Mataura School Analysis of Variance 2019

Introduction
In 2019 our schoolwide focus has been on wellbeing. Our annual goal focuses on developing wellbeing for all students, staff, and across our community, and
based on this our target has been:

To ensure students know when they are happy and have strategies to cope appropriately when tricky stuff happens… to be resilient!

We have taken a more holistic view of education since the removal of National Standards. In 2018 our focus was on raising students’ oral language skills. This
intervention was very successful: we saw improvements in students’ speaking and listening, reading, and writing, as well as their social skills in the playground
and when working with their peers. Our aim with this year’s wellbeing focus has been to continue this work on developing the whole child.

We started our wellbeing journey in 2018, when our principal, deputy principal, and Board of Trustees chair went to the Positive Education Conference in
Christchurch. Our leadership team has explored models of best practice in Australia and New Zealand, and wanted our school to develop a programme that
would add value to the uniqueness of our students, staff and wider community. We are acutely aware of the mental health challenges that exist in our society.
Our aim has been to raise wellbeing above a neutral baseline, so that our stakeholders have higher levels of happiness and possess the resilience to cope
with life’s challenges. This is a move away from the traditional model of using wellbeing interventions when people are in crisis (the proverbial “ambulance at
the bottom of the cliff”).

ERO (2016) ​Wellbeing for success​: discusses why wellbeing is important for children to be able to learn effectively. We had had a relatively static pattern of
learning results for several years. We would have an intervention which would lift achievement for a couple of years then we would be back to around the
usual 60% of students achieving at the expected Curriculum Level. We are working from a perspective that if we improve everyone's well being then we will
long-term be able to lift the achievement across the school. Please note we have been pleased with the results of our Year 6 graduates over the past few
years, however, it often takes us until Year 3 or 4 to see a true shift in learning. Will explicit teaching of wellbeing shift this over time? Will this make the
accelerated progress students are able to make more sustainable?

