Edendale School (Auckland)

Education institution number:
1265
School type:
Contributing
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
493
Telephone:
Address:

419 Sandringham Road, Sandringham, Auckland

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Edendale School (Auckland)

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 6 months of the Education Review Office and Edendale School (Auckland) 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 

Edendale School (Auckland) is in Sandringham and caters for students from Years 1 to 6. The school vision is to develop confident, creative, open-minded contributors to the community. 

Edendale School (Auckland)’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • all tamariki develop a love of learning and strive to reach their academic potential. Māori, Pacific and learners with diverse needs receive appropriate learning support
  • to demonstrate the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (partnership, participation and protection) as the foundation for the way we work together with whānau and the wider community
  • an ongoing focus on improving our facilities, processes, resources, and systems.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Edendale School (Auckland)’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the impact of initiatives that support diverse learners and are designed to strengthen inclusive practices so that all tamariki meet their academic potential. 

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is: 

  • addressing the needs of diverse learners is a strategic priority for the school
  • a number of learners have complex and diverse behaviour and learning needs, and this has created a greater demand for specialist and adaptive teaching
  • ongoing targeted professional development is in place, which focuses on high quality, dynamic inclusive education. 

The school expects to see

  • increasing levels of learner engagement and enjoyment leading to increased learner progress
  • evidence of a rich local curriculum that reflects the diversity and differentiation of the school community, including Pacific learners and whānau
  • evidence of increased teacher confidence and professional growth that will positively impact on improving learner success.

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to continue to strengthen the school’s inclusive education practices.

  • School-wide leadership is well-established and utilises collaborative inquiry and internal monitoring to ensure a focus on continuous improvement.
  • Professional, committed teachers who use effective teaching practices which meet individual needs and promote equitable and excellent outcomes for all ākonga.
  • A supportive school community which encourages leaders and teachers to enrich opportunities for ākonga to become confident creative and open-minded learners. 

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise ongoing: 

  • development of an inclusive, responsive learning environment that provides engaging learning opportunities, and which gives full effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
  • review of high quality inclusive-education practices in New Zealand
  • monitoring, evaluation, and inquiry to reduce disparity and promote greater equity for all. 

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

28 February 2024

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 

Edendale School (Auckland) is a member of the Mt Albert Kahui Ako.

Edendale School (Auckland)

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2023 to 2026

As of July 2023, the Edendale School (Auckland) 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 Edendale School (Auckland), 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.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

28 February 2024 

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

Edendale School (Auckland)

Provision for International Students Report

Background

The Education Review Office reviews schools that are signatories to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

Findings

Edendale School (Auckland) has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code and has completed an annual self-review of its implementation of the Code.

International students receive a high standard of education. They are successfully transitioned into the school and are supported to succeed in their learning. International students receive effective care and support. They are well integrated into school life. The school’s provision for international students is regularly reviewed and reported to the School Board. 

One international student was enrolled at the time of this ERO review.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

28 February 2024

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 

Edendale School (Auckland) - 02/10/2019

School Context

Edendale School is a long-established, Years 1-6 primary school in Sandringham, Auckland. It caters for a diverse community of approximately 680 students. Six percent of the students are Māori, three percent Tongan and three percent Samoan. A significant number of students are of Indian and Asian heritage. About 24 percent of students participate in a formal English programme for speakers of other languages.

The newly formed board of trustees comprises a mix of experienced and new members. They bring a variety of skills to their role. Trustees and the newly formed senior leadership team are in the process of consulting parents and staff about the school’s mission statement, vision and values.

A new principal was appointed during July 2018, and three new deputy principals early in 2019.

The board’s strategic goals focus on improving:

  • learning outcomes for all students, particularly for Māori, Pacific and students with additional learning needs
  • student engagement
  • processes for students to transition into and out of the school
  • community and whānau engagement with the school.

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

  • student achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
  • student attendance
  • progress and acceleration in relation to school targets
  • achievement information in relation to gender and ethnicity.

The school is a member of the Mt Albert Kahui Ako|Community of Learning (CoL).

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?

The school is steadily working towards implementing strategies to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.

School achievement information shows that overall most students achieve at expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics. Māori students are achieving at levels similar to those of all other students in reading and writing. There is some disparity for Pacific learners in reading, writing and mathematics.

Achievement information is closely analysed, monitored, and reported to the board. The principal is now considering ways to track and report the progress and achievement of students over their time at the school.

Teachers use a variety of school-based and nationally normed assessment tools that are robust and reliable to monitor students’ progress over the year. Achievement expectations are determined in collaboration with the member schools of the Mt Albert Kāhui Ako|CoL. To strengthen the rigour of assessment, teachers should now consider ways to moderate literacy and mathematics assessment with other schools. Teachers should also continue to build their capability in using ‘Assessment for Learning’ strategies.

Relevant 2019 schoolwide targets have been set to raise student achievement in writing. These measurable targets are based on good analysis of achievement data from the end of the previous year. Appropriate actions to meet the targets have been identified and progress is reported to the board.

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

The school is proactively implementing strategies to accelerate the learning of those Māori and other students who need it.

