Frimley School

Education institution number:
2563
School type:
Contributing
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
504
Telephone:
Address:

200 Frimley Road, Frimley, Hastings

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Frimley School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 3 months of the Education Review Office and Frimley 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 

Frimley School is located in Heretaunga (Hastings), Hawke’s Bay and sits in the rohe of Ngāti Kahungunu.  It is part of the Ngā hau e whā Kāhui Ako cluster and the school caters for learners in years 1 to 6.

The following tauparapara lays the foundation for the school’s place-based curriculum which is conceptualised through the Ngāti Kahungunu pēpeha

Heretaunga ararau, Heretaunga haukū nui, Heretaunga raorao haumako, Heretaunga Haaro o te kaahu, Heretaunga Takoto noa 

Ko Takitimu te waka, Ko Ngaruroro te awa, Ko Kahuranaki te maunga, Ko Ngāti Kahungunu te iwi.  

The values of; Rangatiratanga-being able to weave together learning, Manaakitanga-the ability to be able to uplift others, Whanaungatanga-being able to make connections to all people who are around you and Kaitiakitanga-being a protector and guardian of yourself and others guide all aspects of schooling.  

Inā kei te mohio koe ko wai koe, I anga mai koe i hea, kei te mohio koe. Kei te anga atu ki hea.

If you know who you are and where you are from, then you will know where you are going.

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

  • to have high aspirations for every learner / ākonga, and supporting these by partnering with their whānau and communities to design and deliver education that responds to their needs, and sustains their identities, languages and cultures

  • ensuring that every learner gains sound foundation skills, including language, literacy and numeracy

  • to meaningfully incorporate te reo Māori and tikanga Māori into the everyday life of the place of learning.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the school is achieving its strategic priorities.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to validate the quality of internal evaluation processes and practices used by the school.

The school expects to see continuous improvement and positive learner outcomes for all.

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support it in its goal to realise it’s vision, values and strategic goals:

  • learners experience a school climate that is inclusive and culturally responsive

  • learners are making accelerated progress towards achieving equitable outcomes

  • strong partnerships for learning with mana whenua, iwi and whānau

  • school practices and activities are effectively supporting students through an environment that grows their identity, language and culture.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • leaders and teachers seeking evidence about the effectiveness of professional learning in terms of change in teacher practice, and its impact on a broad range of learner outcomes

  • critically reflecting on a range of assessment, voice and evidence that is collected to determine progress and identify next steps

  • activating its responsibility to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

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.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

23 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

Frimley School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of July 2022, the Frimley School, 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 Frimley School, 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.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
23 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

Frimley School - 10/07/2018

School Context

Frimley School in Hastings is for students in Years 1 to 6. The roll of 525 students includes 38% who are Māori, 10% Indian and 7% of Pacific heritage. Eleven percent are funded as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students, and this group has increased each year since 2015.

Leaders, teachers and trustees embrace the core values that are contained with the Triple A vision: Attitude, Action, Achievement.

Learning aims focus on students making accelerated progress toward the appropriate achievement level, with particular emphasis on writing and mathematics.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:

  • achievement in reading, writing and mathematics

  • health and wellbeing.

The school operates in four learning communities, named following consultation with whānau and Ngāti Kahungunu. These are Heretaunga ararau, Heretaunga haukunui, Heretaunga haaro o te kahu and Heretaunga takoto noa.

Since the April 2015 ERO report, the deputy principal and three new learning community leaders have been appointed.

Teachers are regularly involved in professional learning and development through external and internal initiatives, to promote positive learner outcomes. For 2018 this focuses on cultural competence and responsiveness, future-focused learning and positive behaviour for learning.

The school is a base school for Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour. It is part of Ngā Hau e Whā Kāhui Ako, and the principal is the current lead principal of this 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?

Achievement data collected over time indicates that the large majority of students at Frimley School are achieving at and above The New Zealand Curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.

Disparity for Māori, when compared to Pākehā students in reading, writing and mathematics is known by the school. Reported data in 2017 indicates a narrowing of the gap in writing and mathematics.

Pacific children achieved at significantly lower levels than their peers at the end of 2017. This group included 13 funded ESOL students.

More girls than boys were achieving at and above expected levels in reading and writing at the end of 2017.

Students with additional learning needs are well identified and relevant interventions put in place to assist them. External expertise supports this provision appropriately.

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

A strategic approach to raise the achievement of those students not succeeding at expected levels is clearly documented.

There is evidence of accelerated progress for some students during 2017, achieved through school-wide targeting and intervention programmes.

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?

Trustees, leaders and staff have a clear strategic vision strongly focused on student learning and wellbeing and valuing cultural diversity. Equitable and excellent outcomes for children are promoted through coherent systems and processes and a culture of collective responsibility for ongoing improvement.