Finally, our community demographics have started to change over the last 3 years. Previously we could expect an approximately 30% turnover of our roll in a
year, whereas the picture this year is looking like less than 10% turnover, with 36 in and 10 out during 2019 with a closing roll of 138.
Action Plan
Teacher Professional Learning
● We used an Appreciative
Inquiry model with our
teachers. We started with
defining wellbeing​. Teachers
favoured the Whare Tapa Whā
model of wellbeing, and the
ERO definition of wellbeing
from ​Wellbeing for Children’s
Success at Primary School
(ERO, 2015). We used this
work as the foundation for our
inquiry.
● In Term 1 we completed a
What’s Working Well audit​ to
appreciate the many deliberate
actions to increase student
wellbeing that already happen
in our school. We then took
time to vision what we would
like wellbeing to look like at
Mataura School.
● Staff attended a Kathryn
Berkett workshop during
noncontact time. This
workshop focussed on
neuroscience and the
development of the brain in
children.
● Ara Simmons from CORE
Education provided support for
Lead Teacher Professional
Learning, Support, Mentoring and
Idea Generation
● Darran Ingram from CORE
Education worked with our
wellbeing lead teacher (Shona
Willis), focussing on moving
staff through the stages of
learning, facilitating work on
staff wellbeing, and leadership
mentoring.
● Our wellbeing lead teacher and
principal (Susan Dennison)
attended the 2019 Positive
Education Conference in
Christchurch. From this we
made valuable contacts and
refined our intervention plan.
● Our wellbeing lead teacher
completed a 10-week online
wellbeing course run by
Harvard University, and used
this to inform the design of our
schoolwide intervention.
● We used resources to explore
best-practice wellbeing
teaching, e.g. ​Practising
Positive Education: A Guide to
Improve Wellbeing Literacy in
Schools​ by P. Robinson, and
The Whole-Brain Child​ by D. J.
Siegel & T. P. Bryson.
● A website was developed by
Schoolwide Intervention
● We collected pre-intervention
data to inform the design and
delivery stages of the
Appreciative Inquiry cycle. We
used the Feel Brave survey
across all year levels of our
school. We felt that the 5
questions in this survey would
capture a snapshot of
wellbeing at our school, and
that they were accessible for
all children, irrespective of age
or curriculum level.
● In our first staff meeting of
Term 2, teachers identified a
focus area for their teaching.
This was based on identified
student needs and the Feel
Brave survey data. Focus
areas were diverse and ranged
from praise and compliments in
our New Entrants class, to
problem solving skills,
self-regulation, understanding
how our brain works, and an
exploration of the Whare Tapa
Whā model.
● A 10-week wellbeing
intervention occurred across
Terms 2 and 3. Wellbeing was
Community Engagement
● Posters for the six schoolwide
wellbeing focus areas were
shared in the newsletter, along
with suggestions for how
caregivers could increase their
own wellbeing and their
children’s wellbeing.
● These posters were also
shared in the Mataura
Messenger publication.
● Whānau were made aware of
community events that link to
wellbeing, e.g. a Nathan Wallis
presentation about child
development.
● A community wellbeing
evening was organised and
was well-attended by our
community. A presentation was
made elaborating on the six
areas of wellbeing. Whānau
participated in a scavenger
hunt around our school to learn
more about these areas of
wellbeing and explore the work
that students had done in their
classes.
● Teachers shared the work their
class was doing on wellbeing
through Seesaw posts.
 our staff, modelling wellbeing
lessons and leading a staff
meeting that focussed on
character strengths and the
Whare Tapa Whā model.
● Staff meetings were held
throughout the year to identify
areas of wellbeing that would
make the biggest difference for
each class/ cohort of students,
and to ensure consistency in
the delivery of wellbeing
teaching across our school.
● We started to explore staff
wellbeing in our meetings. Our
focus was on burnout and on
the factors that contribute to
burnout.
our wellbeing lead teacher as a
hub for our intervention. Aside
from definitions of wellbeing
and our What’s Working Well
audit, this website outlined our
intervention. The ​Good Ideas
section of the website was a
valuable resource for teachers
when they were planning their
wellbeing interventions.
explicitly taught 4 days per
week during this intervention,
for a minimum of 20 minutes
per day.
● Staff used their own resources
as well as the ​Good Ideas
section of our Wellbeing
website to design lessons that
catered to the identified needs
of their class. In accordance
with the Appreciative Inquiry
model, the focus was on
amplifying existing strengths
and meeting the focus areas
identified at the beginning of
Term 2.
● Six wellbeing focus areas were
selected (kindness, gratitude,
savouring, exercise, social
connections, and sleep) for
schoolwide promotion. There is
a wealth of scientific evidence
to show that these six areas
have considerable impact on
wellbeing. We had a two-week
focus on each area. Posters
were created as a teaching tool
for staff and a visual prompt for
students.
● Wellbeing was explicitly
reported on in our half-year
and end of year reporting to
caregivers.
● Our principal led the wellbeing
workshop at the Kahui Ako
teacher/staff only day in March.
There were more than 100
participants.
● Our wellbeing lead teacher has
been appointed as our Kāhui
Ako within school teacher. The
focus for this position is on
wellbeing. She lead a very well
attended presentation for
teachers across the Kahui Ako
on the wellbeing work that our
school has done in 2019, and
shared our school’s ​wellbeing
website​.
● Our wellbeing lead
teacher/within school teacher
has worked with other teachers
in our Kāhui Ako to design a
survey that can be used as
part of a wellbeing Appreciative
Inquiry cycle that we will be
leading in our Kāhui Ako in
2020.
● School designed website
shared across NZ by Core
Education
● Our principal led a workshop
for other Southland Principals
in Term 4 about leading
wellbeing focus.
What our Students Have to Say:
“Filling buckets up makes us happy. I helped people. I say thank you and please.”
(New Entrant student)

“I can be nice. I help people and that’s kind. I help people play.”
(New Entrant student)

“Bucket fillers is about being good. You help people. If they get hurt, you can hug them and take them to the office.”
(Year 1 student)

“I made a brain hat. The brain involves memories and your feelings.”
(Year 1 student)

“It’s OK to make mistakes when learning. You’re just trying your hardest and practising. That’s how you learn.”
(Year 2 student)

“I talk to my friends.”
(Year 2 student who receives Ongoing Resourcing Scheme funding)

“I learnt about how to be nice to each other, and about teamwork. Helping everyone including little kids. We were learning about the Whare Tapa Whā, I put
my whānau on my Whare Tapa Whā model.”
(Year 4 student in our bilingual class).

