There will be a Board of Trustees Meeting in the staffroom 7.00pm 25 October 2023
August and September 2020 Board of Trustees meetings
Our recent Board of Trustees meetings have been less focused on COVID-19 issues and have returned to business-as-usual discussions around finances, student achievement and property issues.
Our school community has coped well with continuing Level 2 protocols and levels of anxiety about the pandemic seemed to have reduced. Attendance has improved and our tāngata have being practising good hand hygiene and using the nominated entrances for coming and going to school.
Efforts to manage spending have come under pressure from a high number of reliever teachers due to staff illness. There is also an emerging concern about a lack of clarity about the level of additional funding for implementing the recent pay equity settlement for teacher aides. Initial announcements suggested that all of the increases in costs would be fully funded. It is now less clear if this will be the case. Urgent clarification has been sought from the Ministry of Education with assistance from the New Zealand School Trustees Association. The Board will soon need to set a budget for the 2021 school year. Clarification about the level of additional funding for teacher aides will be crucial for doing that.
The Board has also begun to review its policies and procedures using a schedule in the recently acquired School Documents app. This means we now have access to an up-to-date set of policies and a simple way of ensuring they are reviewed in a timely manner. This is a core governance role for the Board.
Significant progress has also been made on some long-standing property issues. The water leak at the front of our Kura is finally fixed and timeframes for a number of large projects have been agreed. This includes renovations and repairs to the pool, installing visual aids in several places around the school, and some painting and general maintenance work.
Lastly, Dave outlined some early work on investigating if the current Etap system can be developed to provide additional online functions as a parent portal. The Board is supportive of this work as part of developing more online options. If the current work shows that a parent portal is an option, it is likely to be used for school newsletters and notices and provide a way for parents to update their contact details and communicate with the school.
Ngā mihi nui
Craig Press, Chair
Board of Trustees Meeting 20 May 2020 – summary of discussions
Kia ora koutou
It has been really great to get back to school and to move down through level 3 to level 2. Things are starting to feel much more normal and in late May the Board of Trustees was able to hold our first in-person meeting for some time. We focused on pandemic recovery, building and renovation work and finalising our vision statement.
Our final vision statement is: Popoia te kakano kia puawai – Nurture the seed and it will thrive. I think this is very appropriate for our kura. It reflects the way we celebrate the potential of our tamariki. It also reflects how our kura works to provide a positive environment for growth. We provide a safe, nurturing and fertile place for tamariki to grow strong roots and foliage to support and feed their journey.
We discussed the positive progress on a number of repair and renovation projects. The major water leak at the front entrance is finally being repaired, and door handles and locks that are rapidly wearing out will be replaced. We are also confident that we will receive approval for major repairs to the pool and towards refurbishing the playground, under the Government’s School Investment Package.
The bulk of discussion was on how things had gone during the lock down and the return to school. Online learning worked really well for many pupils and the teachers did a great job developing content and organising seminars by interesting speakers. However, it also highlighted that online access is a significant challenge for many families in our community, and that we need to keep this in mind as online learning becomes a more common way of delivering teaching in the classroom and at home.
While everyone has responded well to being in lock down, it has been a disruptive time and many children’s learning has been impacted by this. There is a need for kindness and understanding as the children return to school. Our teachers are keeping this in mind and are working to support tamariki to transition back to school. The expected move to level 1 will be the final signal for everyone to get back to school and fully engage in formal learning again. All tamariki will be expected at school unless they are unwell or have another justifiable reason for being absent.
Thank you all for your collective efforts. The commitment of our school community to do the right thing during lock down, and maintain good humour and patience in the recovery, has made our job as a board remarkably easy at this challenging time.
Craig Press, Chair, Koraunui Board of Trustees
March 2020 Board of Trustees meeting
March 2020 Koraunui School Board of Trustees meeting
Our March meeting focused on our vision statement and annual plan, which set our goals and way of working, and on pandemic planning.
We need to urgently complete our vision statement and annual plan for 2020. These documents provide clear goals and principles for how our kura will operate this year and into the future. We discussed a proposed whakatauki and seeking feedback in time for this to be incorporated in a completed vision statement by mid April. We also discussed the goals associated with the four elements in our strategic plan: confidence, inclusion, innovation and achievement.