Since the 2015 ERO review, the principal has led significant implementation of a shared vision for the school. This has resulted in the adoption of learning environments and reviewed pedagogies and practices to better support positive student outcomes.

A wide range of well-considered initiatives supports the learning and wellbeing of students. Programmes and strategies are developmentally appropriate for responding to learner needs.

A purposeful approach, undertaken in collaboration with parents, whānau and iwi, supports the further development of culturally-responsive practices. Equity and excellence are promoted through the school’s cohesive curriculum that clearly prioritises positive student achievement and wellbeing outcomes. Students engage in activities and community events that reflect their culture.

Students’ wellbeing is nurtured in several ways, including through the shared understanding and reinforcement of the Triple A values. The full-time nurse is integral to supporting the health and wellbeing of students, in partnership with their families. The special education needs coordinator has oversight of a range of learning and wellbeing initiatives, including liaising with appropriate external expertise.

A strong, schoolwide focus is on supporting children to build their capability to make choices and self direct their learning. Children’s knowledge of their strengths and next learning steps is clearly evident. Student leadership is encouraged in the daily life of the school.

Students’ active engagement in their learning is supported by:

  • the high expectations of teachers

  • stimulating learning environments that include prompts for self assessment and reflect current and prior learning

  • their well-developed self-management skills

  • strategic resourcing of teachers and learning assistants

  • deliberate teaching, including flexible groupings and specific workshops.

A deliberate and comprehensive approach builds teacher capability to enhance promotion of identity, language and culture for Māori students and their whānau. A focus on developing the cultural competencies of leaders and teachers in te reo me ngā tikanga Māori effectively supports the provision of a culturally-responsive learning environment for Māori children.

The school actively seeks engagement with and participation of whānau, Pacific parents and the Indian community to support children’s success through learning partnerships. Community voice is valued and contributes to the school’s strategic direction. A wide range of appropriate and effective communication strategies is used to share information about students’ learning and progress with families. These include use of digital platforms.

Evidence-based pedagogy underpins the school curriculum that is clearly aligned to The New Zealand Curriculum. Consistent expectations for teaching and learning guide teachers’ practice. Well-established appraisal and teacher-inquiry frameworks are meaningfully aligned with school priorities.

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

Trustees, leaders and teachers should continue to:

  • embed shared understanding and use of internal evaluation to better determine what works and what is required to sustain ongoing improvement of achievement for all groups of students

  • build on the systems and processes in place to track and monitor the acceleration of those students whose learning and achievement is not at curriculum expectations.

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:

  • the clear strategic vision and goals that support ongoing improvement in students’ learning and wellbeing and value cultural diversity

  • a culture of collaboration among leaders and teachers that effectively promotes high quality teaching and high expectations for learning

  • pastoral care that systematically responds to students’ needs and promotes their wellbeing.

Next step

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

  • continuing to build on systems and processes that measure the progress and acceleration of all groups of students and support evaluation of the effectiveness of strategies and initiatives.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

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

Alan Wynyard

Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)

Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region

10 July 2018

About the school

Location

Hastings

Ministry of Education profile number

2563

School type

Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

School roll

525

Gender composition

Boys 54%, Girls 46%

Ethnic composition

Māori 38%
Pākehā 36%
Indian 10% 
Samoan 5% 
Chinese 2%
Other ethnic groups 9%

Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)

Yes

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

June 2018

Date of this report

10 July 2018

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review April 2015
Education Review October 2010
Education Review November 2007

Frimley School - 14/04/2015

Findings

Frimley School leaders and teachers use student information very well to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement. The school’s curriculum provides good support for students’ learning through authentic topics and experiences. Frimley School is well placed to sustain and improve its performance.

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

1 Context

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

Frimley School is located in Hastings and caters for students in Years 1 to 6. The roll of 529 includes 38% Māori and 5% of Pacific cultures. The school’s ‘Triple A values of Attitude, Action and Achievement’ are evident in practices and the positive tone of the school. Students participate in a diverse range of activities outside the classroom including sports, the arts, culture and leadership.

Since the October 2010 ERO report a new principal and deputy principal have been appointed.

The board and leaders have goals and plans in place to ‘challenge students to reach their full potential’ as self-directed learners through diverse teaching and learning relationships.

Cultural diversity is celebrated. A strong commitment to support student wellbeing is highly evident. Parents and whānau are valued partners in their children’s learning.

Trustees, leaders and staff are focused on ensuring all students have equitable access to learning and success.

2 Learning

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

Student achievement information is very well used to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement.

Data reported to the board in 2014 shows that most students are achieving at or above in relation to the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders are aware of the need to accelerate progress for some groups of students. The school has identified writing as a priority in 2015.

