Freemans Bay School

Freemans Bay School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 18 months of the Education Review Office and Freemans Bay School working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz

Context 

Freemans Bay School Waiatarau, Auckland, provides education for students in years 1 to 6.  The school has been recently rebuilt and offers collaborative learning spaces.  Students are offered two learning pathways; - Rumaki Reo – Whānau Ata, and the English Pathway. 

The school vision is to create a stimulating, inclusive learning environment which engages, empowers, and enriches learners to prepare them for their future world.

The school is part of Te Kāhui Ako o Waitematā.

Freemans Bay School Waiatarau strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • Success for All:  Develop staff to strengthen teaching, leadership and learner support so that there are equitable and excellent outcomes for all.

  • Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Deepen commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

  • Wellbeing: Create a culture of wellbeing based on shared values and positive relationships in a safe and inclusive environment.

  • Learning Design: Design a broad, relevant, localised curriculum that engages, empowers and enriches our tamariki so that they thrive in their world.

  • Productive Partnerships: Strengthen connections and partnerships with whānau and community.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Freemans Bay School Waiatarau website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well learner progress and achievement outcomes are consistently equitable and excellent for all learners within a strengths-based approach.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

  • to meet the needs of the diverse community of learners

  • an ongoing commitment to equitable outcomes across the two pathways.

The school expects to see:

  • teachers consistently using effective teaching strategies and practices in adaptive ways to promote equitable and excellent learner outcomes

  • learners showing strong social and emotional competence, and confidence in their identities, languages and cultures, and consistently demonstrating a strong sense of belonging and connection to the school.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support it in its goal to evaluate how well learner progress and achievement outcomes are consistently equitable and excellent for all learners within a strengths-based approach:

  • learners experience a school learning climate that is consistently positive and respectful which promotes their engagement

  • inclusive educationally powerful connections, communication, and relationships with whānau, families and communities, to support student learning and outcomes

  • sustainable high levels of professional capabilities and collective capacity to continually improve and innovate with access to relevant expertise.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • continuing to build teacher capability, shared understanding, and implementation of effective teaching and learning practices that promote positive progress and improved achievement outcomes for all students, with a particular focus for Māori and Pacific learners, supported learners, and those achieving below expectation.

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

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

8 December 2022 

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

Freemans Bay School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of August 2022, the Freemans Bay School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:

Board Administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Personnel Management

Yes

Finance

Yes

Assets

Yes

Further Information

For further information please contact Freemans Bay School Board.

The next Board assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.

Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

8 December 2022 

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

Freemans Bay School

Provision for International Students Report

Background

The Education Review Office reviews schools that are signatories to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

Findings

The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code and has completed an annual self-review of its implementation of the code. 

At the time of this report there were no international students attending the school. Prior to 2020 the school catered for up to 30 international students.

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

8 December 2022 

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

Freemans Bay School - 11/06/2015

Findings

Freemans Bay School is highly effective in engaging students in learning. Students benefit from a broad and interesting curriculum and high quality teaching. The acknowledgement of bicultural practices and celebration of cultural diversity is significant. Highly effective governance and leadership, and close collaboration with families promote meaningful change and sustainability of successful initiatives.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

1. Context

What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?

Freemans Bay School caters for students from Years 1 to 6. The school celebrated its 125 year jubilee in 2013 and has a long history of serving and responding to the changing population over that time. The school has a growing roll, with half the school population being new migrants to New Zealand from families that have settled in the central business district of Auckland. Students come from many different cultural backgrounds and are English speakers of other languages. Fourteen percent of the roll is Māori and six percent have Pacific heritage. A number of students travel from out of zone to attend Whānau Ata, the school’s well established Māori immersion unit.

Since the 2012 ERO report, the focus for the school has been on deepening its culture of learning. Initiatives have focused on personalising learning for students and staff, strengthening partnerships with families, and developing coherence across all areas of school operations.

The board and senior leaders have consulted with staff and their community as part of reviewing the school’s vision for learning. This consultation has resulted in the school’s purpose statement: ‘to create a stimulating, inclusive learning environment which engages, empowers and enriches learners to prepare for the future world’. This shared vision is clearly expressed by the board, leadership team and staff.

A school rebuild, due to roll growth and the age of buildings, is a major focus for the present board, with building due to start before the end of 2015. The new build will offer flexible learning environments that better cater for the modern 21st century learner.

