School Context
Pomaria Road School is a culturally diverse school, catering for students from Years 1 to 6. Of the 550 students currently enrolled, 33 percent are Māori and 39 percent have Pacific heritage. Two whānau classes for Māori students promote te reo me te ao Māori, and success as Māori. The school maintains longstanding relationships and intergenerational links with the local community.
For a variety of reasons, only a small number of children complete the whole of their primary education at this school. In 2018, about a third of students were new to the school. The level of transience has reduced in recent months.
The vision of embedding four cornerstone values of Mātauranga, Manaakitanga, Whanaungatanga, and Turangawaewae provides the foundation for the school’s culturally responsive curriculum. The school has a focus on building citizenship and leadership. A further key driver for the curriculum is enabling learners to use digital technologies effectively as they build knowledge and thinking skills through real-life, problem-based learning. Intensive whole-school professional learning has supported these focus areas.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
- achievement in literacy and mathematics
- accelerated learning progress in reading, writing and mathematics
- attendance, engagement and wellbeing
- initiatives designed to accelerate learning for target students and groups.
Pomaria School is a member of Te Kāhui Ako o Waitakere.
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 making good progress in achieving equitable outcomes for most children. Over the past five years, school achievement data show that more than half the learners at Pomaria Road School achieve at or above curriculum level expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
Data for the children who do stay at the school for a significant period, show that 75 percent achieve expectations in literacy and 70 percent in mathematics by the end of Year 6. These results show that students’ learning has been accelerated over time.
Over the past four years, Māori and Pacific children have achieved at similar levels. School leaders have identified areas of disparity for other specific groups of children, including for boys in reading and writing. They have introduced a variety of initiatives to target cohort and individual learning needs. Achievement information shows that these initiatives are effective.
Children with additional learning and wellbeing needs make very good progress in relation to their individual learning goals.
Children’s active engagement in learning is highly evident and they achieve very well in relation to other outcomes valued by the community. They confidently manage their progress towards learning goals and see themselves as competent, digitally literate learners. Student surveys and their involvement in important school occasions demonstrate their strong sense of belonging and contribution.
1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?
The school responds very well to those Māori, Pacific and other students who need to make accelerated progress.
The school’s tracking of learners over their time at school shows that acceleration over successive years is placing children on a trajectory for success in literacy and mathematics learning. School achievement information shows that many target learners make accelerated progress.
Robust systems and processes are used to identify and respond to children who are at risk of not achieving expectations in literacy and numeracy. Detailed and individualised assessment information is regularly updated, monitored and used.
The school has carefully selected programmes and initiatives that successfully accelerate the progress of target learners. Monitoring and tracking allows for timely interventions and extension opportunities. Teachers routinely collaborate and share effective acceleration practices.
A combination of monitoring and evaluation helps to promote acceleration and learning success for students, including speakers of languages other than English and those with additional learning abilities or needs.
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?
School processes and practices for enabling accelerated learning and equity are coherent and consistently well developed. A well-established, inclusive learning culture is underpinned by the school values and is characterised by:
- high expectations for all children to be successful in their learning
- valuing diversity and respecting children’s cultures
- a collective responsibility for accelerating the learning of children at risk of not achieving
- respectful, trusting relationships that build a strong sense of belonging across the school community.
Leadership across the school is strategic and committed to the school’s vision and strategic direction. Professional collaboration is highly evident at all levels of the school. Leaders, teachers, children and families work together to understand and use assessment information to plan next steps in accelerating learning and building citizenship. Leaders foster a team culture that supports innovation and promotes professional learning.
The school’s authentic and relevant curriculum reflects the principles of the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) very well. The curriculum is future focused and responsive to the school’s setting and its community. It is designed to promote equitable outcomes for all learners. A strong emphasis is placed on progressions in learning, with literacy and mathematics being a priority. Programmes of inquiry engage children in learning across the breadth of the curriculum, promoting their digital capability and their sense of themselves as active learners.
The school is proactive in promoting and sustaining educationally powerful partnerships and relationships within the school community and across the Kāhui Ako. Learning focused relationships with parents and whānau are fostered through effective communication and consultation processes, many of which are student led. The school and its community work together to support effective transitions for children into school and on to the next stage in their education.
Evaluation is an integral part of all school operations and accountability processes, from the board of trustees to classroom teachers. The school’s collective capacity to use the findings from inquiry and evaluation sustains ongoing improvement in teaching practices, learning and wellbeing outcomes for children. Valued perspectives from collaborative evaluation contribute to the wider education community, including Te Kāhui Ako o Waitakere.
2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?
Culturally responsive practices have been a strong focus for the school over the past five years. School leaders have identified that continuing development of teachers’ capability through focused deliberate strategies will support ongoing improvement in this area. Further developments could also include identifying and using assessment tools that enhance the school’s ability to identify and examine learners’ progress and achievement through inquiry learning, including mathematics and science inquiry.
Leaders, teachers and trustees recognise the positive impact that integrating te reo and tikanga Māori has on Māori students’ success. They are committed to improving the extent to which te reo and tikanga Māori are woven throughout the curriculum and school environment. Application of language acquisition strategies would enhance provision for students in the whānau classes. Leaders have begun to work more closely with other Kāhui Ako members to support more seamless transitions for Māori students through bilingual education within and beyond the school.
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 Pomaria Road School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.
ERO will maintain an ongoing relationship with the school to build capacity and evaluate progress.
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:
- achieving outcomes for children that are equitable and show consistently improving achievement
- an inclusive, responsive curriculum and teaching practices that support and develop children’s identity and promote their engagement in learning
- a culture of collaboration among leaders, teachers, parents and whānau, that maintains high expectations for teaching and learning across the school.
Next steps
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in continuing to:
- focus closely on maintaining rates of acceleration to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes for all students, including targeted learners
- build a more specific picture of the overall and individual progress and acceleration rates for those learners who stay at the school for shorter durations
- advance teacher capability in culturally responsive practices.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
4 December 2019
About the school
| Location | Henderson, Auckland |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 1444 |
| School type | Contributing |
| School roll | 550 |
| Gender composition | Boys 51% Girls 49% |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 33%
NZ European/Pākehā 6%
Samoan 19%
Indian 6%
Filipino 5%
Tongan 5%
Fijian 4%
other Pacific 11%
other Asian 6%
other ethnic groups 5% |
| Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) | Yes |
| Provision of Māori medium education | Yes |
| Review team on site | August 2019 |
| Date of this report | 4 December 2019 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review February 2015
Education Review December 2011
Education Review June 2008 |
Ko te Tamaiti te Pūtake o te Kaupapa
The Child – the Heart of the Matter