Whenuapai School

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 12 August 2024 — “School Evaluation Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.

School Evaluation Report

Tēnā koutou e mau manawa rahi ki te kaupapa e aro ake nei, ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa. Mā wai rā e kawe, mā tātau katoa. We acknowledge the collective effort, responsibility and commitment by all to ensure that the child remains at the heart of the matter.

Context

Whenuapai School located in Auckland’s northwest, operates over two sites and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school hosts two satellite classrooms for Arohanui Special School. The school's vison is to partner with tamariki to create a future guided by Mana (Respect for Self), Ako (Respect for Learning), Kaitiakitanga (Respect for Environment) and Kotahitanga (Respect for Others).

There are three parts to this report.

Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation.

Part B: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki /bilingual settings.

Part C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.

Part A: Previous Improvement Goals

Since the previous ERO report of December 2022, ERO and the school worked together to evaluate how well assessment and evaluation processes provided reliable, useful achievement information to enhance teaching and learning, and report learner progress to parents and the board.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Learners who are confident leaders of their own learning and experience success.

Most learners set goals about their progress and learning and talk confidently about their success.

A strengthened partnership with whānau in supporting children’s learning.

Parents and whānau , learners and teachers meet regularly to review progress and set learning goals.

Teachers provide resources to support parents and whānau with home learning.

Innovative teaching approaches that are informed by evaluation findings and assessment practices that value the identity and culture of all learners.

Leaders collect and analyse information about the impact of professional learning and development for teachers to inform their planning and teaching.

A sustained focus on learner identity and culture as part of teaching and learning programmes has improved learner outcomes overall.

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that establishing clear expectations for teaching and learning, The Whenuapai Way, has led to greater consistency and coherence for teachers. This included what they should be teaching and what learners should be achieving at each year level.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action is the establishment of specific year level learning goals that have contributed to the accelerated progress and achievement of almost all learners in reading, writing and mathematics.

Part B: Current State

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing

Achievement is increasingly equitable and excellent.

Most learners achieve or exceed curriculum level expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.

Most learners, including Māori , made accelerated progress during 2023.

Learners have a strong sense of belonging and pride in their school; they are well-supported to develop confidence in their identities, languages and cultures.

The large majority of learners attend regularly; the school has achieved the Ministry of Education’s 2024 attendance target.

Conditions to support learner success

Effective leadership promotes ongoing, coherent and continuous improvement across the school.

Leaders set purposeful goals and targets focused on progress and achievement; learners who are at risk of underachievement are well supported to make accelerated progress.

Leaders promote a professional culture of collaboration and relational trust to support continuous improvement and innovative practice in teaching and learning.

Leaders prioritise school improvement and evidence-based decision making to respond appropriately to areas of identified learner need.

The school provides high quality teaching and learning across a broad curriculum.

Learners experience an extensive range of relevant and meaningful learning opportunities through the localised curriculum; teachers adjust learning opportunities to meet the needs of learners and build their confidence and independence.

Coherent curriculum planning and teaching and learning approaches support teachers to develop a clear understanding about appropriate learning goals to support learner success.

Teachers create an orderly learning environment where learning time is maximised, and learners are well-supported to engage and apply new learning.

Key conditions, including staff collaboration, wellbeing and parent partnerships underpin successful schooling and are embedded and well-aligned.

Teachers work collaboratively in planned ways to support learner progress and achievement.

Leaders and teachers promote wellbeing for all learners and implement inclusive practices; they value and support learners with diverse learning needs.

Leaders and teachers communicate effectively with parents and whānau to strengthen a shared understanding of curriculum, teaching and learning priorities and aspirations.

Leaders and teachers confidently collect, analyse and interpret progress and achievement information to inform decision making for ongoing improvement.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

extend and embed consistent practices for learning te reo Māori , tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori

continue to strengthen the coherence and consistency of teaching and learning practices across the two school sites

continue to provide opportunities for learners to design and reflect on their own learning journey

increasingly involve whānau and iwi in planning and decision making.

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

Within six months:

review the provision of te reo, Māori tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori across the school to ensure that these practices are widespread and embedded in everyday life.

Every six months:

analyse and monitor student progress and achievement information to inform and adapt teaching and learning as required.

Annually:

provide opportunities for community consultation, including iwi , to actively contribute to the school’s strategic direction

review school initiatives and practices which target learners achieving below expectation to measure their impact

review and report to the board on student progress and achievement across all curriculum areas to ensure that there is ongoing consistency and coherence.

Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:

sustained and improved learner achievement that is equitable and excellent

learners growing in their knowledge and understanding of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori and of New Zealand’s bicultural heritage

the school’s achievement targets and priorities reflect those set out by its community, including iwi .

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.

Me mahi tahi tonu tātau, kia whai oranga a tātau tamariki Let’s continue to work together for the greater good of all children

Shelley Booysen Director of Schools

12 August 2024

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →