Waiheke Primary School

Education institution number:
6922
School type:
Full Primary
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
233
Telephone:
Address:

26 Sea View Road, Ostend, Waiheke Island

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Waiheke Primary School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Waiheke Primary 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 

Waiheke Primary School caters for year 1 to 8 ākonga/ learners and is located on Waiheke Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.

The school’s vision is to empower ākonga o te motu to be nurturing, innovative action takers. Waiheke Primary School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for ākonga are based on 3 guiding pou/pillars of ako/learning, ahurea/culture and taiao/environment. These are realised through:

  • ākonga making progress and having success in their learning

  • fostering engaging and innovative learning opportunities

  • creating strong connections with the wider community

  • te reo Māori and tikanga Māori being valued and practised by staff, students, and the community           

  • hauora (wellbeing) of students, staff and community

  • an environment fit for purpose.

 You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan and 2022 curriculum on Waiheke Primary School’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the localised curriculum provides responsiveness to learner’s needs, ensuring quality teaching and equitable outcomes for all.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that in 2022, the school moved from being an International Baccalaureate school to implementing its own local curriculum, based on the competencies and learning expectations of the New Zealand Curriculum. The evaluation focus is founded on seven key expectations.

The school expects to see:

  • effective teaching strategies used in adaptive ways

  • embedded learning progressions applied consistently across the school

  • a focus on teacher professional learning to support developing te reo Māori and tikanga Māori capability embedded into the school’s local curriculum

  • strong deliberate partnerships and a close connection to Piritahi and local iwi to support language, culture and identity of ākonga

  • assessment for learning practices are embedded into practice and are reflected in student outcomes

  • continual monitoring and refinement of the curriculum through the implementation and embedding phase of the Waiheke Primary School Curriculum

  • the impact of a local school inquiry model that reflects the special nature of being an island community.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support it in its goal to evaluate curriculum, and teacher responsiveness to ākonga needs:

  • a school culture where the staff, students and community believe wellbeing and inclusivity contribute to, and are implicit to learner success

  • leaders, teachers and community have collectively developed a learning framework to provide authentic, agentic, inquiry-based learning opportunities, with an explicit focus on kaitiakitanga- connecting and caring for their environment  

  • whanaungatanga underpins the school ethos of a nurturing, connected community where belonging and positive relationships are intertwined in the fabric of the school

  • courageous, consultative leadership and school stewardship strategically focused on ākonga educational needs

  • a schoolwide commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi through the curriculum.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • ensuring teaching strategies and practices provide quality differentiated and inclusive learning opportunities for ākonga

  • providing teachers with needs-based support to accelerate progress of ākonga

  • on-going evaluation of the localised curriculum considering authenticity, broadness, deep learning, assessment to inform, and opportunities to grow ākonga culture, identity, and language

  • the consideration of attendance, academic and wellbeing trends in relation to learner outcomes, post extensive Auckland Covid lockdowns.

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

Waiheke Primary School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of July 2022, the Waiheke Primary School Board of Trustees 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 Waiheke Primary School Board of Trustees.

The next Board of Trustees 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

Waiheke Primary 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.

Waiheke Primary 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 review there were no international students attending the school, and no exchange 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

Waiheke Primary School - 01/03/2017

1 Context

Waiheke Primary School caters for children from Years 1 to 8 and is situated in a valley surrounded by established trees in the Ostend/Palm Beach area of Waiheke Island. Māori children make up 22% of the total roll and the school maintains a close partnership with Piritahi Marae. The board of trustees is committed to continuing to provide an environment that promotes children's progress and achievement. The classrooms and grounds have been developed to uphold the values of environmental sustainability. Waiheke Primary School is a member of the Waiheke Schools Community of Learning network.

2 Equity and excellence

The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are to offer an inspirational learning environment where excellence, creativity and individuality are nurtured. The values of "Nurture, Inspire and Achieve through Integrity and Excellence" are promoted.

The school’s achievement information shows that by the end of 2016 between 74 percent and 81 percent of children achieved or exceeded the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Trustees monitor the disparity in achievement between genders. They are aware that overall girls' achievement is higher in reading and writing however, the achievement of boys overall is better in mathematics. The board also tracks the disparity between Māori and non-Māori children. They are aware that as a group Māori children now achieve better than non-Māori in all the National Standards. The board regularly monitors the progress of the school's small group of Pacific children.

Since the last ERO evaluation the school has focused on;

  • ensuring that achievement information is robust and dependable through the use of moderation processes
  • teachers building their capability through well planned whole staff professional learning
  • increasing leadership opportunities for both teachers and children.

3 Accelerating achievement

How effectively does this school respond to Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

The school responds very well to Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration. Teachers are aware of the names, needs and strengths of these children and develop teaching plans to accelerate their progress accordingly.

Senior leaders and teachers implement a variety of successful initiatives and strategies to identify and respond effectively to any barriers to children's learning. Reports to the board could be more useful if they contained information on the success of the initiatives that details evidence of the progress and achievement outcomes for children.