Freemans Bay School is a caring and collaborative learning community. The school’s promotion of, and response to, student wellbeing is extensive. There is a positive tone in the school that supports the learning of all students. Strong relationships and partnerships underpin all practices.

2. Learning

How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?

The board, senior leaders and teachers use achievement information well to make positive changes for learners.

School achievement information shows that students make good academic progress over their time at the school. Students who learn under the Marautanga curriculum achieve very well in Nga Whanaketanga. The high level of academic success for students in Whānau Ata shows that dual language learning is having a positive impact on student progress and achievement. Due to the small number of Māori and Pacific students in English medium classes, and high transience rates, it is difficult for school leaders to collect reliable cohort achievement information over time on these students. Good systems support teachers to make reliable and valid overall teacher judgements in relation to the National Standards.

Achievement information is used to set school priorities, closely monitor student progress, and identify students who are under achieving. Teachers use achievement information to plan programmes to cater for their students’ different strengths and learning needs. Achievement information is used very well to enquire into the effectiveness of teaching practices and identify suitable professional learning opportunities for teachers.

School leaders continue to refine their practices to better use achievement information. ERO and school leaders agree the future priority areas include:

  • developing school systems for National Standards anniversary reporting after one, two, and three years at school
  • refining charter achievement targets to further ensure these are meaningful and capture the school’s teaching as inquiry approach to raising student achievement
  • reviewing with the community the changes made in the written reporting formats to parents on their child’s progress and achievement.

Student enjoyment and engagement in the learning process is highly evident. Classrooms are vibrant places of learning where teachers respond to students as capable, competent learners.

The school has inclusive and responsive practices and systems to support students with special learning needs. Teachers and learning assistants share a commitment to, and responsibility for, student progress. This collaborative approach ensures students participate fully in appropriate learning programmes and classrooms activities.

3. Curriculum

How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?

The school’s curriculum is highly effective in engaging students in learning. The school’s vision for learning of ‘Engage’ through personalising learning, ‘Enrich’ through a rich curriculum and ‘Empower’ through powerful partnerships is well embedded.

A cornerstone of the school curriculum is a set of learning characteristics that places the learner at the heart of the learning process. These qualities, such as thinking flexibly, applying past knowledge and taking responsible risks are fostered by teachers and understood by students. The curriculum provides individual learning pathways and negotiated learning approaches with students. As a result students are confident in participating in the learning process.

Learners benefit from a broad and interesting curriculum. The curriculum has an appropriate balance between literacy and mathematics. It also offers students good access to opportunities in other learning areas, including environmental sustainability, education outside the classroom (EOTC) and daily physical activity. Students experience learning with specialist teachers in The Arts and Asian studies. Time is given in the learning week for Passion Projects where students can explore their interests. There is a natural integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance learning opportunities.

Planned learning experiences that reflect the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand are given an important place in the curriculum. The acknowledgement and celebration of cultural diversity is also significant, enriching learning opportunities for students. School leaders value the students’ different languages and cultures and what each child brings to the learning process. As a result students retain their individual identity and flourish within a curriculum that allows them to be who they are.

Teachers deliver the curriculum well, with high quality teaching practices evident across the school. Teachers are knowledgeable about their students, the deeper features of The New Zealand Curriculum and Marautanga, and culturally responsive teaching practices. They are well supported in their ongoing professional growth by very effective professional learning programmes that personalise teacher learning and provide access to further study and research. This culture nurtures innovation and contributes to ongoing expansion and change in the curriculum. Teachers and students are well prepared for the move into modern learning environments with the new school build.

High quality teaching practices are underpinned by respectful relationships and partnerships. Kotahitanga, where understandings cross over, is evident in the effective wrap around approach to parent partnerships, especially with the high number of migrant families. School leaders and teachers make parents feel welcome in the school and provide them with knowledge and skills to support their children’s successful learning. Support for families’ wellbeing and integration into a new community is also a focus. School leaders and teachers work together effectively with families, early childhood services and intermediate schools to support smooth transitions for students.

How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?

The school promotes educational success for Māori, as Māori very effectively.

The school has sixty-five students who are Māori. Most learn in the Māori immersion unit, Whānau Ata. The remainder learn in the English medium section of the school.

