Letter to board chairs and principals (7 May 2004)

7 May 2004

Dear principal/board chairperson

This letter responds to some concerns raised regarding the ongoing implementation of School Planning and Reporting. I would also like to take the opportunity to reflect on the first year of planning and reporting and answer some common questions about the policy intention.

I would like to thank the schools that submitted their plans and reports voluntarily in 2003.

Over 900 schools sent copies of their charters to the Ministry last year. The vast majority of those show that schools understand the policy intention of evidence-based self-review and a focus on outcomes to inform future planning. Ministry regional staff indicate that the engagement with those 900 schools has been viewed as positive by both parties with good two way feedback taking place.

This year, a copy of your annual report and updated charter is required to be sent to the Ministry of Education. This is a legal responsibility for boards. The annual report is due on 31 May. To date, 634 charters for 2004 have already been copied to the Ministry. This represents 25% of all schools.

I continue to hear fears being expressed about a bureaucratic process being put in place.

I have said categorically before, and I repeat it again: I have no intention of putting in place a bureaucratic process of setting targets and reporting variance for purposes external to the school and its community. Quality charters and reports should be the products of an inclusive process led by the board and principal that clearly communicates schools' planning and progress to communities. Given a commitment to continuous improvement, reporting to your community on progress against self-defined targets is also about celebrating success and making adjustments to future plans based on experience.

Schools strongly state their commitment to improving teaching and learning, and to their accountability to their local communities. I agree with those that say that for changes in classroom and school practice to lead to improved student outcomes these need to be based on quality information, understood by boards, actively implemented by teachers, seen as meaningful by students, and supported by parents and communities.

Some schools have asked why they must supply copies of charters and reports to the Ministry of Education. This is a requirement of the legislation. The government is seeking assurance that publicly funded schools are undertaking improvement focussed self-review and reporting on their core activities. The Ministry's role is to receive plans and confirm that a school has met the intentions of the legislation, as provided in section 61 of the Education Act. A copy of sections 61-63 of the Act, relating to planning and reporting, is attached, and is available on the Ministry's website. Only in the few cases where a school has not met the requirements of the legislation will we formally take up any concerns with the school.

Where schools initiate discussion with us, as for the many schools who voluntarily shared their 2003 charters, we will of course be happy to engage with them. But we will not be doing so in any way that takes responsibility away from boards.

Our engagement in 2003 with those schools that submitted plans gave us a richer picture and understanding of the areas where schools were setting priorities and the different challenges being faced by schools. Clearly over time the richer picture that will be provided will contribute to the development of better policy, more informed dialogue between schools, the profession and the Ministry, and improved support for more effective teaching and learning in schools.

While I would expect planning and reporting to inform dialogue between schools and the Ministry, the primary focus of such dialogue must be on raising student achievement and how this can be better supported, and not on the planning and reporting itself.

Because each school has autonomy to set its own goals we will not be making comparisons between schools concerning target setting or progress against self-defined targets. Nor will we be "checking" or "approving" plans or the data that lies behind them. Because schools should identify priorities that meet the needs of their students through evidence-based self-review, the objectives and measurable targets are specific to each school and not comparable.

Some schools have indicated that the concept of target setting is still an issue for them. Targets are simply a tool to focus a school's efforts. Making them evidence-based gives schools a basis on which to judge whether their objectives are being met, and a basis for refining school strategies. Boards, with their senior management, choose their own targets and measures, which should provide challenge and indicate progress for the school in terms of improving outcomes for students.

It has been suggested that the Ministry's work in receiving school's plans and reports could compromise the role of the Education Review Office. The Chief Review Officer considers school planning and reporting to be a vital tool for improving student outcomes. The requirement for more formal and robust planning and reporting will be in students' best interests where schools use the process as an opportunity to strengthen and improve learning. In its regular education reviews ERO considers the impact on student achievement of each school's planning, evaluation and reporting. ERO will evaluate how each school responds to community aspirations and expectations, how relevant and challenging the response is, and how effectively it meets students' learning needs.

