Westmere School (Auckland)

1 Context

Westmere School Auckland is a large, inner city, contributing (Years 1 to 6) School. It caters for children from multicultural backgrounds. Twenty-one percent of the school roll identify as Māori and learn in either the Ngā Uri O Ngā Iwi bilingual and full immersion unit or in a mainstream setting. The school has recently undergone a rebuild that now has children learning in modern learning environments called learning studios. A new leadership team has been created which includes a wider middle management structure. The school's ERO reports show sustained high performance and school leaders respond positively to suggestions made for ongoing improvement.

2 Equity and excellence

The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are documented in the "Westmere Way" The school's vision, principles and values are encompassed in the statement "Westmere School is a community where all children are successful, connected, life-long learners."

The school is committed to honouring its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and supports Māori medium teaching as well as implementing te reo Māori and tikanga Māori in mainstream classes. The board of trustees has identified eight powerful learning outcomes for children based on the principles and aims of The New Zealand Curriculum. These well-articulated and understood valued outcomes provide direction for decision-making by the board of trustees and staff. They are:

• strong literacy and numeracy skills
• talents and passions identified and fostered
• skilled, responsible users of technology
• self-directed, active learners
• strong sense of identity and self-worth
• effective communicators
• well rounded and resilient
• socially responsible.

The school’s achievement information shows that between 80 percent and 85 percent of all children are achieving at or above the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Approximately 70 percent to 80 percent of Māori and Pacific children achieve the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics.

The school differentiates its Māori children's information between those in the Ngā Uri O Ngā Iwi unit and those in mainstream. The school's information shows that Māori children in the unit are achieving slightly better results than Māori children in the mainstream.

Publically available information shows that over the previous three years, the percentage of Māori children achieving at or above National Standards in mathematics has increased, has remained similar in writing and shows a downward trend in reading. Pacific children's results show that there is an increase in the percentage achieving at or above National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics.

Since the last ERO evaluation the school has focused on implementing strategies to accelerate the progress and achievement of Māori, Pacific and all children. These strategies include developing individual learner profiles to help leaders and teachers closely monitor over the year, the progress of individual children whose achievement needs accelerating.

The school's special educational needs (SENCO) team deeply analyse individual children's assessment data to identify the best possible interventions to support their acceleration. The team regularly reviews the outcomes and modifies the interventions as needed. The leadership team is reviewing the effectiveness of using teacher time differently to more effectively support the learning of priority children.

3 Accelerating achievement

How effectively does this school respond to Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

Westmere School is responsive to the needs of Māori children whose learning and achievement needs accelerating. Leaders and teachers know the names and needs of all children who are yet to reach the National Standards in reading, writing and/or mathematics. There is a school-wide understanding of what acceleration looks like and leaders are implementing and monitoring the effect of appropriate strategies on outcomes for all children.

School leaders identified that the school was not sufficiently responding to the learning needs of some Māori children. They made changes to support these learners. Current school data is showing that new planning and teaching focuses to accelerate these children's progress are more effective.

The board of trustees is beginning to use Hautū: Māori Cultural Responsiveness Self Review tool for Board of Trustees, to ensure they are meeting their accountabilities. The board has used the school's achievement information to set appropriate school-wide strategic goals that focus on raising Māori children's achievement in reading and on lifting school-wide achievement in writing. These goals include an emphasis on raising the achievement of boys in Years 5 and 6.

The school clearly identifies those Māori children who are not achieving. Leaders collect a wide range of information about each child as they transition into the school. This includes their family context, preschool experience, any possible barriers to learning, their strengths and interests and whānau aspirations. Hui are held prior to entry to the Ngā Uri O Ngā Iwi unit and held regularly over their time at school to ensure learning and processes are consulted on and are transparent. Parents and whānau are supported to help their children with their learning at home.

The Māori medium classes use culturally relevant contexts to engage Māori children highly with their learning. Te reo Māori is a natural part of daily conversation school-wide. Teachers continue to grow their cultural expertise through the school’s focus on Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori learners.

