- ERO evaluates and reports on the education and care of children and young people in early childhood services and schools.
Bromley School is a contributing (Years 1-6) primary school in east Christchurch. It has a roll of 365 students, about 31% of whom are Māori.
The school’s mission statement, ‘Achieving personal growth for all through strong community partnerships and innovative teaching and learning’, is the essence of the school’s Reggio-Inspired philosophy. The philosophy is based on the principles of ‘respect, building strong relationships with children and their families, and having an image that all children are full of potential, and are capable of developing their own ideas and knowledge with the support of their parents and teachers’.
The school’s vision is ‘Creating innovative, global citizens to thrive in a changing world’. The vision is aligned with providing teaching and learning to meet the unique needs of each child. The foundations for achieving the vision are the school values: Connected, Creative, Curious, Courageous, and Caring.
Valued outcomes are expressed in the school’s graduate profile. Learners will:
possess a range of skills, knowledge and positive attitudes
show empathy, and respect the cultures, values and beliefs of others
have many learning stories to draw upon and make connections to
understand who they are and what it means to achieve personal success.
Current strategic priorities inform teaching practices and schoolwide themes. The priorities are linked to the school’s philosophy and the connecting ideas of ‘Identity and Diversity’ (uniqueness of the individual) and ‘Manaakitanga’ (showing respect, generosity and care). The priorities are: students flourishing in their academic skills, the encouragement and celebration of character development, partnerships with whānau/families to grow students’ learning capacity, and fostering a culture of excellence, creativity, and unique learning experiences.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
The school has an onsite Social Worker in Schools (SWIS) to support wellbeing initiatives.
The school is part of the Tamai Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning.
The school is effectively using a range of strategies and interventions to support improving outcomes for equity and excellence.
End of year 2018 school information shows that:
the majority of children are achieving at or above expectations in reading, writing and mathematics (Years 1 to 6)
by the end of Year 6 most children achieve at or above expectations in reading, writing and mathematics
most Māori and Pacific children achieve particularly well in writing
almost all Year 6 Māori children achieve at or above expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
Schoolwide information over the last three years shows overall improvement in achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. There is a small disparity in literacy, with girls achieving slightly better.
While most children achieve well by the end of Year 6, 2018 data shows some disparity at other cohort levels. The school has recognised where patterns of underachievement occur and has strategies in place to address these.
Assessment practices for children with additional learning and/or wellbeing needs are individualised, and provide information about individual progress and achievement.
The school actively addresses children’s wellbeing. Comparative data shows most children enjoy school as a result of an explicit approach that builds children’s sense of wellbeing and belonging.
There has been a steady decrease in the number of stand downs over time.
The school is effective in accelerating the learning of targeted groups of children. The school’s target for promoting progress in mathematics in 2018 shows that approximately one third of children made accelerated progress. School leaders are prioritising the need to, and developing strategies for, clearly identifying, addressing and reporting acceleration of learning for Māori and Pacific children.
Children with additional learning needs are provided with a wide range of learning opportunities, benefit from inclusive practices, and are well supported to make progress.
The school effectively prioritises the achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning. A capable, future-focused board collaborates with school leaders to support children’s learning and progress. Trustees and leaders utilise their collective expertise, knowledge and relationships with others in the educational community to strategically resource programmes for equity and excellence.
Collaborative school leaders have a clear vision for enhancing learning and wellbeing for all children. Their strategic approach to school improvements is underpinned by a strong understanding of shared valued outcomes, their enactment of the school’s specific philosophy, and their high expectations for achieving the school’s vision. They are responsive to identified schoolwide needs and actively promote a positive and reflective learning community.
Teaching and learning programmes reflect the commitment of all staff to the learning, wellbeing and other needs of children. An innovative, local curriculum emphasises character development alongside principles of ‘learning readiness’ and opportunities for children to determine their own learning pathways. A thoughtful, well designed programme of learning with digital technology is increasing children’s access to the curriculum and increasing their engagement in meaningful learning.
Curriculum development is well considered, student centred, tailored to the school’s context, and culturally responsive. Te ao Māori and Pacific concepts and learning are prioritised in planning. Te reo Māori and Pacific languages and cultural programmes are increasingly delivered across the whole school or for targeted learners. Holistic and inclusive approaches to children’s wellbeing build their confidence and connections with learning.
Positive relationships and partnerships with families/whānau are increasingly learning and wellbeing focused. The school communicates authentically with parents in a range of ways, at school and in the wider community. These relationships help to enrich the learning opportunities and experiences for all children within the localised curriculum.
School leaders and ERO agree that the school needs to:
further strengthen practices for the analysis of schoolwide achievement information, to promote equitable and excellent outcomes for identified groups of children (including Māori, Pacific, other priority learners and target groups)
embed and consistently implement processes for staff appraisal
further develop processes and practices for systematic schoolwide internal evaluation.
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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Bromley School performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Strong.
ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services
Southern Region
8 April 2019
|
Location |
Christchurch |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
3302 |
|
School type |
Contributing (Years 1 to 6) |
|
School roll |
365 |
|
Gender composition |
Boys 54%, Girls 46% |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 31% Pākehā 54% Pacific 10% Other ethnicities 5% |
|
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) |
Yes |
|
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
|
Review team on site |
February 2019 |
|
Date of this report |
8 April 2019 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review December 2015 Education Review October 2012 Education Review June 2009 |