Konini School (Auckland)

Education institution number:
1335
School type:
Contributing
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
353
Telephone:
Address:

73 Withers Road, Glen Eden, Auckland

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Konini School (Auckland) - 08/11/2018

School Context

Konini School (Auckland) in Glen Eden, West Auckland caters for children in Years 1 to 6. Eight percent of children are Māori and five percent are of Pacific heritage. The school roll is becoming increasingly diverse.

The school community regards itself as kaitiaki of the Waitakere Ranges that border the school. The school has three overarching strategic aims in relation to: ‘Learning, Culture and Relationships’. These aims are essential in driving school operations.

Children and adults understand how the Forest Kaitiaki Project contributes to supporting the school’s valued outcomes. Children understand and demonstrate the school’s other guiding values:

  • whanaungatanga: building positive respectful relationships

  • kaitiakitanga: valuing the environment sustainable practice

  • wananga: maximising the learning environment to provide authentic learning

  • tangata whenuatanga: valuing cultural diversity celebrating talents and perspectives.

These values are interwoven through the strategic plan and school curriculum.

Since ERO’s 2014 evaluation significant staffing changes have taken place. A new principal, senior leadership team and several staff have been appointed. The school has undertaken, with its community, internal evaluations of the strategic plan and school curriculum. The school is a member of the Kotuitui, Kahui Ako | Community of Learning (CoL).

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

  • achievement in reading writing and mathematics

  • achievement in relation to school targets

  • community and whānau engagement

  • wellbeing and pastoral care

  • Māori and Pacific students’ progress and achievement

  • children with additional learning needs

  • attendance patterns.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – achievement of valued outcomes for children

1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its children?

The school is achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for most of its children. Achievement information over the last four years indicates that most children achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics. Māori and Pacific achievement overall has improved.

Leaders and teachers scrutinise data to identify achievement trends and patterns with a focus on achieving equitable outcomes. They have implemented effective strategies to successfully reduce within school disparity for groups of children. Achievement data indicates increased gender parity in reading and writing. Teachers have participated in professional development to build their professional capability and collective capacity to respond to children’s identified learning needs and accelerate their learning progress.

Children achieve very well in relation to other valued outcomes. They:

  • experience strong relationships with teachers and each other founded on respect and care

  • confidently articulate their understanding of kaitiakitanga, culture, language and identity

  • collaboratively learn with others through tuakana/teina relationships

  • demonstrate and articulate the Konini School values in everyday school life.

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

The school is effective in accelerating learning for Māori and other children. Achievement data indicates that within school disparity is reducing. The school has good examples of children, including Māori children, whose achievement is being accelerated.

Leaders and teachers target children who are at risk of not achieving through early identification. The school places emphasis on knowing each learner right from school entry. Well considered and highly effective transitions into and through the school prioritise children’s learning and wellbeing.

A senior leader and a group of Māori children develop resources to promote te ao Māori within the school and the wider community. As a result, Māori children report that they have a growing interest and enthusiasm for learning te reo Māori me ōna Tikanga.

Professional development has strengthened teachers’ data literacy capability and led to the establishment of more consistent achievement benchmarks across the school. Deliberate teaching strategies to support and accelerate learning are increasingly evident in the classrooms. These are impacting positively to improve student outcomes.

The school has very effective educational partnerships with parents, whānau and the wider educational community. Effective communication supports learning centred relationships between school and home. As a result, parents and whānau are actively involved in their children’s learning and the life of the school.

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 school is very well led by school leaders and the board of trustees. Senior leaders and trustees are a highly professional, collaborative team. They draw on educational research to engage in professional learning that is focussed on improving outcomes for children.

A purposeful strategic plan provides a clear direction for school improvement. Policies, processes and practices align to the school’s vision and values. High levels of relational trust and valued learning partnerships are very evident between the school and the community.

The board has been effective in recruiting, appointing and retaining high quality professional leaders and teachers. Senior leaders have successfully led significant change processes to drive school improvement. Teachers’ inquiries into their professional practice underpin the school’s effective appraisal system. These processes and practices strengthen and sustain collaborative activity to improve teaching and learning.

