Staff Survey - B.O.T. - Oratia District School

1.Trevor Bond, our school vision and Inquiry Based Learning. During 2008 and 2009 we worked with Trevor Bond, educational consultant. In 2008 we worked to develop our school’s vision and this year (2009) to begin developing an understanding of Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) and how to use this as a strategy for meaningful learning and teaching. By way of feedback for management and for Trevor Bond:

a.In your view, was Trevor successful in engaging us all in the work? Please explain. *

b.Was he able to help us develop a vision for our school that we all felt most comfortable with? Comment please.

c.Trevor led some meetings focussed on IBL. Do you have a better understanding of IBL and the Sauce Model as a result? Comment please. *

d.After the IBL meetings with Trevor, were you confident to experiment with the model he presented to us? Please comment. *

e.As we take our first steps at using IBL as a strategy for learning and teaching, how important is the school library? Please comment. *

f.We are considering a number of options for our professional learning around IBL for 2010. Which of the following do you prefer? *

i. Establish IBL leaders within our school who will visit some IBL lead schools to see best practice, share that with staff and develop our own model.
ii. Find a different facilitator to work with staff and learn about a different model of IBL.
iii. Continue to work with Trevor Bond, and mould the Sauce Model so that it best meets our needs.
iv. Enrol with Auckland University and have the whole staff do the papers for InfoLink.

2.Numeracy and Literacy. During 2009 we continued to monitor the progress of our students in the area of Literacy and Numeracy.

a.Do you think the monitoring of achievement in these two curriculum areas has impacted on the outcomes for students at our school? Please comment. *

b.In your learning team, how have teachers supported each other to raise student achievement? *

At Oratia District School we make extensive use of the exemplars for written language. This month (October 2009) the MoE published the Numeracy and Literacy Achievement Standards. All schools are expected to report children’s progress against these standards by 2012.

c.Have you seen and read the two documents containing the Achievement Standards? *

Yes
No

d.In your view, what support do you anticipate you will need to achieve the expected standards? *

3.Performance Appraisal. During 2009 we further refined out appraisal process by inviting all teachers to consider being appraisers. •We provided professional support through Tony Burkin to support those teachers who wanted to be appraisers. •We made release available for appraisal by employing part time staff. •We asked appraisers to visit appraisees in class for several short visits throughout terms 2 and 3 before the final full lesson observation. •We encouraged staff to use video as a tool for critical self reflection.

a.In what way has the appraisal process supported you to reflect critically on your practice?

b.Have you noticed a difference in the feedback that was given to you after a visit by your appraiser? Please comment. *

c.In your view, how can we refine our appraisal process further so that it has meaning for you as a professional? *

4.Reporting. During 2009 we changed our school reports. Reports which went home to parents about their child’s achievement contained specific data about reading, numeracy and written language levels.

a.In what way were you able to contribute to the discussions about the content of the new school reports? *

b.In your view, how could we best support parents to understand the achievement levels noted in their child’s school report? *

5.Parent conferencing. This year, we scheduled our parent conferencing to take place on one day. This allowed us to extend conferencing time from 10 to 20 minutes.

a.What benefits were there in extending the conference time for each child on that day? *

b.Were there any problems? *

c.Now that we have experience of having conferencing over two afternoons/evenings and doing it all on one full day, which do you prefer? Please comment. *

6.School events. During this year we had a Country Fair, Community Fortnight, Maori Fortnight and the Science and Technology Fair.

a.How have these events contributed to providing students opportunities for varied and diverse learning experiences? *

b.Was the support provided for teachers prior to Maori Fortnight adequate to prepare them to have a focus on Maori art and incorporating te Reo in class? *

c.In what way did the on-going, on site professional support provided by a science lead teacher, make it possible for teachers to have a better understanding of the teaching of science and technology? *

7.During 2009 we introduced the Values Project (VP). The process of introduction was deliberately paced slowly to minimise workload stress for staff. During 2010 we will be continuing to embed the Values Project.

a.What support do you require to implement the Values Project? *

8.Please rate the following on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 = very poor; 5 = excellent)

a.Provision of teaching resources. *

1 Very Poor
2 Poor
3 Good, but can be better
4 Very good
5 Excellent

b.Provision of ICT equipment. *

1 Very Poor
2 Poor
3 Good, but can be better
4 Very good
5 Excellent

c.Maintenance of audiovisual and ICT equipment. *