Point View School

School Context

Point View School in Botany, Auckland caters for students in Years 1 to 6. There are currently 761 learners enrolled at the school. Māori make up four percent of the roll, and four percent of learners have Pacific heritage. The roll also includes 46 percent Chinese, 13 percent Indian and smaller groups from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds. Approximately 20 percent of the roll are English Language Learners (ELL).

The school’s mission is to foster ‘learning together to develop individual potential, a love of learning and responsible citizenship’. This is underpinned by the values of ‘respect, responsibility, excellence and integrity’. The school aims to have learners become critical and creative thinkers, effective communicators, confident and self-motivated, collaborative and to have a strong sense of identity.

Current strategic school priorities focus on preparing children for the future, optimising learning, and providing resources to support effective teaching and learning. Within these priorities sit three school imperatives. These are to: support learning for ELL, engage responsively with the local community, and maximise learning opportunities for digital literacy.

The Board has managed the appointment of a new principal since the last 2014 ERO review.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board school-wide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:

• achievement in reading, writing and mathematics

• progress and achievement in relation to school targets

• progress and achievement for learners with additional learning needs

• wellbeing and success of learners

• the school’s dispositions for learning

• progress for those on special learning programmes.

Staff have participated in professional learning and development (PLD) in teacher appraisal, oral language, science, e-learning, mathematics and strengthening staff capability around the teaching of ELL.

The school is part of the Waipaparoa Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako (CoL) which is currently exploring ways to strengthen student agency, develop critical inquiry skills and increase literacy levels.

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 very effective in achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students.

The majority achieve at or above the appropriate The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) levels in reading, writing and mathematics. Data for 2017 show Māori learners achieving higher than other groups in writing and mathematics. Over the last four years, most Pacific learners have achieved at the expected NZC levels in reading, writing and mathematics. However, leaders continue to work towards even greater parity in Pacific student achievement levels.

Children achieve very well in relation to broader school valued outcomes. Most learners:

• are very knowledgeable about their school and programmes offered
• are inclusive, caring and accepting of others
• have a good understanding of their learning and can identify their next learning steps
• can demonstrate and talk about the school’s ‘learning dispositions’ and their role in their everyday school life.

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

The school is very effective in accelerating learning for those children whose learning progress needs development.

Leaders, teachers and trustees are highly responsive to learners who would benefit from having their progress accelerated. They ensure individualised strategies and resources are provided in order to support improvement. There is good evidence to show learners make good progress over time, including learners moving from ‘at’, to ‘above’ expectations.

Teachers inquire into their practice and engage in relevant evaluations. As a result, they adopt meaningful strategies and set clear targets to support learners to make accelerated progress. They are skilled at building clear learning steps for children to follow and implement. Learners have access to specific accelerated learning programmes that support them to make quick progress.

Appropriate interventions for children with additional learning needs are overseen by a specialist teacher (SENCO) and the Senior Leadership Team. The team is highly responsive and collaborative and ensures interventions are appropriately individualised.

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 has very capable, professional leadership. Management is guided by well-considered decision-making. Distributive leadership is a key feature of the school. Most teachers take responsibility for evaluating and growing teaching capability in their particular areas of curriculum responsibility. The transition between principals has been well managed. Senior leaders support the school’s vision and values and maintain effective coordination, planning and evaluation of the curriculum.

Senior leaders are well supported by the board’s effective scrutiny of the school’s outcomes and achievement for learners. The board’s stewardship positively influences equity and excellence for learners. This is evident in the way that the board’s responsive, strategic resourcing of personnel, property and equipment and the school’s curriculum, assists leaders and staff to meet learners’ diverse needs.

Teachers and leaders have a collective responsibility for individual learners and, in particular, for learners who need to make accelerated progress. There are high levels of collaboration and relational trust between the key adults who support each student’s wellbeing and success. Parents are well informed about their children’s learning and how to support their progress. New staff, and teachers who are in new roles, benefit from good induction practices. The school’s effective individualised appraisal and coaching approaches also help to maintain high curriculum expectations and grow teachers’ capability.

The school’s responsive curriculum supports learners to achieve across the breadth of the New Zealand Curriculum. Learners participate in collaborative, inclusive environments. They have many opportunities to work with their peers. Learners develop competency in the school’s ‘dispositions for learning’, which are well integrated throughout the curriculum. Teachers support children to manage their own learning by sharing success criteria and learning progressions. Learners value the feedback they receive from their teachers and peers.

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

ERO affirms the school’s evaluation capability and prioritisation of developments to promote equity and excellence.

Senior leaders plan to continue building on the work done to provide culturally responsive practices for the school’s diversity of learners. This includes evaluating and adapting practices and programmes to support children learning English as an additional language.

Leaders are also planning professional learning for staff to continue strengthening the school’s bicultural practices for all students. This would complement the current te reo Māori lessons provided by a specialist teacher.

The board and senior leaders recognise the need to set appropriate targets and specifically monitor progress and outcomes for Pacific learners. This will help them to achieve greater parity in Pacific student achievement levels.

Leaders value the continuing opportunities to work with local schools and early learning services in the CoL. Their work will include collaboratively developing shared strategies and practices to strengthen student ‘voice and agency’ in the learning environment.

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 Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

Provision for international students

The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice2016(the Code) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code. At the time of the review there were 12 international students attending the school.

The school provides international students with a high standard of education. Students experience an inclusive school culture and opportunities to participate in a responsive school curriculum.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

• a well-established, collaborative, supportive and inclusive culture

• the responsive curriculum tailored to the individual needs of learners

• strong leadership and stewardship promoting high expectations for equity and excellence.

Next steps

For sustained improvement and future learner success, senior leaders have set relevant priorities for further development in:

• strengthening and embedding bicultural practice

• further evaluating and developing provision for English language and Pacific learners

• building student ‘voice and agency’ in the learning environment.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

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

Julie Foley

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

20 June 2018

About the school