The curriculum provides relevant authentic learning opportunities. Children have access to high quality resources to support their learning. They experience extension learning opportunities through the arts and sports in an enriched learning environment. Digital technologies continue to be a positive feature of the curriculum. Senior leaders have identified that developing a graduate profile could be useful and enable children to critically reflect on their learning.

Children with additional learning needs are very effectively supported to experience success. They participate in learning opportunities that provide appropriate levels of challenge and support.

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 and sustain effective processes and strategies to accelerate children’s progress and learning by continuing to:

  • refine internal evaluation to build capability and collective capacity that promotes improvement and innovation

  • build school leaders’ knowledge of cultural competencies to improve outcomes for children.

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 children (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)

  • physical safety of children

  • teacher registration and certification

  • processes for appointing staff

  • stand down, suspension, expulsion and exclusion of children

  • 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:

  • effective leadership that establishes a supportive environment conducive to children’s learning and wellbeing

  • a strategic approach to building professional capability, and collective capacity that promotes innovation and addresses disparity in student achievement

  • a responsive curriculum that is personalised to cater for children’s various interests and strengths

  • holistic approaches that promote student wellbeing and success

  • very good connections and relationships with parents and the community that support children’s education.

Next steps

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

  • continuing to refine internal evaluation to sustain improvement and innovation

  • building on existing cultural competency strategies within the school to continue improving outcomes for children.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

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

Violet Tu’uga Stevenson

Manager Review and Improvement Services

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

8 November 2018

About the school

Location

Glen Eden

Ministry of Education profile number

1335

School type

Contributing

School roll

408

Gender composition

Boys 52% Girls 48%

Ethnic composition

Māori 8%
Pākehā 63%
Asian 9%
Indian 7%
Pacific groups 5%
other European 6%
other ethnic groups 2%

Children with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)

Yes

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

September 2018

Date of this report

8 November 2018

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review August 2014
Education Review June 2008
Education Review July 2005

Konini School (Auckland) - 20/08/2014

Findings

Konini School is high performing. Students receive interesting, well planned programmes that are carefully matched to their interests and learning levels. Student achievement levels are good and are improving annually, reflecting the strong focus that the school places on learning. The school is a welcoming and affirming place 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?

Konini School, in West Auckland, caters for students from Year 1 to 6. The school roll comprises 54 percent New Zealand European/Pākehā and 14 percent Māori. The rest of the students come from a number of diverse backgrounds.

At the time of the 2011 ERO review the then new principal had begun implementing positive changes within the school. Over the past three years he has continued to place unrelenting attention on raising student achievement and leading school improvement. The rate of change has been marked and the results significant. Konini School is now a high performing school.

A focus on learning permeates all levels of the school, from students to board trustees and parents. The board budgets extensively for training, development, coaching and mentoring within the school. This money is well used to help make the school a self-improving learning community.

High expectations are a strong feature of Konini School. They are apparent in improvements made to teaching and learning programmes, school resources, and in the introduction of modern learning environments. The school is welcoming to its multi-cultural community and provides powerful and authentic visible links with tangata whenua and the school’s historic setting.

2 Learning

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

School leaders use achievement information very well to make positive changes to learners’ progress and achievement. Assessment practices have strengthened. School leaders, teachers, students and parents can now have greater confidence in the reliability of assessment results.

Data presented by the school show levels of student achievement that align very well with local, regional and national results. Each year an increasing number of students achieve at or above national standards and the school is becoming well placed to meet national education achievement goals. The results of cohorts within the school, such as Māori and Pacific students, are trending upwards. Students receiving additional support make good progress in achieving their specific learning targets.

Teachers are increasing their skills in analysing and monitoring assessment results. They know a lot about their students’ learning. Teachers use this knowledge well to adapt their teaching programmes and to help increase student ownership of learning. The introduction of co-constructed learning maps is a positive initiative that gives students greater knowledge about their strengths and next steps in learning.

Student achievement information is well used to set school achievement targets for each year. Progress made against these targets was previously reported to the community in great detail. Recent changes in reporting processes have helped make these reports more user-friendly in the future.

