Wesley Primary School

Wesley Primary School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and Wesley Primary School 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 

Wesley Primary School | Te Kura Tuatahi o Wēteri is a Year 1 to 6 school in Mt Roskill Auckland, an area of planned present and future urban development.  As part of a staged redevelopment to cater for anticipated population growth in the area, the school will move to a newly built teaching and learning space in 2023. The school hosts a satellite class for Central Auckland Special School (CASS).

We are empowered, respectful, responsible learners – ki te whakamana, manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga ma tātou” are the values which guide the school’s strategic planning and everyday operations. 

Wesley Primary ’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • strengthen kaiako and kaiawhina capability to lead learning

  • empower tauira (students) to lead their learning

  • grow whānau and hapori (community) partnerships.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Wesley Primary School’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the impact of the Wēteri Marau local curriculum and changes to teaching in a modern learning environment on learner progress and achievement.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

  • teachers are developing their teaching practices in the Wēteri Marau local curriculum to build learner empowerment and improve learning outcomes for all

  • the new classrooms provide innovative ways for teachers and learners to engage in teaching and learning.

The school expects to see:

  • teachers as leaders of learning by actively participating in professional learning and development

  • greater opportunities for learners to create, share and lead learning which reflects their culture, language and identity

  • the continued strengthening of whānau and community partnerships which support and celebrate learning and wellbeing.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate the impact of the Wēteri Marau local curriculum and changes to teaching in a modern learning environment on learner progress and achievement.

  • learners experience a school climate which is positive and culturally sustaining to promote engagement and learning

  • Māori learners are well supported to achieve success with a strong secure sense of their cultural identity

  • a commitment by the board, school leaders and teachers to deliver a responsive Wēteri Marau local curriculum which reflects the strengths and needs of the community.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • professional learning and development for teachers to assist with the transition to the new classroom spaces and ways of working

  • strengthening whānau and community partnerships which focus on hauora and celebrate learning success

  • embedding a culture of evaluation and analysis which draws information from a range of sources to support the development of the Wēteri Marau local curriculum.

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.

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

9 March 2023

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

Wesley Primary School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of October 2022, the Wesley Primary School 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 Wesley Primary School Board.

The next Wesley Primary 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.

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

9 March 2023 

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

Wesley School - 14/12/2017

School Context

Wesley School is a Year 1 to 6 contributing school located in Mount Roskill, Auckland. The school serves a strong Pacific community. It has a roll of 175 children comprised mainly of Tongan, Samoan, and Cook Island learners, and smaller numbers of and other children from diverse cultures.MāoriMāori,

The school’s whakatauki is ‘ki te marama (towards enlightenment)’ and its overarching vision ‘we are empowered, respectful and responsible learners’. The values state that ‘children will be empowered towards enlightenment (Ki te marama) through the values of respect and responsibility’. The school’s valued outcomes are to lift all children’s achievement levels, in reading, writing, and mathematics. Other valued outcomes focus on children’s holistic wellbeing and their fluency in using digital technology.

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

  • achievement outcomes in reading, writing, and mathematics for all groups of children, including information about accelerated progress

  • outcomes related to children’s engagement and wellbeing for success.

The school is part of the Mount Albert Kahui Ako/Community of Learning (COL). The school also has a health clinic on site for children and local families. A nurse, community health worker, and social worker in school (SWiS) serve the school and local community.

Since the 2015 ERO report, the school has appointed a new principal and senior leadership team, some new teachers, and has also restructured the support staff system. All teaching staff have participated in professional development to do with digital technology, Assessment for Literacy Learning (ALL) and effective teaching practice.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – 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 towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students.

The majority of children achieve well in reading, writing, and mathematics. Children’s learning has been successfully accelerated, particularly in reading and writing. The school also has good data to show children’s growth in mathematics achievement during the course of the school year. Whole school data for the past three years show achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics has continuously lifted.

School leaders note a rising trend in the achievement of Pacific learners over time. They have also identified that, overall, girls are performing better in reading and writing, while boys perform better in mathematics.