Charter and class achievement targets are strongly linked. Strengthened data analysis and specific actions for identified groups of students are helping teachers to monitor their progress more closely.

Teachers are reviewing assessment practices that inform their judgements about student progress and achievement in relation to the National Standards. Leaders agree with ERO that this should enable them to provide more clarity in reports to parents and whānau about how their children are achieving in relation to the Standards.

Teachers regularly reflect on the achievement and progress of priority learners. Team reviews of these students’ data form a basis for discussions about strategies to accelerate their achievement.

Students with additional needs and diverse abilities are well supported. They have targeted programmes and individual education plans, based on their strengths and needs, to enable them to be successful achievers. Families and external agencies are included in discussions about these students’ goals and progress.

Parents receive sound information in reports about what their children can do and next steps for improvement in relation to the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Students’ learning journey books provide good support for three-way learning conversations. These show progress, teachers’ and students’ comments and assessments.

Transitions into school nurture students and enhance their confidence and sense of security. Good relationships have been established with local early childhood centres to support children and their families moving to school.

There are twenty-nine Pacific students at the school. The majority are Samoan and Cook Island Māori. Pacific students’ achievement is tracked and monitored. It shows that most are achieving at or above the National Standards. Appropriate English as a Second Language support is in place. Leaders are considering ways to better respond to the cultures, languages and identities of these Pacific students and developing relationships with their families.

3 Curriculum

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

The school’s curriculum promotes and supports student learning through authentic topics and experiences. All learning areas are integrated, with a strong focus on literacy and numeracy. The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) key competencies are evident in classroom practices. Clear expectations for teaching, learning and assessment practices are provided for teachers.

Leaders agree with ERO, that the planned review of the school’s curriculum should include clear alignment with the principles and key competencies of the NZC.

Students’ contributions to learning are evident in classroom programmes and team meetings. This practice is helping to establish a good platform for the development of more self-directed learning. Students set goals that help them identify areas where they need to develop further understanding. All students have opportunities to learn about te ao Māori.

Teachers effectively use a wide range of strategies that engage students in purposeful learning. These include:

  • promoting positive and affirming relationships amongst students and with teachers
  • a focus on students being self managing and independent
  • learning activities that are meaningful and based on students’ experiences
  • conversations that support students to express their understanding and opinions
  • integration of information and communication technologies in lessons
  • linking learning with students prior knowledge and understanding.
  • Students engage with learning in environments that are calm and inclusive.

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

The school’s commitment to promoting success for Māori students is evident in the charter. It has identified a goal to develop a clear strategy for raising Māori students’ achievement, based on partnerships for learning. ERO agrees with this direction.

Most Māori students achieve at and above in relation to National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. They achieve at similar levels to their peers in reading and mathematics. Māori students feature in school and classroom achievement targets.

Te reo Māori is taught by a specialist teacher at all year levels. Local iwi contexts are used in the programme. Students participate in kapa haka, waiata and marae visits. Whānau are actively involved in school activities.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

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

The principal and senior leaders’ change management plan includes a strong focus on the development of student-led learning. The views of staff are contributing to decisions about change and setting of priorities. Good professional support is in place to develop leadership at all levels.

Trustees are well informed about student achievement and programmes in the school. They have contributed to charter development. Their decisions are focused on the provision of significant and appropriate resourcing.

The principal’s reports to the board include very sound analysis and suggestions for moving the school forward. Reports about interventions identify outcomes, barriers and new approaches to be taken. Trustees are fully informed about intended changes.

Reviews of systems and practices are targeted and thoughtfully structured, with areas for development identified. Parents, families and whānau contributions are welcomed and encouraged as part of decision making and ongoing reviews.

Teachers are a cohesive, collegial team. They share ideas and use student achievement data and education research to reflect on how effectively their teaching practices are improving students’ learning. Decisions about their professional learning are clearly linked to students’ needs and classroom practices. The teacher appraisal process includes job descriptions linked to charter goals. It is strongly focused on developing teachers’ practice to meet the students' current needs and is linked to future goals of students as self-directed learners.

The principal and senior leaders are providing clear direction for future student learning and teaching. They are supporting teachers to achieve the vision of student-directed 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.

Conclusion

Frimley School leaders and teachers use student information very well to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement. The school’s curriculum provides good support for students’ learning through authentic topics and experiences. Frimley School is well placed to sustain and improve its performance.

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

Joyce Gebbie

Deputy Chief Review Officer Central

14 April 2015

About the School

Location

Hastings

Ministry of Education profile number

2563

School type

Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

School roll

529

Gender composition

Female 51%, Male 49%

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Asian

Pacific Island

Other ethnic groups

38%

43%

11%

5%

3%

Special features

Resource Teacher: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) base school

Review team on site

February 2015

Date of this report

14 April 2015

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Education Review

October 2010

November 2007

October 2004