We spent time thinking ahead to what our kura may need to do if the COVID-19 virus begins to be transmitted in the wider Wellington community. We discussed refreshing the school’s pandemic plan, and practical aspects such as ensuring staff members know what to do if a child is sick with possible symptons. The refresh of the pandemic plan is being worked on as a priority and a report back is due to the Board shortly.
The importance of the following points was also reiterated:
- any pupil or staff member who feels unwell should stay at home;
- personal hygiene, hand washing, is vitally important;
- the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education are providing reputable guidance which the school will continue to forward to parents and caregivers.
Plannning for how we will communicate with our school community if the situation deteriorates was also discussed.
Lastly, we discussed the need to ensure that a number of long-term maintenance jobs, and one-off jobs, are progressed while funding under the current five year property plan remains available. Current priorities include fixing a major leak around the water meter, painting, removing known areas of asbestos, and fitting some high visibility markings to reduce trip and collision hazards for health and safety reasons .
While the COVID-19 virus means we are living with greater uncertainty than previously, the Board will continue to act in a responsible manner drawing on reputable guidance about how to protect pupil and staff safety, and providing our school community with reliable and timely information.
We all need to support each other drawing on our KORAU values of mutual support and respect at a challenging time.
Craig Press, Chair
February 2020 Board of Trustees meeting
The Board of Trustees resumed its work for the year at our first meeting on 12 February. We heard that pupils and staff have returned rested and energised after their long break. We discussed school finances, 2019 achievement results, the Developing Mathematics Inquiry Communities initiative (DMIC), and the move to level 2 te reo Māori immersion in Te Puawaitanga o te Kākano.
We ended 2019 with a bigger deficit than budgeted. This means we will be vigorously managing costs in 2020, especially staffing costs. Our discussion focused on the continuing short-fall between central funding and the level of teacher aide assistance required to support student safety and learning in our classrooms. The Board has asked for detailed, ongoing reporting about staffing costs.
The 2019 achievement results were mixed and we discussed the related relevance of our achievement goals. The results reinforce that many of our tamariki need accelerated learning during their time at our kura. We agreed that the targets remain relevant. They reflect the level of learning achievement we should aim for. While DMIC will be the main intervention for the next three years, the Board and staff are committed to using DMIC as a platform for improving outcomes across all areas of learning.
The Board heard about the positive early stages of level 2 te reo Māori immersion in Te Puawaitangi o te Kākano. Kaiako and Kaiāwhina Kaiako are working hard to deliver increased use of te reo Māori in the classroom and Te Puawaitangi of te Kākano whānau are supporting this work. The Board also discussed opportunities to improve its own practice including all members taking turns to deliver karakia Timatanga and karakia Whakamutunga at our hui.
We discussed the positive impact of the new government donation scheme. The new source of funding is making a real difference for our kura. It is providing greater certainty about what out-of-school activities are directly funded. As a first example, it has been really great to have this term’s swimming lessons paid for.
Lastly, the Board also noted its gratitude for the very generous donation that has been received for our tamariki’s stationery. This has meant that our whānau have had one less cost at a very pressured time of the year. We are very lucky to have such support.
Ngā mihi nui
Craig Press
Chair
Koraunui School Board of Trustees
November 2019 Board of Trustees meeting
Our November meeting focused on end of year issues. This included working with our tamariki to keep them on track as they begin to get tired towards the end of the year, and getting everything in place for the Year Six tamariki who are going to camp. We also discussed how the budget is tracking and our likely end of year result, and staffing resources for 2020.
Another issue we talked about was a request to house an emergency electricity generator as part of efforts to improve Stokes Valley’s civil defence preparedness. We have asked for more information to work out if this is something that will be safe and practical to have in specially built storage on the school grounds.
We also talked about IT issues. Board members have recently met with an expert in school IT programmes and planning. This highlighted the need to think about many different aspects. These include having clear ideas about what type of devices to have, having good network systems and storage at school, deciding what to hire and what to buy, and using available online training.
