Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ

Education institution number:
4156
School type:
Special School
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
School for pupils with vision impairments
Total roll:
65
Telephone:
Address:

2 McVilly Rd, Manurewa, Auckland

View on map

Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 6 months of the Education Review Office and Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ 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 

The Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ (BLENNZ) is a national school based in Manurewa, Auckland. It provides a network of education services to blind, deafblind, and low vision ākonga throughout New Zealand from birth to 21 years, including those who have additional learning needs.

As a national school with a wide community, it includes ākonga and their whānau; Resource Teachers Vision (RTV) and blindness educators; partner service providers, such as Blind Low Vision NZ (aka Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind); and blindness education sector groupings.

Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • all BLENNZ staff will demonstrate increased knowledge skills and understanding with regards to bicultural practice

  • to review and revise the BLENNZ curriculum (Expanded Core Curriculum) ensuring it reflects the intent of the national curriculum refresh, a bicultural inclusive curriculum

  • to work in collaboration with whānau and the teaching team to further the scope and integration of the BLENNZ curriculum for Orientation and Mobility (O&M) and daily life skills. This will inform and further develop the services for Developmental Orientation and Mobility (DOM) and Life Skills resulting in a holistic approach which leads enhanced outcomes for ākonga.

You can find a copy of the network’s strategic and annual plan on Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ’s website.

ERO and BLENNZ are working together to evaluate how well the revised BLENNZ Expanded Core Curriculum empowers ākonga who are blind, deafblind and low vision to effectively access and participate in Te Whāriki (the Early Childhood Curriculum) and Te Mātaiaho (Refreshing The New Zealand Curriculum) enabling each learner to reach their full potential.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to support senior leadership review the BLENNZ Expanded Core Curriculum to ensure it:

  • is responsive to the intent of Te Mātaiaho

  • continues to enhance positive learning and wellbeing outcomes for ākonga.

The network expects to see:

  • enhanced ākonga access and engagement in learning through Te Mātaiaho

  • ākonga outcomes enriched through a consistently equitable and strengths-based approach to teaching and learning

  • teacher capability in service delivery of the refreshed Expanded Core Curriculum strengthened through appropriate professional development.

Strengths

The network can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how well the revised BLENNZ Expanded Core Curriculum empowers ākonga who are blind, deafblind and low vision, to access and participate in Te Mātaiaho (Refreshing The New Zealand Curriculum) enabling each learner to reach their full potential:

  • ākonga experience holistic learning approaches that promote a strong sense of belonging, are culturally responsive and promote self-advocacy

  • leadership that continually adapts implementation and strategy to deliver on the school’s priorities

  • leadership that collaboratively sustains a culture of relational trust, to ensure ongoing organisational capacity building for continuous improvement.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • a review of the BLENNZ Expanded Core Curriculum to align with the intention of Te Mātaiaho

  • professional development to continue to strengthen teacher capability across the network activating and integrating the calls to action within Te Mātaiaho and the BLENNZ Expanded Core Curriculum   

  • review and refinement of the BLENNZ Framework of Indicators, to measure and report on individual and aggregated ākonga outcomes in response to the refreshed curricula.

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

27 July 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

Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2023 to 2026

As of March 2023, the Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ (BLENNZ) 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 Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ Board.

The next 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

27 July 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

Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ

Hostel Report

Background

The Chief Review Officer has the authority to carry out reviews (which may be general or in relation to particular matters) of the provision of a safe physical and emotional environment that supports learning for students accommodated in hostels under section 470 of the Education and Training Act 2020. This function is delegated to review officers who have the powers to enter and carry out review of hostels under section 472 of the Act.

Findings

The hostel manager and the hostel owner have attested in the Hostel Assurance Statement that they meet the requirements of the Hostel Regulations 2005.

Hostel Whāre Nīkau is a home like environment where boarders are treated as individuals with individual needs. The setting is purpose built and provides opportunities for students to learn independence, social and daily living skills in a supportive and encouraging environment. Students learn alongside their peers and lasting friendships are made. They have many opportunities to experience and engage in a variety of community activities. Students appreciate that they are consulted and can contribute to decisions that affect them.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

27 July 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

Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ - 18/01/2017

Findings

BLENNZ is an effectively managed national network providing high quality educational services to blind and low vision learners nationally. These children and young people benefit from the lifelong skills they gain from skilled staff over an extended period.