One of the deputy principals oversees and monitors the individual outcomes for students with additional learning and language needs. Leaders and teachers know the needs and strengths of each of the students who require acceleration or additional support. These students participate in a variety of specialised in-class or withdrawal programmes provided by experienced teachers and learning assistants. Staff are closely monitoring student progress over the year.

Senior leaders and teachers closely monitor the wellbeing of all students. They are introducing comprehensive digital programmes to track student pastoral care information. Staff also seek useful feedback from past students. This helps them to identify the impact of programmes and practices on supporting students’ transitions into their next stage of learning.

Senior leaders now have processes in place to gather and report to the board long-term schoolwide evidence around strategies that are successfully enabling students to make accelerated progress, and to sustain the gains made over time.

School-based information indicates evidence of some accelerated achievement in writing for students working below expectations. There has been a schoolwide focus on teacher professional development in writing to strengthen teaching and learning practices. However, there is not yet any formalised evaluative information to identify the impact that the professional learning is having on outcomes for students.

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?

The principal and senior leaders are embedding a range of strategies and setting a solid foundation for enabling the achievement of equity and excellence, and for accelerating learning. They are yet to formally evaluate the effectiveness of these processes and practices on outcomes for students.

Senior leaders and teachers are implementing strategies that engage students with learning. These include:

  • initiating purposeful learning activities through play and theme-based programmes within the framework of the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC)
  • deepening students’ understanding of their own learning and their next steps for progress
  • placing an emphasis on collaborative practices by senior leaders, teachers and students
  • providing many opportunities for teachers to innovate, trial and reflect on teaching practices.

Children work in settled, supportive learning environments characterised by respectful teacher-student relationships. Teachers implement well-planned and richly-resourced differentiated learning programmes. They offer hands-on activities within established classroom routines.

The school’s broad and localised curriculum encompasses the breadth of the NZC. The board resources specialised programmes that include the Garden to Table Trust programme, art and music. Science, drama and other language programmes are prioritised by the school. The Kāhui Ako|CoL offers ready access to shared specialist resources.

The board of trustees highly values parent whānau relationships. Parents are well informed, and the board extends many opportunities for the community to contribute to strategic decision-making and to participate in school programmes. The teaching team reflects the many ethnicities and languages of the community. This enhances parent and whānau access to school events and processes, which support their children’s learning.

The newly established, cohesive senior leadership team brings complementary skills and a range of experiences. Leaders are building relational trust at all levels of the school community. They value transparency, work collaboratively, and promote leadership across the school. They have a shared sense of the school direction, and ensure an orderly and supportive environment that is conducive to student learning and wellbeing.

Trustees represent the community well. They are well informed by the leadership team. The board willingly seeks external specialists for support, advice and guidance in its governance role. Trustees are focused on student achievement, and scrutinise and question information confidently. The board has a positive working relationship with the senior leadership team and is developing a shared vision for ongoing school improvement. Trustees are considering useful succession planning strategies.

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

The board, principal and senior leaders agree that for ongoing school improvement, they should continue to develop and embed:

  • internal evaluation processes to assure the community of the positive impact of initiatives that are currently in place and the effectiveness of board decision-making on outcomes for students
  • leadership capability of the middle leaders to support them to implement and sustain schoolwide initiatives.

Trustees agree that they should reflect on and review their effectiveness as a board in supporting the school to realise its vision, values, strategic direction, goals and targets.

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 Children’s Act 2014.

4 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Edendale School (Auckland)’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.

5 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:

  • the board and senior leaders’ clear sense of purpose and direction
  • school and board leadership that is focused on improving outcomes for students

  • senior leaders’ and teachers’ commitment to building reciprocal learner-centred relationships.

Next steps

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

  • embedding internal evaluation into school policies, processes and practices
  • continuing to build wider leadership capability across the school.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services Northern

Northern Region

2 October 2019

About the school

Location

Sandringham, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

1265

School type

Contributing (Years 1-6)

School roll

678

Gender composition

Boys 51% Girls 49%

Ethnic composition

NZ Māori 6%
NZ European/Pākehā 39%
Indian 23%
Chinese 7%
Pacific groups 6%
other Asian 4%
other ethnic groups 15%

Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)

Yes

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

August 2019

Date of this report

2 October 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review December 2014
Education Review July 2011
Education Review April 2008

Edendale School (Auckland) - 19/12/2014

Findings

Students at Edendale School experience high quality education within a diverse and inclusive environment. They engage purposefully in learning and enjoy the wide range of curriculum opportunities. Effective school governance and leadership result in the school being very well placed to further sustain high quality learning experiences for students.

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?

Edendale School is a large urban school for students in Years 1 to 6. Students come from diverse cultural backgrounds and this contributes to the cultural richness of the school. Seven percent of the school population identify as Māori and many of the students are from India, Asia or Pacific nations. The 2011 ERO report noted that many students, including Māori and Pacific students, achieve at or above expected curriculum levels for their age group. This good achievement continues to be evident.

There is a positive tone in the school and learning environments foster students’ sense of inquiry. Children have a sense of wellbeing: they are confident, capable and enjoy learning.

