Ormiston Primary School

Ormiston Primary School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 19 months of the Education Review Office and Ormiston 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 

Ormiston Primary School is in Southeast Auckland and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school is part of the Ormiston Community Campus with the junior and senior colleges. Since the previous ERO review the roll has continued to grow rapidly to a capacity of over 1200 students due to increased population growth. The school is focused on achieving its vision: ‘To guarantee every learner engages in innovative, personalised world class learning’, and the vision principles of the 4C’s - Capable, Connected, Curious and Collaborative.

Ormiston Primary School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:

  • embed leadership across the school

  • equip educators with the capacity and capability to expedite professional growth

  • build on the foundation of normalising an ambitious curriculum everyday

  • be a school community that strengthens relationships with every interaction.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well school conditions enhance Māori learner connections and agency to enable Māori to achieve success as Māori. The school is continuing to develop culturally sustaining practices across their curriculum to advance equitable and valued outcomes for every learner.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

  • give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi through all aspects of school life

  • ensure Māori learners are engaged in and connected to their learning

  • develop a shared understanding among students, staff and whānau of the aspirations and expectations for Māori learners

  • build reciprocal relationships with Māori whānau and local iwi.

The school expects to see Māori learners consistently well supported to achieve success through developing a strong and secure sense of their cultural identity. Effective teaching will continue to be underpinned by relational and culturally sustaining practices that raise outcomes for every learner. The school will strengthen relationships with Māori whānau and local iwi to enrich opportunities for all.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to enhance Māori learner connections and agency:

  • learners experience a differentiated learning environment that fosters collaboration and positive engagement

  • learners with diverse and complex needs are included and receive personalised support to effectively access the curriculum

  • school leadership consistently prioritises and plans for school improvement through collaboratively enacting the vision and vision principles.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • developing a shared understanding of learner agency and success for Māori to ensure equitable and valued outcomes

  • continuing to embed culturally sustaining practices among staff to promote teaching that is consistently relevant, challenging and meaningful for every learner

  • building proactive partnerships with Māori whānau and local iwi to strengthen reciprocal relationships for the benefit of the wider school community.

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

21 February 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

This school has Ko Taku Reo on site, a primary deaf bilingual provision. A satellite class from Mt Richmond Specialist School will open in Term 4 2023.

Ormiston Primary School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of August 2022, the Ormiston Primary 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 Ormiston Primary 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.

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

21 February 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

Ormiston Primary School - 06/11/2017

Summary

Ormiston Primary School is part of the Ormiston Community Campus along with the junior and senior colleges. The school is in its third year of operation and caters for children from Years 1 to 6. Stage two of the school facilities is under construction. The school will have capacity for 700 children.

There are currently 447 children enrolled at the school. The school’s culturally diverse roll comprises 5 percent Māori, 29 percent Indian, 26 percent Chinese, 7 percent Cambodian and 6 percent Pākehā. There are also children of many other ethnicities.

Kelston Deaf Education Centre (KDEC) class.Many of the families are new to New Zealand. Over half of the children attending the school are supported to learn English as an additional language. The school is a host for a

An elected board of trustees has recently replaced the Establishment Board of Trustees. This new board will provide stewardship for both the primary school and junior college.

Since ERO’s 2015 New Schools Assurance Review, the school has had significant roll growth across all year levels. School leaders report that ongoing challenges to recruit teachers with relevant experience, has emphasised the importance of effective induction and refresher programmes for all staff.

How well is the school achieving equitable outcomes for all children?

The school has processes that are likely to be effective in enabling the achievement of equity and excellence. These include systems and frameworks to guide teachers’ practice, professional learning opportunities, and community and parent relationships.

Due to the school’s short history and rapid roll growth, limited comparisons or trends in student achievement data can be made. Approximately 60 percent of children achieve at or above the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Overall achievement in these learning areas is improving. Some disparities in achievement between groups of children are evident.

Relevant priorities for further development focus on gaining consistency of effective teaching and assessment practices, and strengthening the school’s internal evaluation processes. The school has capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all learners. However, disparity in achievement for Māori and other learners remains.