The network offers wrap-round support for families, and values the partnerships with parents and whānau that are built around their children’s needs. The organisation is improvement focused and invests responsibly in the future of blind and low vision education.

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

1 Context

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

The Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ (BLENNZ) provides educational programmes and specialist support services to children and young persons throughout New Zealand who are blind or have low vision. National assessment, and specialist Developmental Orientation and Mobility services, together with the Year 1 to 13 Homai Campus School, are based at the national hub in Manurewa, South Auckland. The national network comprises 14 regional Vision and Resource centres, and includes residential facilities on the Homai campus.

Over 1500 students across New Zealand receive services from BLENNZ. Of these, 37 students, many with complex learning needs, currently attend the Homai Campus School. Others are enrolled in mainstream schools, attached units, special schools and satellite classes. A wide diversity of staff including Resource Teachers; Vision (RTV), teacher aides, clinicians, residential youth workers and centre managers are employed by the school Board of Trustees

BLENNZ was established in 2005, when the funding and resources allocated for the regional centres was aggregated under a single board of trustees. At the time of ERO’s 2012 review, BLENNZ leadership was transitioning to a restructured management team and a new principal. Good progress was noted in the efficiencies created by the aggregation, the overall performance of the organisation, centralisation of senior managers, and positive outcomes for learners.

Over the past four years, BLENNZ has continued to build staff capability, particularly in the areas of leadership and professional practice. A learning culture, based on well-established values and beliefs has enabled staff to embed the new BLENNZ curriculum and develop shared expertise. The principal and senior leaders model the network’s vision. They work collaboratively and strategically. Together, they have strengthened consistency and alignment around the board’s direction and policies, and national operating systems.

BLENNZ is becoming positioned internationally as a centre of excellence for blind and low vision learners and their families. Significant resourcing for professional learning and development is enabling staff to gain post graduate qualification, attend and contribute at Pacific and overseas conferences. A strong emphasis on inquiry and reflection, based on evidence and consultation, underpins a commitment to ongoing evaluation and continual improvement.

2 Learning

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

The school is increasing its use of achievement information to make positive changes for learners’ engagement and progress. Progress information is critical to designing programmes that respond promptly to each student’s changing learning needs. Many students have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) with goals that are regularly updated with input from RTVs, classroom teachers, parents, and increasingly from student voice.

The National Assessment Services based at Homai campus, provide valuable information to support teachers and parents, and inform the development and monitoring of the IEPs. These services are staffed by high quality professionals with expertise in visual impairment and specialist learning strategies. Immersion programmes and curriculum days are offered throughout the year at the Homai campus and at local centres. These courses, tailored for small groups of students and their RTVs, are proving highly effective in increasing learner engagement.

Senior leaders closely examine the use and validity of assessment information. They align the use of data gathering and analysis to the BLENNZ curriculum as well as to The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) level expectations and, where appropriate, to the National Standards. Professional development for teachers and RTVs includes best practice in the use of IEPs, and the use of suitable assessment tools. As a result, the tracking and reporting of assessment information has become more reliable and valid.

A new national diagnostic assessment tool has been developed to use across the network. A framework of indicators, based on key domains, enables network leaders to assess the different strengths and needs of each student. This information is useful in determining learner priorities across the regions and guiding differentiated approaches to resourcing. Consideration could be given to collating and analysing this information in different ways to inform future decision making.

Network goals in relation to student learning are specific and measurable. The principal reports very thoroughly to the board on progress towards these goals. Further analysis in relation to gender and ethnicity could also be useful. Network leaders are currently working with the Ministry of Education to design a national outcomes measurement tool for learners with special needs. The use of indicators based on presence, participation and progress, could be useful in evaluating organisational effectiveness over time within the context of special education.

Staff form close relationships with families and whānau who are well informed about their child’s learning progress. While all students involved with BLENNZ have needs related to visual impairment, there is a wide range of ability and outcomes. The students who attend the Homai campus school have complex needs and many are working towards Level 1 of The New Zealand Curriculum. Others, who attend mainstream schools, aspire to and attain national secondary qualifications and pathways to tertiary education.