2 Learning

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

The board, senior leaders and teachers use achievement information very well to make a positive difference for students. Assessment and evaluation of student achievement is extensive and meaningfully reported by senior leaders to the board of trustees. This information is then used well to set teaching and learning targets and to identify school priorities. Teachers at all levels of the school are knowledgeable about student assessment and committed to improving student achievement. Teachers take shared responsibility for promoting positive learning outcomes for children.

Students at Edendale School achieve very well. Publically available school achievement information shows that the school has high levels of achievement in reading and writing. School leaders recognise that some students require further support in mathematics in order for the school to meet the goal of 85% of students achieving the National Standard for their age group.

Students are highly engaged in differentiated learning programmes. Teachers design programmes that are responsive to individual student needs based on their very good knowledge of students’ capabilities. Senior leaders and teachers focus on helping students to develop a clear understanding of their own learning, where they are at, and what their next steps will be.

Students are confident in their ability to learn. They see themselves as active participants and engage purposefully in learning. Students are taught the skills of learning and this is reflected in learning outcomes and high levels of student achievement. Students with special needs are very well supported to learn. Rigorous school systems mean that students are identified early and close monitoring helps to ensure that they achieve good outcomes.

From the outset teachers endeavour to involve parents in their children’s learning. They make a deliberate effort to engage with parents, to share ideas and ensure they have a good understanding of the child’s family context. This good practice facilitates responsive teaching and learning approaches.

Pacific students are well represented across all achievement bands. However, as a group they are achieving less well than other students in the school. Teachers’ sustained focus on raising the achievement of this group is starting to show positive results. School leaders are committed to working alongside Pacific families to continue strengthening learning partnerships.

3 Curriculum

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

Teachers work collaboratively to provide a highly effective student-centred curriculum. School goals reflect The New Zealand Curriculum vision, values and principles. Students and teachers share respectful and affirming relationships that promote learning. Teachers encourage students to be self directed learners who are increasingly taking ownership of their learning.

Good quality teaching and learning programmes engage students successfully. Literacy and mathematics are an appropriate focus in all classrooms. Alongside this sits a specialist music and art programme that all children participate in. The school’s focus on science is seen in the success of the Garden to Table programme. Teaching programmes continue to evolve in response to identified student needs and strengths. The school recognises that further inclusion of bi-cultural and multi-cultural content in learning contexts should help to enrich the relevance of the curriculum for many students.

Senior leaders and staff actively participate in professional learning and development that is strategically planned in response to identified needs. Because professional development has been strategically planned it has been sustained and is making a difference to student outcomes.

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

Edendale School has 43 students who identify as Māori. They are achieving well above the relevant National Standard for reading and writing. In common with the wider school group, they require continued support to make accelerated progress in mathematics. Māori student achievement is identified in all school data collection and used purposefully as part of the board’s strategy to empower and enable Māori learners.

Maori students achieve well across all areas of the school. They report feeling valued as Māori and take an active role in leadership and enjoy participating in school kawa. Tuakana- teina approaches are evident in classrooms school wide and students appreciate these reciprocal and supportive learning relationships. Māori students identified that they would appreciate greater opportunities to learn te reo Māori within the school curriculum.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

The school is very well placed to sustain its current good practices and continue to improve its performance.

Trustees bring useful experience to their governance role. They work well together to provide effective governance and strategic leadership. They are well informed about student achievement, curriculum development and school initiatives. There are good working relationships between the board and school leadership, leading to strong cohesive governance, management and school sustainability. The board has a clearly articulated vision that is well shared and evident across all areas of the school.

The principal promotes a model of leadership that intentionally promotes distributed leadership across the school, recognising people’s capabilities and building school capacity. The principal and senior leadership team have high expectations of themselves. Their trust in the teaching team as professionals is based on sound performance management systems and a collegial, open culture of ongoing inquiry and improvement.

Trustees and school leaders are responsive to external and internal review. School improvement is aligned to the school’s strategic direction. Self review is meaningful and well used to sustain and improve school performance. It is timely and seeks a variety of perspectives from across the community. The outcomes of review are well considered and provide good information and a sound rationale for school decisions. Good outcomes for students lie at the heart of all school decision making.

The board has identified strengthening community liaison as an area for development and is seeking ways to engage more fully with the community. This engagement is likely to benefit all stakeholders as the community becomes increasingly diverse.

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

Students at Edendale School experience high quality education within a diverse and inclusive environment. They engage purposefully in learning and enjoy the wide range of curriculum opportunities. Effective school governance and leadership result in the school being very well placed to further sustain high quality learning experiences for students.

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

Dale Bailey

National Manager Review Services

Northern Region

19 December 2014

About the School

Location

Sandringham

Ministry of Education profile number

1265

School type

Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

School roll

559

Gender composition

Girls 51%

Boys 49%

Ethnic composition

NZ European /Pākehā

Māori

Indian

other Asian

Chinese

Samoan

Tongan

Cook Island Māori

Niue

other ethnicities

30%

7%

20%

7%

6%

6%

5%

3%

3%

12%

Review team on site

October 2014

Date of this report

19 December 2014

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Education Review

July 2011

April 2008

March 2005