Week 9 NEWSLETTER

Learning Conversations - No Curriculum Reporting

As we head into Learning Conversations next week just a reminder that Douglas Park is not yet reporting against the new refreshed curriculum. Longer explanation below…but the short version is:

• We have no guidance from the Ministry…they are promising something next term though. 

• If we reported against the curriculum, it would be a guess, would not be consistent, and would not be comparable across schools.

• The information the Ministry have given us just last term has changed already

• As of last year our assessment and reporting systems were top class…and I want them that good again. 

• As of last year our achievement levels were super high, but we know the new curriculum is much harder and we can expect to see a drop.

• I don’t want to report to whānau, and then have to retract or change what we report. 

Super Long and Nerdy Version

Why aren’t you reporting?

Multiple reasons:

• There continues to be no guidance from the Ministry around how to do this. Anything we attempt to do would just be a guessing game, and that isn’t right. 

  • A great example of this is the Ministry is yet to say how we determine a child is ‘Proficient’. Reading, Writing and Maths are now made up of ‘sequence statements’, and there are roughly 40 to 50 of these for each year level. But how many are needed to be called proficient? All of them? Most of them?…how many is ‘most’? Some schools are using percentages…e.g 80% of the sequence statements equals ‘proficient’...but that means each sequence statement is ‘worth’ the same amount. The two statements below are from Year 6 writing…do you think they are equally as hard as each other? Hmmm…

    • consistently maintain a comfortable writing posture when handwriting and using a keyboard

    • deliberately select and use a range of literary techniques, including imagery, personification, figurative language, alliteration, and idioms, to meet the purpose of the writing and engage the reader

• The language we have been given to use in reporting is likely to change. We were given four categories to place children into…Needs Support, Progressing Towards, Proficient and Exceeding. Some schools have used this language already…however…it is highly likely there is to be a 5th category called Consolidating, sitting in between Progressing Towards and Proficient. We do not have final confirmation of this however. 

• The descriptions for these categories is vague…real vague…if we want consistency in school (and across school) we need more detail

• The Ministry has promised support and guidance in Term 4, including ‘Essential Progress Markers’. These are meant to tell schools how to determine if a child is ‘proficient’. We have not seen what these look like yet though. They will be very helpful though when they are released

• All this means…I do not want to report, and then have to go back to whānau and change language, or change what we ‘labeled’ a child as.

Will this impact my child's progress?

• No!

• None of the above stops your child being taught what they need, at a level that is appropriate for them. We plan and teach from the new curriculum documents…and I know that our teachers have gone deeper with those new curriculum areas than many other schools. 

Are the children doing well academically?

• This is murky…but a couple of points here

• The children have not ‘gone backwards’ at all. The goal posts have been shifted though…and what was considered ‘good’ Year 6 learning last year, is no longer ‘good’

• We know that when we do report, our achievement will not be the same as it has been in the past. No two ways about it…the new curriculum is much, much harder. An easy way to illustrate that is to look at past achievement, then consider what the new documents require.

• This is our PAT Maths results from 2024…standardised testing, done in Term 4. Stunning results…above the national average from Year 3 to Year 6, a short ‘tail’ for each year level, and the kids are being measured against a higher year level (The year 3’s are being measured as if they are Year 4’s for example). It’s amazing stuff…our academic results at this school are great, each of the 3 core areas (Reading, Writing and Maths) were all above 80% last year, and the mid to high 80’s for those kids who start with us as 5 year olds. 

• But…consider the above Maths question. This is from a test called GLoSS that was common for us to use, but we can’t anymore as it doesn’t match the new curriculum. The maths in this problem is what would have been Intermediate School (Year 7/8) level under the old curriculum…however…matching this against the new curriculum, it is more like a Year 4 level. So…in 2024 if a Year 6 child could answer this question they would have been doing very very well…close to 2 years above themselves. This year…that same Year 6, if they can do this they are close to 2 years behind. 

• Put these things together…and even a school like ourselves that does exceptionally well academically is going to see a dramatic drop in reported achievement (the children aren’t going backwards…the goal posts have been shifted for them). 

So what are you doing?

• We plan and teach to the new curriculum

• We still assess children using tests. Not all the tests we could use in the past are still valid, but some are…and we use these to inform our teaching

• We still put supports in place for children that need it, and we extend those children who need it. 

Is it all bad??

• No! In fact, we are seeing some promising things!

• The one tool that we have that does relate to the new curriculum is the 20 and 40 Weeks Phonics Check. This is a Ministry designed test, and is compulsory for schools starting in 2026. DPS though is an early adopter, and have been using it all year. Only 200 or so schools are using it (out of around 2000), and as a result we can see how we stack up nationally inside reports from the Ministry. 

• I’ll put a screenshot below from our Term 2 Ministry report…and it shows that our achievement at 40 Weeks is well above the national mean, nearly double! But even given that…nearly double the national average…it still only places us in the ’Proficient’ bracket based on the score tables below (Nationally the 40 week average falls in the Progressing Towards bracket). 

• That’s pretty heartening stuff given the early stage we are at with the new curriculum…to already be doing well nationally.

Where to next?

• We wait for the guidance from the Ministry

• When this comes, we will need time to understand it, and build our systems around it

Teacher and Support Staff Pay Negotiations

As you’ll be aware the teaching sector is currently in pay negotiations. Our secondary colleagues have already rejected their offer, been on strike, and there are further industrial actions planned for secondary schools next week.

This week the primary teachers have rejected their pay offer from the Public Services Commission, and are currently deciding on industrial action. That action will be decided by the end of the term, and will be communicated to you.  

This is an uneasy position for all of us…we want the very best for our teachers and support staff, so that they can do their very best for the children. However, we are also in the biggest change to education that I have seen in my 20+ years. The scale and pace of change is massive, the pressure we find ourselves under is massive, the media pressure feels relentless (like last week’s ‘failed experiment’ stories)...but we aren’t feeling much support from our Ministry/Public Services Commission. 

I’ll continue to keep you updated as we learn what will happen next. 

RE: Russell Street School Sports Exchange – Tararua Challenge

WHO: Rātā and Kahikatea Year 5/6 pupils
WHAT: Tararua Challenge 2025 – our annual sports exchange with Russell Street School
WHEN: Friday 12 September (Postponement date: Friday 24 October)
WHERE: Russell Street School, Palmerston North
TRAVEL: By bus
COST: Nil

Please see the Hero for further information and to complete the survey. All students need this be completed or they are unable to attend the exchange. 

All Parents/Caregivers of Year 6 Students who wish to enrol their child at Masterton Intermediate School for 2026 need to complete this online before the end of Term 3. Click on the link to submit your child's enrolment online https://enrolments.linc-ed.com/apply/NZ/2909

We are currently experiencing a significant increase in illness among the students in our schools. To help keep everyone safe and well, we kindly ask that you please keep your child at home if they are unwell. Keeping sick children at home helps protect other tamariki, staff and families, and supports quicker recovery for your child. Thank you for your understanding and support in keeping our kura healthy.  

If you have moved house, had a change of phone number, or any other contact details of your child/children have changed, could you please let us know at the school office by calling in to see us, phoning us on (06) 370-0189, or sending an email to office@douglaspark.school.nz   

All school teams and draws will be posted on Hero.