Student progress and achievement is carefully monitored and reported. Achievement is closely aligned to the BLENNZ Expanded Core Curriculum that encompasses social skills, orientation and mobility, and the use of assistive technologies. These related skills are critical to lifelong success for blind and low vision learners.

3 Curriculum

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

The BLENNZ Expanded Core Curriculum clearly promotes and support students’ learning. The unique and well-designed curriculum has developed over a number of years through a process of consultation and research. It is a purposefully structured document, drawing on learning dispositions from Te Whāriki, the Early Childhood Curriculum, key competencies from The New Zealand Curriculum, and expectations of learners at tertiary levels.

The school curriculum relates strongly to the BLENNZ vision for lifelong learning, and recognises that the majority of students have a long term relationship with the network from early years to the age of 21. Positive and enduring relationships with parents and whānau are established over this extended period. Transition points from early childhood, through primary and secondary schooling and beyond, are inherent in the curriculum and consequently managed very effectively.

The emphasis on leadership training, team building and professional development for RTVs and specialists has positive benefits for the network. Critical components of the curriculum, include the variety of orientation, mobility and digital learning skills that students require to access learning programmes and gain independence. The specialist staff, based at the Homai campus, who deliver these programmes work closely with teachers and parents to ensure that students develop these skills from a young age.

The curriculum is delivered effectively through the work of the RTVs and the managers of the regional visual services. Extensive and targeted professional development across the network is ensuring that the curriculum is being embedded in teacher planning, assessment and reporting practices. Operating systems are well understood, and communication has strengthened with the upgraded digital infrastructure. Staff feel well connected and informed through the virtual staffroom. A positive and professional learning culture is evident across the network.

The BLENNZ curriculum offers learners a number of flexible pathways. For the majority, in mainstream schools and attached units, serviced by skilled RTV, it complements the NZC and National Qualification Framework guidelines. For those with more complex learning needs attending the Year 1 to 8 Homai campus and other special schools, the curriculum provides a focus for teachers and parents to collaborate in supporting student’s learning progress.

The residential Kickstart programme, for mature students aged 18 to 21 years, is also underpinned by the BLENNZ curriculum, with a strong focus on gaining independent living skills. Current residents, and some who previously attended Kickstart, reported enthusiastically to ERO on the benefits of living on the campus and learning to live independently. New initiatives, including Jump Start for younger teenagers, are being trialled to extend the use of residential education, which is a key feature of the network’s curriculum design.

BLENNZ leaders agree that surveying ex-students could provide timely information about learner outcomes and school leaver destinations. This data, together with feedback about curriculum learning opportunities, could provide valuable information to review the curriculum, and evaluate its alignment with the NZ national qualifications framework. 

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

BLENNZ has strengthened its relationship with local iwi in order to better promote success for Māori learners as Māori, and also to raise the profile of biculturalism across the network. Cultural advisers have supported the school at all levels, including the understanding and use of te reo and tikanga Māori.

Students at the Homai campus take part in pōwhiri, learn waiata, and are encouraged to use te reo Māori. Teachers’ professional practice and appraisal is underpinned by culturally responsive criteria from the Education Council’s resource Tātaiako: cultural competencies for teachers of Māori learners. Students and staff have responded well to these recent developments, and Māori learners are proud of the increased recognition of their language, culture and identity.

Iwi consultation has contributed to the recently completed large-scale landscaping project at the Homai campus. Features included in the design of the campus grounds reflect aspects of local cultural significance. The significantly enhanced outdoor environment has extended spaces for physical activity, learning and enjoyment that are benefitting school and residential students, and the staff.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

BLENNZ is very well placed to sustain, and to continue improving its performance. High quality leadership, management and governance are key features of the organisation. Policies and procedures are promulgated through regular management forum and improved information and communication technology networks. The introduction of a revised appraisal system has been used to strengthen the focus on teachers using evidence to inquire into the effectiveness of their practice.

The network’s planning is strategic and goal focused. Trustees and leaders use a variety of external facilitators to support their reviews of operations and their planned internal evaluations. Expectations for improvement and adding value underpin the work of national and regional managers. Teachers conduct inquiry in areas that support their own professional growth and in addition, contribute to wider network internal evaluation.