How effectively does this school respond to other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

Westmere School responds with increasing effectiveness to other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

The school uses the same strategies, systems and processes in place for Māori students to respond to children from Pacific nations, and other children, whose learning and achievement needs acceleration or are at risk of not achieving equitable outcomes. The main emphasis is on increasing children's engagement with their learning through using their home language and increasing their awareness of their own cultural identity.

4 School conditions

How effectively do the school’s curriculum and other organisational processes and practices develop and enact the school’s vision, values, goals and targets for equity and excellence?

Westmere School's curriculum and other organisational processes and practices positively develop and enact the school's vision, values, goals and priorities for equity and excellence.

The board builds strong community partnerships and honours the Treaty of Waitangi principles and aims. Possessing Māori heritage is seen by the school as being a gift and is regularly celebrated and valued. Parents and whānau are well informed about school direction and children's learning outcomes. The board continues with its strategic intent to increase and strengthen parent and whānau partnership with the school. The results of board developed actions to enhance this goal are reviewed, including through community consultation, and appropriate adjustments made to the actions.

The board has a focus on accelerating the achievement of children through its suitable school-wide, targeted strategic goals. These are appropriately informed by the outcomes of a range of achievement Information reported to them by school leaders. The board is regularly updated on children’s progress with these goals and uses this information to make appropriate resourcing decisions.

The school values reflection and self review. Leaders use a variety of processes to complete a review and report outcomes to the board. Leaders continually reflect on the completion of actions implemented for ongoing school improvement. There is a strong emphasis on reporting evidence-based outcomes on children's learning. It could be useful to strengthen school-wide self review guidelines to ensure a coherent approach to ongoing school improvement.

Leaders demonstrate a strong commitment to raising and accelerating student progress and achievement. They have high expectations for children to succeed and have a heightened awareness of the results of individual children’s progress and achievement. Collaboration is emphasised as a way of working by adults and children in order to ensure the best possible outcomes. All areas of the school and external agencies co-operate to reduce children's barriers to learning. Professional learning and development aligns well to the strategic goals, individual teacher requirements and the intent of the school’s curriculum.

The school makes robust overall teacher judgements about children's progress and achievement. Leaders and teachers use a variety of nationally-normed and school-based assessment tools. They moderate literacy and mathematics assessment judgements across year levels and externally with local schools. Teachers use a variety of rubrics based on negotiated criteria, for children and teachers to assess the outcomes of other curriculum areas.

The review of the school's curriculum, which has included reviewing teaching practices, has progressed alongside the redevelopment of the school buildings. There is strong cohesion between the vision and values and the revised curriculum and teaching methods. The intent of the curriculum is to strengthen children's and the community's engagement with learning through a focus on e-learning and developing a shared learning language. Curriculum programmes are presented in an integrated way through concept learning, while maintaining an emphasis on literacy and mathematics. Children are offered many opportunities to learn in their preferred ways through full utilisation of the new spaces. Leaders continue to inquire deeply into current educational research to further teaching and learning practices.

Children see themselves as learners and some confidently self-manage their learning. There continues to be a strong emphasis on increasing children's understanding of their own learning, progress and achievement. Teachers and children explicitly monitor their progress and teachers are highly responsive to needs as they arise. Parents and whānau are kept well informed at all stages of intervention. Children have many opportunities to have input into curriculum direction.

5 Going forward

How well placed is the school to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children?

Leaders and teachers:

• know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
• respond effectively to the strengths, needs and interests of each child
• regularly evaluate how well teaching is working for these children
• act on what they know works well for each child
• build teacher capability effectively to achieve equitable outcomes for all children
• are well placed to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children.

Westmere School has a culture of continuous improvement through reflective practice. ERO and school leaders agree on the following areas for ongoing development.

• increasing the focus of school-wide self review on the evaluation of the impact of actions on the outcomes for learners
• developing greater learner agency using the school's learner dispositions and conceptual curriculum.

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

6 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 the following:

• board administration
• curriculum
• management of health, safety and welfare
• personnel management
• 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
• processes for appointing staff
• stand down, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
• attendance
• compliance with the provisions of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

7 Recommendation

ERO recommends that the board and school leaders refine the school-wide approach to internal evaluation to promote ongoing improvement in outcomes for all students. 

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

30 June 2016

About the school