Senior leaders place high importance on increasing all children's engagement with their learning and on ensuring children take pride in their own cultural identity. The board and principal value the input they get from Māori whānau about their hopes for and support of their tamariki.

Teachers have implemented a wide variety of initiatives to accelerate children's progress and achievement. These include:

  • placing high importance on establishing and maintaining close working relationships with children and their families
  • empowering children to drive their own learning
  • using children's interests to engage them in learning
  • closely scrutinising progress and achievement results.

The senior leadership team has created a profile of the interests, academic achievement and progress and involvement of each Māori child in the life of the school. They use this information to research conditions that positively contribute to accelerating learning for Māori children.

How effectively does this school respond to other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

The school responds very well to all children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

The school uses a good range of teaching practices to meet the needs of all children. The progress and achievement of children with special needs are closely monitored by the special education needs coordinator. The use of appropriate external agencies and well supported teacher aides provides the foundation for children to make successful progress with the goals set in their individual education plans.

The board and principal acknowledge that it could be beneficial if they develop a profile of interests for Pacific children along similar lines to the profile for Māori children.

4 School conditions

How effectively do the school’s curriculum and other organisational processes and practices develop and enact the school’s vision, values, goals and targets for equity and excellence?

The school's curriculum and other organisational processes and practices are very effective in developing and enacting the school's vision, values, goals and targets for equity and excellence.

The board and senior leaders have maintained the school's emphasis on promoting bicultural practices and placing high value on tikanga Māori. Trustees have a reciprocal relationship with Piritahi Marae, which includes having a representative from the marae on the school board. Children actively participate in powhiri and many children of all ethnicities are proud members of the kapa haka group. The school offers an extension class in te reo Māori and invites whānau to regular hui.

The board is confident in their role as stewards of the school. Trustees work confidently together and have developed a useful operational format that guides them to make evidence-based decisions. They are well informed by members of the senior leadership team about progress towards the board's strategic goals and targets. Trustees are assured that the achievement information they receive is robust and rigorous. This is because good processes are used to ensure this. These include the use of the Ministry of Education progress and achievement tool, moderation within and across the school and assessment information being triangulated with school-based and nationally normed tools.

The board and senior leaders work closely with the community to arrive at shared aspirations and to ensure that these are reflected in the strategic and annual plan. The board and leaders offer the community many opportunities to have a say in the direction of the school.

The principal is an experienced leader who is focused on ensuring ongoing school improvement. She is capably supported by the senior leadership team. The principal offers many appropriate opportunities to grow the leadership skills of teachers and children. She gathers the perspectives of the wider school community and continues to develop reciprocal learning-centred relationships with them.

The principal has embedded organisational structures, processes and practices to underpin and sustain collaborative teacher development for ongoing positive outcomes for children. Teachers participate in appropriate whole staff professional learning opportunities. They reflect systematically on the impact that their teaching is having on children's learning. Teacher's performance management systems have been enhanced through external facilitation. As a result, they are now more meaningful and purposeful and support improvement to teaching practices.

The curriculum reflects the school's mission statement and is aligned to the principles of The New Zealand Curriculum. It is responsive to children's strengths, interests and needs. Teachers have high expectations for children to achieve and children work consistently towards meeting the expectations. They also offer equitable opportunities for children to lead their own learning and to be challenged. Children have many opportunities to participate in extra curricula activities and experiences outside of the classroom. The school's membership in the Island's community of learning network is likely to help ensure that children make smooth and successful transitions at the key points of change throughout their school lives.

The principal is developing coherent organisational conditions that promote internal evaluation. She completed a thorough and useful evaluation of the place of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme in relation to The New Zealand Curriculum. The outcome of this evaluation has contributed to the school developing an effective and responsive curriculum.

5 Going forward

How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?

Leaders and teachers:

  • know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
  • respond effectively to the strengths, needs and interests of each child
  • regularly evaluate how well teaching is working for these children
  • act on what they know works well for each child
  • build teacher capability effectively to achieve equitable outcomes for all children
  • are well placed to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children. 

The school is well placed to sustain progress made with consistent teaching practices and student ownership of their learning. Leaders have identified relevant priorities for further development. These include:

  • reviewing the roles of the senior leadership team to ensure their focus is on being leaders of learning
  • using the outcomes of trends and patterns of achievement and disparity gaps to make focused school-wide targets and goals
  • embedding and extending the current useful process of evaluation, including reporting the impact on outcomes for children to the board, to include regular and emergent internal evaluation.

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

6 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 the following:

  • board administration

  • curriculum

  • management of health, safety and welfare

  • personnel management

  • 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

  • processes for appointing staff

  • stand down, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions

  • attendance

  • compliance with the provisions of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

7 Recommendation

ERO recommends that school leaders continue to build reciprocal relationships with the community and maintain their firm focus on student progress and achievement.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

1 March 2017

About the school 

Location

Ostend, Waiheke Island

Ministry of Education profile number

6922

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

246

Gender composition

Girls 55% Boys 45%

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

British/Irish

Pacific

other European

other

22%

57%

5%

2%

6%

8%

Review team on site

November 2016

Date of this report

1 March 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Supplementary Review

April 2014

December 2011

September 2008



Waiheke Primary School - 11/04/2014

1 Background and Context

What is the background and context for this school’s review?