The board of trustees supports the development of the network, and is very aware of the continuing need for growing staff capacity and capability. BLENNZ employs highly qualified specialists in the area of blind and low vision education. The board invests significantly in building teacher effectiveness and planning for staff succession. Professional development is very well resourced, as are post graduate qualifications for staff through a formal arrangement with Massey University.

The national management team works collaboratively and strategically. The principal has a pivotal role in leading the team and maintaining effective relationships with sector groups. She is a well-respected leader within the organisation. Trustees are considering different options for the principal’s appraisal, to ensure their annual performance agreement supports both the principal’s professional and individual development goals, and the network’s strategic direction.

The board is well informed through a schedule of reporting and policy review, and has established a useful process for the induction of new trustees. Trustees have reviewed employment procedures in response to new legislation. The new student management system, with increased capacity to collate data from across the network, has the potential to better inform managers and trustees about how well the school is meeting the identified needs of learners nationally.

Trustees are thoughtfully managing the network’s aggregated funding responsibilities. They are developing long term plans for managing risk, investing in the future of blind and low vision education, and for promoting BLENNZ in an international arena. These are worthy ventures for the future.

Provision for students in the school hostel

The Homai campus hostels, Nikau Whare and Kickstart are owned and operated by the BLENNZ Board of Trustees. The hostels provide flexible short and long term accommodation to meet the needs of a variety of students, parents and teachers. The hostels enables some secondary students to attend local high schools and supports older students to gain independent living skills through the successful residential Kickstart programme. Small groups of visiting students, with the RTVs, from regional centres, can stay at the Nikau Whare hostel for the duration of short term immersion programmes.

The board is committed to providing modern hostel facilities within an attractive and safe environment. Students enjoy the family-like atmosphere of the hostel and the friendships that they develop. The spacious and redesigned campus grounds enable hostel residents to have increased independence and opportunities for physical recreation. The board continues to make improvements to the management and operations of the hostel, including a closer alignment of hostel management systems with BLENNZ policies and expectations.

Other areas of review include:

  • guidance and training for staff in promoting a positive hostel environment and building respectful and trusting staff and student relationships
  • appointing well qualified residential youth workers and reviewing procedures that help students feel secure in the hostel environment
  • frequent and responsive communication between staff, students and families and increased student input into hostel review and decisions that affect them.

The board has attested that all the requirements of the Hostel Regulations are met.

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

BLENNZ is an effectively managed national network providing high quality educational services to blind and low vision learners nationally. These children and young people benefit from the lifelong skills they gain from skilled staff over an extended period.

The network offers wrap-round support for families, and values the partnerships with parents and whānau that are built around their children’s needs. The organisation is improvement focused and invests responsibly in the future of blind and low vision education.

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

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

18 January 2017

About the School 

Location

Manurewa, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

4156

School type

Special School

School roll

37 at Homai Campus School (Years 1 to 13+)

1542 in BLENNZ

Gender composition (Homai Campus School)

Boys 24 Girls 13

Ethnic composition (Homai Campus School)

Māori

Pākehā

Pacific

Indian

other

7

9

13

6

2

Special Features

Nikau Whare and Kickstart Residential Hostels

Review team on site

October 2016

Date of this report

18 January 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Education Review

November 2012

November 2008

November 2005

 

Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ - 27/11/2012

1 Context

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

Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ (BLENNZ) provides education and support for learners throughout New Zealand from birth to the age of 21. This provision ranges from early childhood education to a post-school transition programme and takes a variety of forms depending on the agreed needs of each learner at any time. Much of the programme is delivered through the Resource Teachers: Vision (RTVs) who work in conjunction with the learner’s local school to provide ongoing support. Homai Campus School provides short-term support for learners and also caters for some very high needs students. An additional programme makes innovative use of available residential accommodation to provide immersion courses for learners who are ordinarily in local schools.

This report focuses on the network of provision for learners, including Homai Campus School and the residential accommodation.

Successive ERO reports on BLENNZ have acknowledged the strength of its leadership and governance. The commitment of school leaders to developing best practice in their area of special education has been well supported by the staff, who have responded positively to the challenges of reshaping the model of educational provision over the last ten years.