All Māori students are a priority for the board and school leaders. There is clear and shared understanding about what it means to have Māori students enjoying and achieving success as Māori. A commitment to bicultural practices and a belief that opportunities to understand and experience tikanga Māori will lead to academic success for all students are evident throughout the school.

All Māori students are encouraged to join in kapa haka which promotes discipline, team work, the arts and deeper understanding of tikanga Māori. All students’ home languages are valued and children are comfortable using their first language in the school setting. Whānau Ata students use te reo Māori freely in the playground. Māori in English medium setting are gaining from the Whānau Ata learning experiences.

Māori whānau have the opportunity to contribute to the schools’ decision-making process. The views of whānau are listened to, respected and responded to by the school. Partnerships between whānau and the school are now more focused on supporting the learning of their children. This is creating a shift in ownership, with a collective responsibility for the raising of Māori student achievement.

4. Sustainable Performance

How well placed is the school to sustain and improve its performance?

The school is very well placed to sustain its current good practices and continue to grow its performance.

The board provides very effective governance. They have good systems to ensure school accountabilities are met. Board decision making is strategic and inclusive and has a focus on improving outcomes for all students. The board shows high levels of integrity in honouring the consultation process and as a result board, staff, students and community share ownership of the school’s vision and values. The board has a deep understanding of and commitment to the community they serve.

Leadership of the school is highly effective. School leadership is distributive, compassionate, equitable and fair. There is focus on recognising people’s capabilities across the school that complement and enhance school development. Emerging leadership is nurtured through mentoring, advice and guidance, and a culture of high professional trust.

Self review is used very well to sustain and improve the school’s performance. Self-review processes are robust, embedded in practice and strongly focus on improvement. Review processes include the contribution of different groups of people and are supported by current research.

There is cohesion and alignment across all areas of the school. A sense of collectiveness and collaboration allows the school to work on meaningful change and supports the sustainability of successful initiatives. Contribution to, and working with, the wider educational community is a strength of the school.

ERO affirms the school’s self identified future priorities. These include continuing to develop methodologies that will support personalising learning for students and the transition to modern learning environments.

Provision for international students

The school is a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students (The Code) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. At the time of this review there were sixteen international students attending the school. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code. ERO’s investigations confirmed that the school’s self-review process for international students is thorough.

The school provides its international students with a very good standard of education that includes English language tuition. Students are warmly welcomed and enjoy many opportunities to participate in school activities. The school provides high quality pastoral care for international students and ensures that these students are well integrated into the life of the school.

Board assurance on legal requirements

Before the review, the board of trustees and principal of the school completed the ERO Board Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to:

  • board administration
  • curriculum
  • management of health, safety and welfare
  • personnel management
  • financial management
  • asset management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:

  • emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
  • physical safety of students
  • teacher registration
  • processes for appointing staff
  • stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
  • attendance.

Conclusion

Freemans Bay School is highly effective in engaging students in learning. Students benefit from a broad and interesting curriculum and high quality teaching. The acknowledgement of bicultural practices and celebration of cultural diversity is significant. Highly effective governance and leadership, and close collaboration with families promote meaningful change and sustainability of successful initiatives.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

Dale Bailey Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

11 June 2015

About the School

Location

Freemans Bay, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

1279

School type

Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

School roll

467

Number of international students

16

Gender composition

Boys 52%

Girls 48%

Ethnic composition

Māori

NZ European/Pākehā

Chinese

Indian

Pacific Nations

Filipino

Korean

Middle Eastern

Japanese

other ethnicities

14%

25%

10%

10%

6%

5%

5%

4%

3%

18%

Review team on site

May 2015

Date of this report

11 June 2015

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Education Review

March 2012

June 2008

May 2005

Freemans Bay School - 07/03/2012

1. Context

What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?

Freemans Bay School is an inner-city Auckland primary school that caters for students from Years 1 to 6. The school roll comprises students from multicultural backgrounds many of whom begin the school as new speakers of English. A number of students travel from well out of zone to attend Whānau Ata, the school’s Māori immersion unit. The school's roll is growing and becoming increasingly transient. The school also continues to make very good provision for students with special learning needs.

The school's diversity and its complexity are embraced by staff and trustees as both constructive and welcomed distinguishing features. Inclusive and positive approach create an environment where students have a strong sense of belonging and parents engage meaningfully with the school.