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

Equity and excellence

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

The school is developing ways to respond to Māori and other children whose progress needs acceleration. It has a range of processes and interventions in place that are likely to enable the achievement of equity and excellence.

The school’s achievement information shows that overall, approximately 60 percent of children attain the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. School achievement data shows a disparity for Māori in reading and mathematics, and for Pacific in writing and mathematics. There is also gender disparity for boys in these three learning areas.

School leaders are aware of the need to continue to build shared understandings of effective assessment practices that will support teachers to make judgements about children’s learning. School leaders now have sufficient data to begin identifying trends and patterns of achievement for children who have been at the school for some time, and also for those groups of children who are new.

Large numbers of children are identified as target learners.Some are children at risk of poor educational outcomes while for others, extending their learning is a priority. Experienced teachers and several learning assistants work closely with groups of children who are English language learners. Comprehensive systems and frameworks are used to track and monitor children’s progress and achievement.

Teachers’ professional conversations about the target children for whose learning they share responsibility, help to decide ways to respond. School data show that many of these children make accelerated progress.

The school is continuing to refine its systems for making dependable achievement judgements. Some moderation of writing samples within and across teams of teachers has been undertaken. Senior leaders moderate overall teacher judgements (OTJs) that are reported to parents.

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

What school processes are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?

The school has some goodsystems, processes and practices in place that are likely to be effective in supporting equity and excellence for learners.

The Ormiston group of schools has the potential to be a new model for education in New Zealand. The coherent education pathway that is emerging offers inherent possibilities for meeting children’s learning needs and abilities and for collaboration. The sharing of facilities and other resources fits well with the ‘one campus’ approach.

An aspirational vision underpins the school direction. The four vision principles (curious, connected, capable, and collaborative) are cornerstones for school documentation and processes. These principles are well understood by all and highly evident in the school culture.

Comprehensive systems, frameworks and processes are in place to support school operations and organisation. Digital platforms promote transparency of processes and collaboration between teachers. The appraisal process supports teachers well to improve their professional practice and to meet the requirements for the endorsement of practising certificates. Internal evaluation is based on an inquiry process already used in the school for other purposes.

Teachers have good opportunities to build on and improve their teaching practice. The board has resourced time for teams of teachers to connect and plan collaboratively, discuss children’s progress and find ways to respond to identified learning strengths and needs. In some teaching teams this process along with critical feedback and reflection, is well established and promotes positive conditions for children’s learning.

The school has become a hub for the community. School leaders and teachers have developed an understanding of the complexities of their unique and rapidly growing community. Good opportunities have been created for community members to extend their learning through adult education classes. Families have electronic access to teachers’ planning and their children’s learning pathways. This helps to keep them informed and up-to-date with their children’s learning.

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

What further developments are needed in school processes to achieve equity and excellence?

In order to promote equity and excellence for all children, school leaders should ensure greater consistency of teaching practices across the school, in assessment literacy and the evaluation of interventions and innovations.

As the roll grows and new teachers join the school, next steps for school leaders include:

  • continuing to develop shared understandings of teaching and learning expectations to realise the school vision and support greater consistency across the school
  • continuing to use internal evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the curriculum, teacher practices and innovations in promoting positive outcomes for all learners
  • ensuring all teachers differentiate learning opportunities so that they continue to be responsive to the diverse learning needs of children
  • continuing to utilise effective assessment practices that will ensure the dependability of student achievement data.

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

  • 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.

Going forward

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

The school has capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all learners. However, disparity in achievement for Māori and/or other learners remains.

Next steps are for senior leaders to continue to:

  • work towards consistency of effective teaching practices

  • grow leaders’ and teachers’ data literacy capability

  • strengthen internal evaluation.

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

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

6 November 2017

About the school

Location

Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

688

School type

Primary

School roll

447

Gender composition

Boys 53% Girls 47%

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Indian

Chinese

Cambodian

Middle Eastern

Fijian

Samoan

Vietnamese

Cook Islands Māori Filipino

Japanese

other European

other ethnicities

3%

6%

29%

26%

7%

5%

4%

3%

3%

2%

2%

2%

2%

6%

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

August 2017

Date of this report

6 November 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

Assurance Review

December 2015