Fairhaven School

1 Context

Fairhaven School has an increasing roll and provides a welcoming and inclusive environment. The school has formed good relationships with Waitaha and Tapuika iwi, Pacific, Pākehā and Indian communities. Parents, whānau and other community members are involved in their child’s learning, including many school activities and events. The school provides choice to its community by providing English and Māori medium education.

2 Equity and excellence

The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are that all children 'will be confident, connected, actively involved, lifelong learners who Dream, Strive and Achieve through Kotahitanga (unity)'. The values of respect, responsibility and resilience are stated and contribute to equity and excellence.

For all children, the school's 2015 achievement data shows that 239/331 were at/above National Standards in reading, 250/331 in writing, and 212/331 in mathematics.

The school’s achievement information for Māori children in English medium classes, from 2013 to 2015 shows that in reading, writing and mathematics there has been consistent accelerated progress in relation to National Standards for those children at risk.

The school's achievement information for children in Māori medium has been gathered using Ngā Whanaketanga. At this very early stage, base-line data indicates that after one year in immersion most children are at or above in most aspects of literacy and numeracy. School targets are focused so that after three years of immersion children will be working at either at or above in oral and written language.

Pacific and Indian children's achievement information in reading, writing and mathematics for 2015 shows that a small group is at risk of not achieving. Some of these children are English second language learners.

Since the 2013 ERO report the school has had an ongoing focus on accelerating the progress of Māori children and others who are achieving below expected levels. There is a strategic focus to accelerate and raise the achievement of all children, particularly Māori and Pacific children. Some identified aspects include:

• strengthening the Toitoi Manawa programme and the sequential te reo and tikanga Māori programme for Māori and other children in mainstream classes
• clear and explicit expectations of teachers for planning and teaching in literacy and mathematics, to meet the specific learning needs of individual and groups of children
• a wide range of school-wide professional learning and development programmes for leaders, teachers and teacher aides to improve their understanding about how to accelerate children’s learning
• ‘Maths Together’ and ‘Reading Together’ programmes to build learning partnerships with parents and whānau
• a systematic internal evaluation programme that is responsive, encourages open dialogue, teacher reflection and evaluative thinking
• the alignment of school goals to teacher appraisal and the alignment of targeted students as part of teacher inquiry in each class
• trustees are representative of the community scrutinise student achievement information.

3 Accelerating achievement

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

Fairhaven School’s learning community has a responsive strategic approach to accelerating the learning and achievement of Māori children. Trustees, leaders, teachers, children, whānau, hapū and iwi work to support the acceleration and progress of Māori children. The school's internal evaluation processes focus them on equity and excellence, and on improving educational outcomes for all Māori children.

This strong commitment ensures that whānau are well informed and participate in setting goals with their children and teachers. Regular reports in reading, writing and mathematics track and monitor their child's progress overtime. Highly effective community partnerships extend and enrich opportunities for children to become confident, connected and active learners.

In 2013 the school identified that to improve equitable outcomes for Māori children they needed to consult with the Māori community. A Toitoi Manawa class was established for those families who chose to have their children taught in a te reo Māori setting and in 2016 a third immersion class was added. Toitoi Manawa provides a highly responsive learning environment for all Māori children. The Toitoi Manawa strategic plan is well defined, and systems and practices are designed to respond to Māori children whose learning and achievement needs acceleration.

The school tracks all Māori learners and considers specific support systems likely to accelerate their progress. Children are placed in either teacher target groups or a focus group within their respective classes and are supported by both teacher and specialist teachers. Regular evaluation provides a good basis for future programmes and resourcing.

A whole school focus on the ‘Accelerated Literacy Learning’ (ALL) programme provides teachers with an effective tool kit to improve teaching strategies and monitor children's progress. This initiative is closely aligned to teacher inquiry and appraisal. A shared sense of purpose and meaningful discussions about children’s learning are part of teacher reflection, to understanding what accelerated progress means for individual children.

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

The school effectively responds to the learning needs to many of the other children. The processes used to involve Māori whānau has been extended to involve parents from Indian, Pacific and other cultures. Teachers and school leaders listen to parents, listen to new ideas and work to better understand how to respond to the needs of children. These initiatives have had a significant influence on all children, particularly those whose progress needs acceleration.

School data for 2015, shows that in mathematics 22 Asian, 38 other and a small number of Pacific were not meeting national expectations. In reading there were 18 Asian, 28 other and a small number of Pacific, while in writing there 16 Asian, 29 other and a small number of Pacific.

Teachers are well informed, use previous achievement information and progress statements on individual and groups of children to inform their planning and learning programmes. An intervention register records the appropriate information about individual children, and their programmes are regularly reviewed and evaluated in relation to literacy and mathematics.

The ‘Reading Together’ and 'Maths Together' programmes that have been hosted at school and marae have also been hosted at the Sikh temple. These places provide opportunities for parents and children to participate effectively in working together to accelerate children’s learning.

Children who have English as their second language benefit from specific literacy programmes delivered by specialist teachers who are supported by trained teacher aides. Individualised education plans, promote a collaborative relationship focused on the child's learning. The Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO) monitors individual children's progress. A detailed evaluative report is provided to the board of trustees that shows that all children who participate in these 2015 programmes made accelerated progress.

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 curriculum, strategic processes and practices reflect the school's vision, values, goals for equity and excellence. The school community has embraced the concepts of whanaungatanga and kotahitanga. The principal and school leaders and teachers have developed inclusive partnerships with Māori, Pacific, Indian and other groups.

Culture and identity contributes to a high degree of collaboration and to the schools' internal evaluation processes. These processes include an awareness of cultural expectations, use of achievement information and a commitment to all children and their parents that the school is working with them, in the best interests of their children. Parents benefit from an approach, which is focused on the needs of children and their aspirations.

Teachers, parents and whānau work effectively together for the benefit of children. Teachers learn about the aspirations and concerns of whānau. They reflect on whether their teaching strategies and initiatives accelerate the child’s learning and consider how they might change their practice to meet the specific needs of children.

All children are willing participants in the learning relationships. Seeing and understanding that their parents, whānau and teachers are working together to help them with their learning promotes a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing among all children. Parents, whānau, teachers and children working together has strengthened learning partnerships and contributes to the acceleration of children’s progress and learning.

A coherent and rich curriculum is well designed, organised and managed. The curriculum supports and affirms all groups, cultures and ethnicities within the school and wider community. Te reo and tikanga Māori processes are reflected across the curriculum. The languages, cultures and identity of other children and their families is acknowledged and celebrated. Children at this school have a strong sense of self belief and confidence that learning is about achieving and experiencing success.

5 Going forward

How well placed is the school to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children?

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 very well placed to achieve, extend and sustain equity and excellence opportunities for Māori children and all other children. Trustees, leaders, teachers, children, parents and whānau are working together to provide positive outcomes for all children.

The school charter targets are focused on decreasing the disparity of achievement for individuals and within the different ethnic groups. The specific focus on accelerating the progress and achievement of Māori children and others who are at risk of not achieving positive educational outcomes is resulting in a clear achievement trajectory towards children achieving at national expectations in literacy, mathematics and other curriculum areas.

The school is in a position to share with other schools in their Community of Learning the initiatives and strategies so that children who they are finding are at risk of low educational outcomes are achieving success.

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 the school continue to embed initiatives that integrate the diversity of the local community into the curriculum and continue to promote whanaungatanga and kotahitanga. The school and the community are focused on the school conditions most likely to support them on their drive for equity and excellence for all children. 

Lynda Pura-Watson

Deputy Chief Review Officer

18 October 2016

About the school