The staff and the board of trustees have maintained and developed the school’s long history of being a very community-centred hub that has strong partnerships with both its local and wider communities. The facilities are being improved through an extensive building programme which began in 2010. This will extend the learning and social opportunities that the school provides for its children and the wider community.

2. Learning

How well are students learning – engaging, progressing and achieving?

Students at Freemans Bay School are highly engaged in their learning. They participate actively in their lessons, support each other and promote the school as a community of learners. Effective student engagement is supported by teachers’ high expectations. Students benefit from teachers’ provision of meaningful contexts for classroom learning, and teachers ensure that learning activities are stimulating and enjoyable. As a result, classrooms are characterised by settled, busy students who are confident and capable learners. The positive tone of the school, and the respectful relationships evident at all levels, help to maintain students’ focus on learning.

School data indicates that students make good progress and attain high overall levels of achievement. This is particularly true of students who have been at the school for three or more years. School data also shows notable improvements in the progress and achievement levels of selected cohorts of students over time.

Teachers use achievement data to plan and teach their classroom programmes. School leaders use school-wide data to determine the strengths and next steps required in learning programmes, and to help prioritise professional learning and development for staff. Continuing to develop the evaluative capacity of curriculum leaders in this regard is a school-identified next step.

Teachers collect information about student achievement from standardised, nationally-normed assessments. They also include overall teacher judgements in their assessment processes. School leaders accept the need to further rationalise the purpose and value of their extensive assessment and reporting processes.

Parents currently receive detailed information about their children’s attainment, progress, and next steps against curriculum achievement levels. In ERO's opinion the school’s additional checkpoint reporting sheet against the National Standards is not well developed. The board of trustees plan to seek parents views about the clarity of the school's reporting in relation to the National Standards in the near future.

In 2011, at the request of the Ministry of Education, the board of trustees revised the school’s charter to include additional information about how the school would give effect to the National Standards. The revised charter includes strategic and annual action plans aimed at promoting the achievement of targeted groups of students who are underachieving in relation to the National Standards. School leaders had identified the need to include Pacific students as one of these targeted groups.

How well does the school promote Māori student success and success as Māori?

The board of trustees has a strong commitment to promoting the success of Māori students and their success as Māori. This commitment is apparent in the board’s designation of a leadership role for Māori education within the school and is further demonstrated by the ways in which:

  • Whānau Ata is considered an integral and valued part of the school
  • the school’s documentation reflects both The New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, the curriculum for Māori medium schools and settings.

Whānau Ata caters for 40 of the school’s 67 Māori students. Kaiako in Whānau Ata have made very good progress in reporting student achievement against Ngā Whanaketanga, and students display good evidence of their progress and achievement in their portfolios. Students in Whānau Ata are confident and articulate and readily talk about their work and learning. They are improving their tuhituhi (writing) and pānui (reading), and recent school data show that their overall levels of achievement are being raised. This is a positive trend that kaiako want to continue over time.

The achievement of Māori students in the mainstream stream is well monitored. The school’s recent achievement data shows that most Māori mainstream students are achieving well, although a small group continue to benefit from additional support. These results demonstrate the timeliness of the strategies being developed to better meet the specific needs of Māori students and to accelerate their progress.

Other facets that school leaders and ERO discussed in relation to the achievement of Māori students include:

  • improving and extending the ways in which te reo Māori and Māori learning contexts are integrated into the daily life of mainstream classrooms
  • finding effective ways of consulting with parents of Māori students in mainstream classes
  • continuing the strong support for the professional development of teachers in Whānau Ata.

3. Curriculum

How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?

The school’s curriculum promotes and supports student learning very well and reflects:

  • the principles that underpin The New Zealand Curriculum
  • the board’s commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi and to supporting diversity
  • the findings of current educational research on best practice in New Zealand schools.

The curriculum is well suited to the students and the context of the school. It places a high priority on meaningful engagement with the school’s immediate and wider community. It is appropriately underpinned by the goals of building learning relationships and of promoting students’ independent learning. School leaders plan to strengthen their visual representation of the curriculum as a next step.

The overall standard of teaching is high. Purposeful lessons feature formative practices and are well supported by positive relationships with and between students and teachers. Lessons are appropriately paced and facilitate students’ learning by focusing on their understanding of the concepts and skills being taught. Students have good opportunities to engage in experiential, rich learning tasks. They are proud of their learning and talk confidently about it.

