improvement and a stronger system.”
It said 14 of the schools it reviewed were not meeting the requirement for an hour-a-day of reading, writing and maths.
The report said ERO had monitored 517 schools over two years.
It found in that time teaching and learning improved at a quarter of the schools, but declined in 16 percent.
Teachers key to good early childhood education
The report said ERO completed 1260 ECE reviews in 2024/25.
It said the reviews included 567 stand-alone early childhood services and 53 percent of those met or exceeded the quality threshold, up from 36 percent in the previous 12-month period.
Results were less good for governing bodies that oversaw multiple early childhood services.
It said a sample of 14 governing organisations which were responsible for 545 services showed 58 percent were below ERO’s quality threshold and 42 percent were above.
The report said the figures indicated “system-level changes and leadership development are still required”.
The report said trained teachers were important.
“Well trained teachers foster rich learning environments leading to better cognitive social and emotional development. Centres with a strong professional learning culture show a better learning environment for children. This needs to be at the heart of early childhood education. It helps teachers stay current with best practise,” the report said.
“ERO finds high quality services encourage reflective practise and shared learning through professional learning development. Teaching in these services often work as a team around the child taking a collective responsibility for the child’s learning and development.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
