Glenbrook School

Education institution number:
1292
School type:
Full Primary
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
270
Telephone:
Address:

459 Glenbrook-Waiuku Road, Glenbrook, Waiuku

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Glenbrook School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within four months of the Education Review Office and Glenbrook 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 

Glenbrook School is located in a rural environment near Waiuku, providing education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school has strong connections to its local and wider communities and is an active member of the Waiuku Kāhui Ako and Franklin District schools.

Glenbrook School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • accelerating ako agency by strengthening learning with ākonga, kaiako and whānau

  • enabling strong and effective leadership for equity and excellence.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the school’s curriculum is challenging learners to excel and achieve excellence, enabling equitable outcomes for all learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

  • the school’s commitment to responding effectively to student achievement data to enable increasingly effective outcomes for all learners

  • the importance of continuing to strengthen engagement and empowerment in learning (ako agency) with all stakeholders.

The school expects to see the effectiveness of practices and processes continually enhanced to enable ongoing improvement and success for all learners.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners:

  • collaborative, strategic leadership that is highly focused on continuous improvement

  • comprehensive systems, processes and practices that contribute to effective conditions that learners need to succeed

  • consistency in teaching and learning practices that increasingly builds evaluative skills in a positive school culture.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • continuing to strengthen the school’s collective approach to achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for learners

  • continuing to implement targeted actions to enable alignment with the national and local curriculum and challenge learners to excel.

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.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

22 September 2023

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

Glenbrook School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2023 to 2026

As of May 2023, the Glenbrook 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 Glenbrook School Board.

The next School 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.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

22 September 2023

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

Glenbrook School - 21/12/2018

School Context

Glenbrook School is located near Waiuku and caters for children from Years 1 to 8. The school roll is currently 264 students of whom 42 identify as Māori. The school’s vision statement relates to all learners being able to realise their own potential. The school believes that through learning as an action, learners will have the tools to articulate their needs, wants, goals, successes and failures. The school has well established values related to ako (we are all learners), whakawhanaungatanga (we work as a community together), manaakitanga (we care for and value people and the world), and mana (we are respectful, strong and resilient).

Since the 2016 ERO report an experienced principal and chairperson have continued to lead the school. A deputy principal has been appointed and four trustees elected. A new classroom incorporates a modern learning environment.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, school-wide information about outcomes for students in the following areas; reading, writing and mathematics.

Glenbrook School is part of the Waiuku Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – achievement of valued outcomes for students

1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?

The school is achieving excellent outcomes for almost all students and there are equitable outcomes for Māori students. The school’s 2018 data indicates that almost all students are achieving within or above national expectations in reading, mathematics and writing. Data over the last three years shows the disparity gap between boys and girls has closed in reading, writing and mathematics, and they are now achieving at comparable rates. Māori students are achieving better than other students in writing and as well as other students in reading and mathematics. Student achievement information from 2016 to 2018 shows increases for all groups of learners, including Māori, in reading, writing and mathematics.

1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?

The school responds effectively to Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration. The school has sharpened its focus on accelerating the learning of those students whose learning is at risk. Leaders and teachers closely monitor individual data to show rates of progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Data for these students indicates that most made accelerated progress over the last two years. There have been significant gains in boys’ achievement in writing to reduce gender disparity in this area.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence – processes and practices

2.1 What school processes and practices are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?

Teachers demonstrate high quality teaching practices in a collegial environment. They know students and their families well and plan appropriate programmes to accelerate the achievement of at-risk learners. A strong, cohesive teaching team has been established. Teachers are involved in ongoing reflections and professional discussions about effective teaching strategies. Positive, mutually respectful teacher/student interactions are contributing to settled learning environments. Students benefit from teachers providing specific programmes focused on individual learning and holistic needs.

Leadership successfully builds teacher capability by actively promoting professional learning and development. The senior leadership team is aware of current practices and theories and has established a positive school culture where teachers are encouraged to be innovative. Leaders are committed to improving the achievement of all students, with a strong focus on accelerating the progress of those students at risk with their learning.

The school’s curriculum is highly responsive, with an appropriate focus on reading, writing and mathematics. Classrooms are well resourced, stimulating and supportive of learning. High levels of student engagement are evident. Learners with special educational needs are well supported in an inclusive and nurturing environment. They are making progress against their individual learning goals. Students relate well to meaningful contexts and are engaged in a variety of academic, cultural and sporting learning experiences.

The board is providing effective school governance. Trustees understand and support the strategic direction of the school. They make well informed resourcing decisions in response to student achievement information and consultation with parents and whānau. The board scrutinises achievement information and engages in discussion with school leaders about student progress and achievement. Ongoing internal evaluation is providing clear school direction and guides target setting. A high trust model between the board and principal promotes a collaborative and open relationship. Trustees are focused on student learning, wellbeing, achievement and progress.

Parents, whānau and the community are fully involved in school activities and are valued partners in learning. There are well-established processes in place for the school and parents to engage in meaningful ways. The community and parents have been consulted about relevant aspects of the school curriculum. Students’ learning and achievement are enriched by partnerships for learning between the school and parents, particularly for those students whose progress needs acceleration.

2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?

ERO and school management agree that there is a need to:

  • build the capacity of students to be self-managing learners through increased understanding and use of learning progressions in key curriculum areas

  • strengthen the integration of te reo Māori in classroom programmes through a sequential school-wide approach

  • ensuring greater specificity of annual achievement targets to include all students who are underachieving.

3 Board assurance on legal requirements

Before the review, the board 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 the following:

  • board administration

  • curriculum

  • management of health, safety and welfare

  • personnel management

  • finance

  • asset management.

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

  • emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)

  • physical safety of students

  • teacher registration and certification

  • processes for appointing staff

  • stand down, suspension, expulsion and exclusion of students

  • attendance

  • school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:

  • a school curriculum that strongly reflects the school’s vision, aims and aspirations for achievement and success

  • teachers providing high quality teaching practices that enrich student learning

  • school leadership that is providing professional knowledge to strengthen teacher capability for ongoing improvement

  • clear direction setting by the board of trustees that establishes challenging goals for student achievement, and which closely monitors progress

  • well-developed processes that engage the school in reciprocal relationships with parents and the wider community.

Next steps

For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:

  • embedding learning progressions to build students’ assessment and ‘learning to learn’ capabilities

  • developing a sequential school-wide approach to strengthen the integration of te reo Māori in classroom programmes

  • ensuring greater specificity of annual achievement targets to include all students who are underachieving.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

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

Phil Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services

Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region

21 December 2018

About the school

Location

Near Waiuku

Ministry of Education profile number

1292

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

264

Gender composition

Boys 55% Girls 45%

Ethnic composition

Māori 15%
Pākehā 75%
Chinese 4%
Other 6%

Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)

No

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

November 2018

Date of this report

21 December 2018

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review January 2016
Education Review February 2013
Education Review June 2011