Since the 2008 ERO review, the board, with the support of the Ministry of Education, has had the opportunity to rebuild almost all the facilities on the Homai Campus. For the trustees, staff and students and families, the resulting opportunity to determine what matters most about their school has been a very important experience. It has strengthened their shared commitment to BLENNZ and enabled them to articulate a shared vision of high quality practice in blind and low vision education. As a result, the new buildings are a physical expression of commitment to innovative teaching practice as well as being an harmonious and effective working environment for a diverse range of learners.

2 Learning

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

BLENNZ students are highly engaged in learning. Students are placed in a variety of educational settings according to their need at the time. This can vary from being a student at a large secondary or primary school with support from an RTV, to placement in a specialist unit within Manurewa High School, home-room provision within James Cook High School, or placement for a period of time at Homai Campus School for intensive work on the expanded core curriculum. In all instances, the student’s progress and satisfaction are carefully monitored to ensure the best fit.

BLENNZ often begins its relationship with families from a very early age. After careful assessment, differentiated provision also applies to blind and low vision learners in early childhood. The care that is taken to form relationships with families is evident in the strength of the partnerships between BLENNZ staff and families as the children progress through their education. Working with families in their homes and in early childhood education builds a strong foundation for competent and capable learners.

The progress of all BLENNZ learners is carefully monitored against their Individual Education Plans. Older students have Individual Transition Plans. The goals that are determined between the teachers, therapists, the families and, increasingly, the students, focus on learning and on ensuring that individuals develop the competencies needed to be able to function independently as learners.

There is an ongoing challenge in measuring the achievement of learners supported by BLENNZ. School-wide work on quantifying student achievement using indicators of achievement has been useful. Baseline data in literacy is now available and it will be significantly easier to determine how well groups of learners progress.

Most students at Homai Campus School achieve below the applicable National Standards in reading. Appropriate reporting is in place to parents, to the board of trustees and to the Ministry of Education. Parents are well informed about their child’s progress as a learner. Very good use is made of photographic evidence to demonstrate exactly what the child’s achievement is. While this practice is valuable for all learners, it is of particular importance where children are working below Level 1 of The New Zealand Curriculum and are likely to continue to do so.

3 Curriculum

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

The clear focus of BLENNZ staff on the best ways to meet the needs of individual learners remains highly evident.

Students working in mainstream schools with support from RTVs have good opportunities to access the curriculum at age-appropriate levels and to succeed as learners across the curriculum. They are well supported by being able to attend immersion courses on the Homai Campus. These courses bring together groups of students of similar learning needs for residential experiences that extend their academic, personal and cultural learning.

Teachers have worked extensively to develop a BLENNZ curriculum that integrates The New Zealand Curriculum with the Expanded Core Curriculum, the specific skill base for blind and low vision learners. Integrating the teaching of these skills under the overarching key competencies of The New Zealand Curriculum provides a clearer perspective of the learners’ progress, and keeps the focus on the individual as a capable, competent learner.

The use of ICT to support learning is particularly striking. Many students use the special functions of tablet computers that are the same as those used by their peer groups to access print and to see objects in the classroom. As a result, they are able to participate significantly more fully in class and social activities. Being able to keep pace with their peer group and explore individual interests through such devices has been enormously liberating for many of these learners.

Affirming the cultural identity of Pacific students more overtly is a challenge for school leaders. While elements of Pacific cultural identity are part of the Homai campus, priority is rightly given to Māori. In considering future immersion courses it may be useful for teachers to plan courses that focus specifically on building cultural identity.

BLENNZ students at senior secondary level receive very good support to make decisions about their futures. Immersion courses focused on career and future planning are timed early enough for students and their families to make informed choices about pathways into study or employment. The subsequent success of BLENNZ students at universities and in the workforce is rightly a source of pride for the staff.

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

The BLENNZ board and staff are committed to promoting success for Maori as Māori. Almost a quarter of students receiving support nationally from BLENNZ are Māori.

The use of Maōri protocols for formal occasions, as well as in the documentation of policies and procedures, has been appropriately informed by ongoing consultation with Ngati Kāpo o Aotearoa, Tamaki Ngati Kāpo and te Whānau o Homai.

Specially carved door pieces differentiate classrooms at the Homai Campus School and tell the stories of the place. A number of students use te reo Māori confidently and appropriately, and are well supported by school kaumatua.