“We learnt about four different wellbeings. There was spiritual and mental wellbeing. Our ancestors and iwi are part of spiritual wellbeing. We made these
posters and put things on them that are to do with wellbeing. I put a Māori flag and a tiki on mine because I wanted to have
things about New Zealand.”
(Year 6 student in our bilingual class)

“We learnt lots of science facts like when you sleep it helps you brain. It’s pretty cool learning that science stuff. It was gross learning about the brain, but it
was also really fun especially the brain hats we made. If you know what happens to flip your lid [get upset], then you also know what to do about it, like our
calm down strategies.”
(Year 6 student)
“I really liked learning about savouring. I used to never savour anything like lollies, and I used to be very ungrateful for what I got. Now I really appreciate the
things I get, and I’m grateful for them. I realise what I have and what I don’t have, and I think what I’ve got is OK. I liked learning about
the downstairs brain and how you can flip your lid.”
(Year 6 student)

“We learned about the left side and the right side of the brain. It was good because I want to know more about my brain. I learnt that
the left side is the working side about laws, logic and language.”
(Year 6 student who has received In-Class Support funding this year)
Data

Feel Brave Survey Results

We conducted the Feel Brave survey at the beginning of Term 2 to collect pre-intervention data, and at the end of Term 3 to collect post-intervention data. The
Feel Brave survey comprises five questions. Responses to these five questions fall into three areas of wellbeing: self-confidence, resilience, and
response-ability (the ability to calm oneself down and choose how we react to stressors).

Below are the data that we collected from the intervention. The yellow column shows the percentage shift between the pre-intervention and post-intervention
data. Average scores fell in half of our classrooms, and this has resulted in a negative percentage change in some of our data.
The data show that there have been gains in students’ “response-ability”, which is their perceived ability to choose their reaction to different stimuli. In our
senior mainstream class, this is the result of the work that has been done on how the brain works; children better understand where their feelings are coming
from, and can control their responses to these feelings. Our Year 2 class has also done work on growth mindset and problem solving skills, which will also
have contributed to raising these students’ sense of “response-ability”.

The progress that other classes made in their focus areas has been harder to capture in the data. This is because some teachers structured their intervention
to meet needs that came from incidental classroom observations, not the Feel Brave survey. Their survey results therefore do not adequately reflect the
progress that the children have made. For example, our Year 1 and 2 classroom’s focus on play-based learning has led to considerable gains in students’
social skills and their ability to participate and contribute, but this is difficult to capture in the data. Likewise, the New Entrants’ work on kindness and “bucket
filling” was not captured by the questions that children were asked in the survey.

Several classes has seen an increase in resilience, which the Feel Brave survey measures by asking about children’s friendships and whether they know what
to do with their worries. Raising levels of resilience in our school was an explicit aim from our 2019 target, so it is heartening to see that we are already seeing
a positive impact from our intervention. We expect children’s resilience to continue to grow as they consolidate this year’s wellbeing learning.

Three classes saw either little change in the data, or lower post-intervention scores. The teachers in all of these classrooms felt that their students made gains
in the knowledge and practice of wellbeing (see the next section for further details), which leaves the question of why this was not reflected in students’
wellbeing scores. One possibility is that students had a better understanding of the questions when they were asked in the post-intervention survey, as had
participated in ten weeks of intensive wellbeing instruction. Therefore, the post-intervention data may simply have been more accurate than the
pre-intervention data. The junior school teachers also noted that many of their students thought much more deeply about their answers to the post-intervention
questions, compared to when they gave their first answers at the beginning of Term 2. It is possible that our younger students did not give accurate responses
when we gathered pre-intervention data.

Finally, we are now aware of issues with collecting post-intervention data as soon as the intervention programme has been completed, which is what was
done this year. Going forward, we would like to research the optimal time to collect post-intervention data, being mindful that we do not wish to prejudice the
results. Initial enquiries indicate that it is preferable to leave a period of six weeks between the end of the intervention and the collection of data.