The final Board meeting for 2019 is being held on 11 December 2019.
Nga mihi nui
Craig Press
Chair, Koraunui School Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees October 2019 meeting summary
Kia ora koutou
The Board of Trustees meets once a month to discuss how our kura is performing and what our goals and priorities are.
The Board has five parent representatives, our Principal Dave Lamont, and Deputy Principal, Gillian McPeake who is the staff representative.
In our October meeting we focused on staffing and finance issues. We spent time talking about the impact of the smaller number of Year 6 students in 2020 compared to the current Year 6 group. We have nearly 60 Year 6 pupils this year and this will roughly half in 2020. However, our overall number of pupils across the kura look like they will be fairly similar next year compared with this year.
The reduction in Year 6 numbers in 2020 has ramifications for our budget as we receive designated funding to support the learning needs of several current Year 6 students. We are working through a number of changes for next year’s budget as a result.
This year’s budget included a planned deficit which cannot be repeated and we need to reduce spending in 2020. This will include some reductions in teacher aide resources and continuing efforts to carefully manage day-to-day costs.
We also discussed Term 3 achievement data. This shows that our tamariki are making progress in their learning but that writing and maths continue to lag behind reading across the school.
Lastly, we discussed some minor works around the school including some modifications that will be carried out over the Summer break.
Please contact any Board member if you have any questions.
Ngā mihi nui
Craig Press, Chair
September 2019 Board of Trustees meeting
Kia ora koutou
The Board of Trustees meets once a month to discuss how our kura is performing and what our goals and priorities should be.
The Board has five parent representatives, our Principal Dave Lamont, and Deputy Principal, Gillian McPeake who is the staff representative.
In our September meeting we spent time discussing two important policy documents, an amended Restraints Policy and a Complaints and Concerns Policy. All schools are required to have these policies.
The Restraints Policy explains when restraint can be used to ensure students’ and staff members’ safety. It also includes information about our kura’s responsibility to report all such instances to the Ministry of Education. The Board is provided with full descriptions of each time when restraint is used. This usually involves a staff member needing to hold back a student from hurting another tamariki or separating them from other tamariki while they calm down.
The Complaints and Concerns Policy provides a process to follow when a complaint is made. A flow chart about this policy was in the 17 September school newsletter. and is also available in the school office.
We also spent time taking a careful look at achievement data broken down by Te Puawaitanga o Te Kakano and students from our other classes. This highlighted a need to lift writing achievement across the school. It also highlighted the crucial importance of working with local early children education provides to equip new entrants for the transition to school.
Another significant discussion was about the new Donations Scheme. The Board decided to sign up to the scheme. This is a government policy which provides funding for decile 1-7 schools in place of school donations. Joining the scheme will be positive for our finances. It will provide considerably higher funding than what we have raised through school donations. Our kura will need to use this funding for costs, such as bus strips and outings, that have been previously been covered by gold coin charges. It will also need to be used for other activities previously funded through out-of pocket charges. Information about what is covered by this scheme is provided in the ‘examples’ section on this linked form. More information about the scheme is available at this link on the Ministry of Education website.
In our meeting we were also informed that Bob Wickham, husband of long-standing staff member Jill Wickham, was seriously ill. Bob has now passed away. The Board wishes to extend its condolences to Jill and the Wickham Whanau.
Please contact a Board member if you have any questions. Member’s contact details are included in the school newsletter.
Ngā mihi nui Craig Press, Board Chair
BOARD VISION MEETING - 31 July 2019
Date: Wednesday 31st July 2019
Time: 6-7pm
Place: Koraunui School staffroom
The Board of Trustees invites members of our school community to participate in creating our new vision statement. This is a brief description of what we see for ourselves as a school and our goals for our tamariki now and in the future. It is an important thing to get right, because it will guide everything we do from the Board to the classroom teaching. We encourage as many of our parents, caregivers and wider whānau to come along and enjoy some kai and kōrero.
April 2019 Board of Trustees Meeting
The April 2019 meeting will take place on 3rd April 2019. The full agenda is available here