The challenge now for all staff is to make tikanga Māori and te reo Māori more evident in the daily life of the school. An important step towards achieving this has been taken through the inclusion of culturally responsive competencies for teachers of Maōri children in teacher appraisal.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

BLENNZ is very well placed to sustain and improve its performance. The strong foundations in governance and leadership have proved to be sustainable and effective over time.

The leadership team is collaborative and cohesive. The shared commitment of school leaders to building capacity has resulted in a strong sense of professional identity as the deliverers of a consistently high quality national programme. Leadership structures promote accountability and acknowledge individual strengths. The leadership team is aware that to identify and grow emergent leadership regionally and nationally will further promote sustainable leadership within BLENNZ.

Teachers have worked together effectively to build a strong professional culture that operates throughout the network of provision. Transparent practice and high levels of professional respect, pride and trust are underpinned by robust appraisal. Teachers share an ongoing commitment to researching and implementing the best practice possible for the diverse needs of their learners.

Strong and effective self review is evident. There are clear links from the charter to the strategic plan to the annual plan to personal performance goals. Good reporting cycles and purposeful meetings serve to review and monitor progress towards goals. An action research model is used effectively to explore and develop innovative practice. Reporting to the board and to parents is clear and comprehensive.

Changes in funding formulas and responsibilities for aspects of blindness education have been well managed. Greater certainty about funding will support the board in its desire to build a permanent specialist workforce and will enable more sustainable provision in regional areas.

The BLENNZ Board of Trustees represents parents and the wider blind and low vision community. A legislative change in governance structure has made it possible to incorporate the blind and low vision community, including Ngati Kāpo, representing the Māori blind and low vision community. Trustees travel from around the country to attend meetings and key events. Trustees are aware of the challenges inherent in maintaining the current high levels of commitment and understanding of the nature of the organisation, while remaining open to growth and change.

The BLENNZ board seeks to maintain effective relationships with sector groups to ensure that all interested parties can contribute to the ongoing growth of blind and low vision education in New Zealand. Sector forums have been held and will continue to inform the growth of the organisation.

Provision for students in the school hostel

The school hostel, Nikau Hostel, is owned and operated by the BLENNZ Board of Trustees. The hostel consists of residential accommodation for up to eleven students, who are attending local schools. A group of eleven older students is accommodated in Kickstart House as part of a post-school transition programme.

Further hostel accommodation is available for a variety of purposes. This includes students in immersion programmes who typically stay for a week while they undertake intensive courses, and parents as part of the assessment programme. Access to hostel facilities also supports staff professional development and training.

The hostel has been rebuilt as part of the rebuild of the wider Homai Campus and is designed to be used flexibly.

Attractive new facilities are purpose built to provide for diverse users of the accommodation, including young children with their families. An attractive cafe area, and generous provision of social and quiet spaces are features of a well thought out design that provides a sense of security and privacy where needed and promotes the independence of young people.

Many of the hostel staff have been employed for significant periods of time. Their commitment to the wellbeing of the students is evident and relationships between adults and young people are trusting and respectful. Students are encouraged to take responsibility for themselves and for others and to demonstrate leadership.

Students who are selected for the Kickstart programme very much enjoy the opportunity to live independently in a refurbished communal house. Their daily programme is negotiated with staff and is focused on meeting their individual needs as they move into adult life. The programme is purposeful, challenging and supportive. It clearly provides worthwhile opportunities for personal growth.

Very good systems continue to be evident to support the management of the hostel and to promote students’ welfare and safety. Good reporting systems and thoughtful self review are evident. They are consistent with the high standards attained in this regard throughout BLENNZ.

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 four-to-five years.

Makere Smith

National Manager Review Services

Northern Region (Acting)

27 November 2012

About the School

Location

Manurewa, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

4156

School type

Special school for students with visual impairment.

School roll

40 at Homai Campus School

1436 in BLENNZ network of provision

Gender composition

Boys 26

Girls 14

Ethnic composition

NZ European/Pākehā

Maori

Samoan

Indian

Tongan

other

14

13

6

2

2

3

Special Features

School Hostel

Review team on site

September 2012

Date of this report

27 November 2012

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Accountability Review

November 2008

November 2005

August 2001