Teaching and learning programmes are well resourced. Specialist teachers extend opportunities for students’ holistic learning and development and help to ensure that the diverse learning requirements of students are appropriately catered for. The board demonstrates its commitment to e-learning by providing substantial resourcing for infrastructure and the leadership of digital learning. Students have access to an inviting library and a wide range of resources aimed at keeping them physically active.

School leaders and ERO agree that next steps in promoting student learning include continuing to improve the ways in which teachers:

  • help students have more control of their own learning
  • use the school’s physical environment to further support teaching and learning, and to better reflect New Zealand’s bicultural heritage.

4. Sustainable Performance

How well placed is the school to sustain and improve its performance?

The school is very well placed to sustain and improve its performance. The school features:

  • strong professional leadership with clear specification of expectations, well developed strategies for helping teachers continue to develop their practice, and effective quality assurance processes
  • high degrees of professional pride amongst teachers, who willingly undertake leadership roles
  • a school culture that has a strong focus on ongoing learning at all levels, including support for teachers to improve their qualifications
  • a stable board that provides effective support for school goals and has managed an ongoing extensive and challenging building programme.

School operations include many well implemented self-review practices that identify strengths, challenges and next steps, with a focus on continuous improvement. Recent improvements in curriculum reports have helped to make them more consistent, succinct and clear. Continuing to refine the school's documentation in this way, with a focus on increasing its evaluative purposes and outcomes is an agreed next step for the board and senior staff.

The board has also agreed that self review and the setting of strategic goals for its own operation are useful next steps. The board is also looking at exploring further ways of engaging the school’s diverse families in supporting their children’s learning.

Provision for international students

The school is a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students (the Code) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. At the time of this review there were 11 international students attending the school. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code.

ERO’s investigations did not confirm that the school’s self-review process for international students is thorough.

International students experience an inclusive and caring learning environment that includes good levels of pastoral care. They receive good quality class and specialist programmes that develop their knowledge of and skills in using the English language. International students are settled in their learning and are well integrated into the life of the school.

The 2008 ERO review required the board to ensure its compliance with the Code and to record its self review in a form that could be available to the Administrator of the Code if requested. The board has agreed to strengthen its compliance review.

Board assurance on legal requirements

Before the review, the board of trustees and principal of the school completed the ERO Board Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to:

  • board administration
  • curriculum
  • management of health, safety and welfare
  • personnel management
  • financial management
  • asset management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:

  • emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
  • physical safety of students
  • teacher registration
  • stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
  • attendance.

In order to improve current practices, the school should report to students and their parents twice a year in writing and in plain language on the students’ achievement in relation to the National Standards, [National Education Guidelines 1993, National Administration Guidelines 2A(a)].

During the review ERO identified the need for more effective and formal reviewing of provisions for international students. In order to meet requirements, the board of trustees must:

  • at least annually, review its own performance and the accuracy and relevance of all information provided to prospective and enrolled international students and record the outcomes of this review in a form that can be made available to the Administrator if requested [Education Act 1989 s238F, Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students 2010, s28.3];

When is ERO likely to review the school again?

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

Makere Smith

National Manager Review Services

Northern Region (Acting)

7 March 2012

About the School

Location

Freemans Bay, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

1279

School type

Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

Decile1

6

School roll

465

Number of international students

11

Gender composition

Boys 51%

Girls 49%

Ethnic composition

NZ European/Pākehā

Māori

Chinese

Filipino

Indian

Korean

Samoan

Latin American

Middle Eastern

African

other Pacific

other Asian

other European

other South East Asian

other ethnicities

31%

14%

10%

6%

6%

6%

4%

2%

2%

1%

6%

3%

3%

2%

4%

Special Features

Whānau Ata Rumaki Reo – Level 1 Māori immersion unit

Review team on site

December 2011

Date of this report

7 March 2012

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Accountability Review

June 2008

May 2005

September 2001

1 School deciles range from 1 to 10. Decile 1 schools draw their students from low socio-economic communities and at the other end of the range, decile 10 schools draw their students from high socio-economic communities. Deciles are used to provide funding to state and state integrated schools. The lower the school’s decile the more funding it receives. A school’s decile is in no way linked to the quality of education it provides.