Waiheke Primary School caters for Years 1 to 8 students. At the time of ERO’s education review in September 2011, school systems, including leadership in curriculum, were not supporting students to reach their potential. This was the main reason for ERO’s decision to monitor and support the school’s development through a longitudinal, Arotake Paetawhiti review process.

Since March 2012, the school has been involved in an Arotake Paetawhiti review. The board, working with ERO and a Ministry of Education Student Achievement Function (SAF) practitioner, identified priorities for school improvement. An action plan was formed to guide development in these areas. Regular communications between ERO, the board of trustees and senior leaders have focused on the school’s progress in addressing the agreed goals identified in the 2011 ERO report.

During 2013 a new principal was appointed to lead the school in its next phase of development. She and the board have been strategic in restructuring roles and responsibilities, and supporting teachers to improve teaching and learning in the school.

2 Review and Development

How effectively is the school addressing its priorities for review and development?

Priorities identified for review and development

The school and ERO agreed on the following priorities for review and development:

  • strengthening the use of achievement information to improve student learning
  • aligning the school’s curriculum to The New Zealand Curriculum
  • developing leadership capability
  • establishing effective self-review systems.
Progress

The school has, with support from the Ministry of Education, developed good processes to address areas for review and development. Since the 2011 ERO review the board, senior leaders and staff have been focused on strategies to improve student outcomes.

Students are confident in talking about what they are learning and how they can develop their capabilities. Classroom displays of students’ ideas show the value teachers place on student voice. Teachers have developed useful strategies to support students to lead their own learning.

The board receives good quality student achievement information from senior leaders. As a result, the board is better positioned to support the principal in leading school improvement and teachers in their work to raise student achievement. Trustees value parent contributions and are exploring ways to strengthen partnerships that are focused on children’s learning.

Twenty-six percent of students identify as Māori. Their identity, language and culture continue to be affirmed through school protocols and through the regular teaching and use of te reo Māori. School leaders and teachers are now better able to monitor Māori students’ achievement and progress. As a result, the board is better informed about how well groups of students, including Māori and Pacific students, are progressing.

More clearly defined roles and responsibilities have supported teachers to confidently contribute to school initiatives focused on raising student achievement. Teachers have responded positively to professional learning and development with a focus on enhancing student learning. They have shown a responsiveness and commitment to accelerating the progress of students achieving below and well below the National Standards for reading, writing and mathematics.

School-wide professional learning and development focuses on teaching practices that meet diverse learners’ requirements. Teachers are increasingly aware of the importance of planning and delivering programmes that reflect the principles of The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC). The good alignment between the NZC and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) promotes inquiry learning and provides a means for students to understand and use key competencies.

3 Sustainable performance and self review

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

Progress

The school is well placed to sustain and continue to improve and review its performance.

More consistent and good quality teaching and learning practice is evident school-wide since the 2011 ERO review. Effective monitoring of curriculum delivery by senior leaders, and targeted professional learning and development, are contributing to positive outcomes for students.

Trustees, leaders and teachers have worked collaboratively with Ministry of Education personnel to improve teaching and learning. Involvement in the Ministry of Education’s Student Achievement Function (SAF) initiative has supported the school to strengthen its internal capability to implement a sustainable cycle of planning focused on continuous school improvement.

The new principal and board have worked effectively together to build on school improvement initiatives and support sustainability by:

  • informing staff about required changes and welcoming their input
  • providing useful feedback to teachers about ways they can improve their practice to enhance student learning
  • coordinating professional learning development for teachers to ensure consistency of teaching practice
  • implementing more robust systems for assessing and moderating student achievement.

The new principal’s purpose and drive is well supported by trustees who offer a variety of areas of expertise. This positive relationship has contributed to a more settled tone in the school that is focused on what is best for students. The board is developing a sound foundation of systems and processes to sustain and build on current good practices. Trustees are now committed to using self review to inform the school’s strategic direction and continuous improvement. The board has a current focus on strengthening reciprocal relationships between the school and parents and whānau. Trustees, senior leaders and teachers are more confident to engage with parents and whānau about ways the school’s curriculum recognises their aspirations for their children and promotes high quality student learning.

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.

When is ERO likely to review the school again?

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

Dale Bailey

National Manager Review Services Northern Region

11 April 2014

About the School

Location

Ostend, Waiheke Island

Ministry of Education profile number

6922

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

202

Gender composition

Girls 51% Boys 49%

Ethnic composition

Māori

NZ European/Pākehā

British

Pacific

other European

other

26%

55%

6%

1%

6%

6%

Review team on site

February 2014

Date of this report

11 April 2014

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Supplementary Review

Education Review

December 2011

September 2008

August 2007