The school has a very significant percentage of children who are learning English as a second language, and also many children have diverse additional needs. The school achieves positive outcomes for these children through providing inclusive, effective teaching, and well-tailored specialist programmes.

Children also achieve other valued outcomes to do with their wellbeing, including health needs, nutrition, and fitness. The school reports significant improvement, particularly in relation to children’s learning behaviours. This is, in part, attributable to having a schoolwide and consistent approach to managing children’s behaviour that works alongside other behaviour therapy strategies.

1.2 How effectively does this school respond to those Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

The school is responding increasingly effectively to those Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

The school has a small number of Māori children. The 2017 achievement data show that the majority of Māori children are working at the expected level in reading and writing at the mid-year point. However, only a small number of Māori children are working at or above the expected level in mathematics at the 2017 mid-year point.

Leaders report that high transience affects the overall picture of Māori achievement at the school. While this is the case, over the last three years Māori achievement has steadily increased. The school has been successful in supporting many Māori children to achieve positive outcomes. Continuing this focused support could contribute to all Māori students achieving, as well as non- Māori.

At the 2017 mid–year point, the majority of Pacific children were achieving at the expected levels in reading, and an even bigger majority in writing. However, less than half of Pacific learners were at or above the expected level in mathematics at the 2017 mid-year point. Lifting mathematics achievement is one of the school’s priorities and challenges.

School leaders and teachers analyse school achievement data and report this analysis to the board regularly. These reports contain information on the school’s success in lifting the achievement of the diverse ethnic groups in the school, including the groups of second language learners of English, and children with additional needs. This helps keep the board well informed, and assists them to make resourcing decisions.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence

2.1 What school processes and practices are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?

The principal’s leadership is robust and strongly focussed on a holistic approach to achieving equity and excellence for children. She encourages a cohesive and collaborative approach to managing the school, and is deliberate and strategic in developing teacher capability to improve outcomes for children.

There is an emphasis on developing children’s literacy, and enhancing their oral language, to improve achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics. Children have increasing agency over their learning. With their teachers and parents, they set learning goals and make decisions about their learning. Children experience learning as purposeful and engaging, and teachers have established strong partnership processes.

The school’s curriculum is becoming increasingly responsive to children’s learning strengths and needs. Teachers provide very good opportunities for children to learn in a variety of different ways. Children are able to be creative and innovative. Digital technology is being used to enhance children’s thinking and further expand their learning opportunities.

The board has a strong connection to its community. Trustees understand their stewardship roles and are committed to ongoing training. They are very supportive of teachers and staff. The board scrutinises achievement information and makes well informed decisions about resourcing.

The school’s strong focus on partnering with parents and the community is evident in its use of culturally responsive approaches. These include Talanoa strategies that empower the Pacific community to engage with the school and partner in progressing the learning of their children.

Internal evaluation processes are well used. The school has very good systems for knowing about progress towards strategic goals for improvement. The board makes good use of critique and reflection in its stewardship role.

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

The board and school leaders agree that further developments include the school continuing to:

  • develop and implement strategies aimed at increasing children’s engagement, and raising the achievement of Māori and other children, particularly in mathematics, and for children in Years 5 to 6

  • enhance the bicultural perspectives of the school’s curriculum.

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.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

  • effective teaching practices to accelerate student learning

  • internal evaluation that is used to inform decision making and next steps

  • robust leadership that creates a culture of respect and responsibility, and the impetus and direction to continue the school’s progress towards achieving equity and excellence for all learners.

Next steps

For sustained improvement and future learner success, development priorities are in continuing to:

  • develop and implement strategies aimed at increasing children’s engagement and raising the achievement of Māori and other children, particularly in mathematics and for children in Years 5 to 6

  • enhance the bicultural perspectives of the school’s curriculum.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

14 December 2017

About the school

Location

Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

1565

School type

Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

School roll

175

Gender composition

Boys 97 Girls 78

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Tongan
Samoan
Cook Island Māori
Niue
other

14%
1%
41%
24%
6%
3%
11%

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

October 2017

Date of this report

14 December 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review
Education Review
Education Review

January 2015
December 2011
June 2008