As I said above, the Ministry's role is primarily to receive reports and charters and assess their `fit' with the legislation, not to make a qualitative judgement about detail. Where schools want to initiate discussion with us about their plans we will be happy to do so. Beyond this I would expect schools planning and reporting to inform the dialogue we have with schools.

The Ministry coordinates a range of support and assistance for boards and schools. It also has access to a range of information, policies, evaluations and research that can inform a school's planning. I want to ensure that information and support is available for schools that request it

Detailed information about schools planning and reporting is contained in the Planning for Better Student Outcomes newsletters distributed to schools in 2003. These and other planning and reporting resources are available online at www.minedu.govt.nz/goto/spr. If you have any questions please contact your local Ministry of Education office.

I look forward to providing further information to you later in the year on how schools are using planning and reporting to further focus their efforts to improve outcomes for students.

Education Act sections 61 - 63 - requirements relating to school charters

61

School charter

1. Every Board must, for each school it administers, prepare and maintain a school charter.
2. The purpose of a school charter is to establish the mission, aims, objectives, directions, and targets of the Board that will give effect to the Government's national education guidelines and the Board's priorities.
3. A school charter must contain the following sections:
1. a section that includes -
1. the aim of developing, for the school, policies and practices that reflect New Zealand's cultural diversity and the unique position of the Mäori culture; and
2. the aim of ensuring that all reasonable steps are taken to provide instruction in tikanga Mäori (Mäori culture) and te reo Mäori (the Mäori language) for full-time students whose parents ask for it;
2. a long-term strategic planning section that -
1. establishes the Board's aims and purposes; and
2. establishes for the next 3 to 5 years the Board's aims, objectives, directions, and priorities for intended student outcomes, the school's performance, and use of resources; and
3. includes any aims or objectives that designate the school's special characteristics or its special character (within the meaning of this Act):
3. an annually updated section that -
1. establishes for the relevant year the Board's aims, directions, objectives, priorities, and targets relating to intended student outcomes, the school's performance, and use of resources; and
2. sets targets for the key activities and achievement of objectives for the year.
4. A school charter must include the Board's aims, objectives, directions, priorities, and targets in the following categories:
1. student achievement:
2. the Board's activities aimed at meeting both general government policy objectives for all schools, being policy objectives set out or referred to in national education guidelines, and specific policy objectives applying to that school:
3. the management of the school's and Board's capability, resources, assets, and liabilities, including its human resources, finances, property, and other ownership matters:
4. other matters of interest to the public that the Minister may determine.
5. A school charter must---
1. contain all annual or long-term plans the Board is required to have or has prepared for its own purposes; or
2. contain a summary of each plan or a reference to it

62

Procedural requirements of preparing or updating school charter

1. The Board must provide the Secretary with a copy of its first school charter and every updated school charter.
2. A school charter must be prepared and updated in accordance with national administration guidelines.

63

Effect of school charter

A school charter has effect as an undertaking by the Board to the Minister to take all reasonable steps (not inconsistent with any enactment, or the general law of New Zealand) to ensure that -

1. the school is managed, organised, conducted, and administered for the purposes set out or deemed to be contained in the school charter; and
2. the school, and its students and community, achieve the aims and objectives set out in the school charter.

63A

When school charter or updated charter takes effect

1. When the Secretary receives a school charter or updated school charter, the Secretary must consider whether the charter has been developed or updated in accordance with the requirements of this Act and the national administration guidelines
2. Unless it takes effect on a different date under subsection (5), a new or updated school charter takes effect on the 25th working day after the date that the Secretary receives it.
3. If, before the first or updated school charter takes effect, the Secretary determines that it was not developed or updated in accordance with the Act or is inconsistent with the Act or the national administration guidelines, the Secretary must notify the Board of the matters in the school charter to be resolved.
4. The Secretary must then negotiate with the Board to resolve the matters concerned and, if the Board and the Secretary are unable to reach agreement about the content of the school charter or updated school charter, the Secretary may require the Board to amend the charter or updated charter.
5. If the Secretary issues a notice under subsection (3), the school charter or updated charter takes effect-
1. on the date agreed by the Secretary and the Board; or
2. on the date the Secretary determines to be the commencement date for his or her amendments.