Student Engagement
Other data that is also relevant here is stand down and suspension information. In 2019 we have had a higher roll and have had significantly less stand
downs. In 2019 we have had 7 students have a total of 8 stand down days, this is compared to 8 students with 20 days in 2018. There have been no
suspensions in 2019.
Office Referrals
The office referrals for 2019 are nearly the same exactly the same as 2018 in volume even though we have more children. The 2019 data shows 91 students
have had office referrals, whereas 76 had them in 2018. 6 students in 2018 had more than 30 office referrals, some of them up to 50. In 2019 we only have 3
students who have just more than 30 referrals. This is an improvement.

Learning Data
The 2018-2019 learning data comparison shows that there is a variation in the rates of progress across our school. 85% of students made gains of at least
one year progress in reading, in writing this was closely mirrored with 84%. In maths however this drops to 69% progress of one years progress or better.
The reading and writing progress results are pleasing however there appears to be some inconsistency in the maths OTJs from one class/year to another.
You can see the results in the table below:
What our Teachers & Principal Have to Say

Teacher Summary
Staff found our wellbeing intervention to be highly successful. Several teachers have changed their classroom programmes substantially in order to
incorporate explicit wellbeing instruction, and they are very keen to maintain this in the coming years. Teachers found it relatively easy to integrate elements of
wellbeing into their classroom programme (alongside explicit wellbeing instruction), e.g. through play-based learning and fitness/health education. The Whare
Tapa Whā model has been especially successful in our bilingual class, and is likely to be the foundation for this class going forward. In a recent whānau hui,
caregivers of some of our bilingual students noted that their tamariki are now more confident in their Māori identity, and their teacher attributes this in large
part to the wellbeing work that she has done with her students.

Teachers welcomed the Appreciative Inquiry approach of amplifying students’ strengths rather than focusing on their weaknesses. Our staff found Kathryn
Berkett and Ara Simmon’s professional development workshops to be highly effective; they took away many new pieces of learning from these PLD sessions,
which they implemented in their classroom programmes. The contextual learning that some teachers experienced during Ara’s visit was especially effective.
The Feel Brave website and series of books were also key to the success of many classroom programmes. These resources were an excellent
“pick-up-and-go” resource for many of our teachers, and were the starting point for their intervention programmes.

The intervention programmes that teachers planned were highly flexible. Teachers adapted their programmes in response to emerging needs. They also took
note of students’ interests (e.g. contexts that they particularly enjoyed in play-based learning sessions) and took this into consideration when planning, in order
to ensure that children’s engagement remained high. Teachers noted an increase in students’ ability to self-regulate, higher levels of kindness, and more
inclusivity. Changes were also noted in some of our learners with special educational needs. For example, one ORS-funded child showed significant
improvement in his oral language skills, especially his ability to communicate with his peers, as a result of his engagement in play-based learning.

Across the school, teachers have noticed that children are happier in the playground and are better able to manage minor problems that arise during the
course of morning tea and lunch. This is evidence that students’ resilience has increased, which was the central aim of our 2019 target. Teachers have
reported that they are more aware of the wellbeing strengths and needs of children in other classes, which is helpful when they are on duty. Our staff have
also had a greater awareness of their own wellbeing this year. This has been reflected in their lunch choices, deliberate attempts to get more sleep and
exercise, and the wellbeing-related conversations in our staffroom.

Based on our evaluation of the intervention programme, it is clear that the wellbeing resource website could have been used more effectively. Some members
of staff did not take the opportunity to explore this website. Going forward, we will need to re-examine how best to share resources with staff, so that they are
able to extend their pedagogical content knowledge. We will also look at refining the Feel Brave survey, so that we are better able to capture data that
represents the full breadth of wellbeing in our school.

Principal’s Summary
Wellbeing is now a government priority for all of New Zealand. Our focus in 2019 certainly made us aware of what we were teaching, how we were teaching,
and how we could be the best possible human beings before we stepped in front of our kids. During 2019 there were many opportunities for this work to
happen quite deliberately across our school. 2019 certainly felt like there was a calmness across our school, even when situations were tough. I would like to
think that this is a direct result of deliberate acts of wellbeing teaching- to students as well as staff.