3 Curriculum

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

The school’s curriculum promotes and supports student learning effectively.

The curriculum has undergone updating and improvement. The many changes have been carefully planned to provide a coherent and cohesive change process for students and teachers. Students engage well in their lessons and appreciate the many opportunities they have to be leaders at school. They affirm the impact of the school’s positive behaviour programme both in classrooms and in the playground. Students demonstrate a strong understanding of the purposes of the many rich learning opportunities in which they participate.

Classrooms are vibrant, interesting and student based. They are rich in print and very well resourced. Positive relationships feature strongly throughout the school, and students support each other well to succeed. Learning activities are varied and well suited to student learning levels. A well managed and well monitored network promotes technology being used purposefully to reinforce new learning and to promote e-learning approaches.

Programmes are inquiry based. They are relevant and co-constructed with students. They are very closely linked to the school’s context and its local environment. Programmes increasingly acknowledge bicultural New Zealand and the diversity of the students who attend.

Students with special learning needs receive high levels of support. Their programmes are varied and well implemented. Recent initiatives are helping teachers to promote the skills of gifted and talented students and include a learning enrichment option.

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

The school effectively promotes educational success for Māori as Māori.

Improvements implemented over the past three years have had a significant impact on promoting Māori student success. They have been carried out in sensitive and culturally appropriate ways. Māori community consultation has been undertaken and a whānau group now engages other whānau and guides events. Strong relationships have been developed with local iwi and prominent local Māori. A school kaupapa has been agreed and pōwhiri are used to welcome guests. All students have visited the local iwi marae at Orakei. This year the school funded a significant pou that stands at its front entrance, in the foothills of the Waitakere Ranges.

The principal, senior leaders and newly appointed Māori cultural leader demonstrate strong commitment to progressing success for Māori, as Māori. Expectations about meeting the needs and extending the potential of Māori students are high and are integrated throughout school documents. Initiatives undertaken have raised the profile of Māori within the school and have actively promoted leadership opportunities for Māori students. They have given Māori students and their whānau cause to be proud of their school.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

Since 2012, the significant changes made within the school have sometimes challenged staff and staff relationships. Some staff have left the school. New staff, external guidance, additional training and development, and positive responses to robust performance appraisals have all helped resolve issues. The school has maintained its focus on the future and now operates within an environment of trust. Significant and accelerated progress has been made in all areas of school operation. Konini School is now very well placed to sustain and improve its performance.

The board of trustees actively seeks new knowledge and understanding about school governance. It is strategic and future focused. The school’s very well developed self-review processes are evidence based and effective in determining new school directions. The senior leadership team forms a cohesive unit in which the special skills of each member is acknowledged and used to full advantage. Trustees actively seek better ways of governing the school, and partnership sessions with parents are regular, meaningful and well planned.

Teachers benefit from well targeted professional development to support their delivery of high quality teaching programmes. Well developed modelling and coaching practices have extended leadership capacity and capability throughout the school. School leaders engage in comprehensive professional learning and make valuable leadership contributions in local and wider educational settings.

ERO, school leaders and the board agree that some next steps for the school could be:

  • including more broad-based topics in the board’s programme of self review
  • including more evaluative comment in reporting processes
  • ensuring that school documents and reporting processes reflect the school’s strong focus on students, and have an increased focus on impacts and outcomes for students
  • complementing developments in tikanga Māori with more use of te reo at all levels of school operations.

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

Konini School is high performing. Students receive interesting, well planned programmes that are carefully matched to their interests and learning levels. Student achievement levels are good and are improving annually, reflecting the strong focus that the school places on learning. The school is a welcoming and affirming place for students.

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

Dale Bailey

National Manager Review Services

Northern Region

20 August 2014

About the School

Location

Glen Eden, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

1335

School type

Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

School roll

400

Gender composition

Boys 53%

Girls 47%

Ethnic composition

NZ European/Pākehā

Māori

Indian

Samoan

South East Asian

Chinese

other

54%

14%

4%

4%

3%

2%

19%

Review team on site

June 2014

Date of this report

20 August 2014

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Education Review

January 2012

June 2008

July 2005