In this type of undertaking it is not always easy to see the results of this teaching - we haven’t moved students from one level to another, this is to do with
human emotions and behaviour. However we can see the mahi through the experiences of students. On camp with our Year 6 students this was particularly
evident. Two students at school were often in trouble for inappropriate reactions. On camp even though they were faced with uncertainty and uncomfortable
feelings in challenging situations they were able to use the learning they had made and coped exceptionally well. So much so they didn’t throw tantrums, didn’t
swear, and acted appropriately even when being led by people from outside our school organisation. In previous years both students had needed action plans
around them for their unpredictability and often volatile behaviour.

In the future I hope to see all those senior students who had that specific, deliberate teaching about the brain science go on and have success across all
aspects of their lives. Success will look like them “having a go” at school, making & keeping friends, having a great sense of worth, and knowing where to go if
they need help. For our junior students we will look forward to continuing wellbeing learning with them. We have a comprehensive collection of resilency books
to use as teaching resources, we have access to great teaching resources through the development of the school website (includes excellent NZ resources
such as Sparklers), and we have appointed the COL within school leader as the Wellbeing Champion of our school.

This focus has made me think of the hauora of our teaching staff. The job of teaching is complex, time-consuming and at times all consuming. Hopefully by
giving staff the tools to ensure their lives are well managed they will be able to better cope with the stress of the job. In 2019 there has been considerable hype
about the stress of the job, yet they have been mostly able to move past this and enjoy coming to school and seeing the rewards for the success they have
with individual students. It is important to hang onto this...and to realise that sometimes what is taught today might not “stick” until other stuff happens further
down the track. One recent example of this for me was the Year 11 student who I remember everybody being so concerned about as a 5 year old because
she just sat on the mat. As Year 11 she has just completed NCEA with excellence endorsed. Sometimes good things take time! Her teachers are no longer
here but this story is important for current staff who worry about students not moving fast enough with their learning.

Wellbeing will continue to be an area that needs deliberately focused on here so that everyone has a set of tools they can apply to their lives
Next Steps
We met as a staff at the end of our wellbeing intervention, so that we had time to analyse the data and reflect on the process. We also took this opportunity to
continue the Appreciative Inquiry cycle by revisiting the dreaming stage. Our aim was to look ahead and discuss “what could be” for 2020 and beyond. One of
our focuses for 2020 will be on maintaining the common wellbeing vocabulary that has been built up over the course of this year. We also wish to continue
using the wellbeing strategy posters, and to find ways to make them more relevant to our students. One way to do this may be to get notable community
members to act as role models, e.g. by explaining how they use a particular wellbeing strategy in their daily lives. Continued explicit teaching about how the
brain works has also been identified as a need for 2020. The bilingual class will continue to use the Whare Tapa Whā model as the foundation for their
classroom, as this model maintains and enhances the identity, culture and language of our Māori learners.

Some teachers are still unsure of the Appreciative Inquiry model. Going forward, our leadership team will ensure that this inquiry process is more explicit for
teachers. Our wellbeing lead teacher has secured a position as within school teacher in our Kāhui Ako, and the focus will be on using the Appreciative Inquiry
process to explore the teaching of wellbeing with teachers across our Kāhui Ako. Thus there is the opportunity for our staff to continue their exploration of
wellbeing teaching through a collaborative inquiry model. If they choose to participate in this process, it will help them to consolidate their understanding of
Appreciative Inquiry. Our Appreciative Inquiry model will likely evolve, so that we deliberately plan to use existing strengths in order to target areas of
weakness in wellbeing. For example, we might use students’ existing understanding of how the brain works in order to further improve their resilience.

Spending more time explicitly discussing staff wellbeing is also a need for the future. We will be working with Allison Mooney at the beginning of 2020, with a
focus on understanding one another’s personalities so that we are better able to work together as a high-performing team. We also plan to continue our work
with Ara Simmons, who has a great deal of value to add to our existing wellbeing work.