Browns Bay School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 16 months of the Education Review Office and Browns Bay 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

Browns Bay School is on the North Shore of Auckland and provides education for students in Years 1 – 6. The school’s vision is ‘building leaders and learners’.

Browns Bay School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:

• enhance student outcomes across the school with accelerated learning for literacy and mathematics

• build increasingly effective teaching practices through further refining and extension of the schoolwide teaching as inquiry

• effectively implement all aspects of the NZ Curriculum using a student-centred inquiry learning approach

• further develop the inclusive and supportive environment for all learners.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the school conditions contribute to accelerating learner progress and achievement in literacy.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to strengthen teaching and learning practices to ensure progress and achievement in literacy are consistently equitable and excellent for all learners.

The school expects to see:

• teachers consistently using effective strategies and practices in literacy

• students demonstrating increasing agency and self-efficacy in their learning

• positive trends in literacy achievement for all learners, including Māori and Pacific learners.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to accelerate learner progress and achievement in literacy:

• a school culture focused on the values of respect/manaakitanga, inquiring minds/whai whakaaro, taking responsibility/takohanga, and personal excellence/tu rangatira

• targeted professional development that ensures teachers are using effective teaching strategies and practices in adaptive ways

• a leadership team which consistently evaluates, prioritises and plans for school improvement.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• continuing to build on effective teaching practice to support learners to progress and achieve in literacy

• ongoing in-depth inquiry and evaluation of literacy achievement information to ensure equitable outcomes for all learners, including Māori and Pacific learners.

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
11 November 2022 

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

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of June 2022, the Browns Bay 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 Browns Bay School Board.

The next 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

11 November 2022 

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

Provision for International Students Report

Background

The Education Review Office reviews schools that are signatories to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

Findings

Browns Bay School has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code and has completed an annual self-review of its implementation of the Code.

At the time of this review there were four international students attending the school, and no exchange students.

The school has effective systems and strategies in place to support the education and pastoral care of international students.  International students are fully engaged in the life of the school and have many opportunities to participate and learn in a range of contexts. Open communication and regular interactions with parents and families support positive home-school relationships and develop quality partnerships for learning.

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

11 November 2022 

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

1 Context

Browns Bay School, located on the East Coast Bays area of Auckland, caters for children in Years 1 to 6. Browns Bay School is a member of the recently established Mid Bays Schools' Community of Learning. The school roll is growing. A new, experienced principal was appointed in May 2014. Leaders and teachers have been involved in a variety of professional learning contracts specifically to support the acceleration of student progress and achievement. These practices have been sustained and further developed.  

2 Equity and excellence

The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are to provide an optimal learning environment focused on "Building Leaders and Learners" through opportunities that unlock children's potential and develop their capacity for lifelong learning. The school values: Respect - Manaakitanga, Personal Excellence - Tu Rangatira, Taking Responsibility - Takohanga, and Inquiring Minds - Whai Whakaaro are encouraged, modelled and explored as an aspect of everyday life for children, teachers and the community. The school's motto, Ka Puta Te Hua - Effort Brings Reward is clearly understood by children.

Browns Bay School's mission, vision and values form strong foundations for successful learning. Positive relationships between children, teachers, families and whānau are regarded by the school as essential to learning, underpinning equity and excellence.

The Public Achievement Information (PAI) shows that high numbers of children achieve at or above National Standards. The school is well placed to meet the 2017 government target of 85 percent achieving National Standards. Māori children's achievement reflects that for all children. The very small numbers of Pacific children are improving their achievement and achieve at similar levels to their peers in reading and writing.

School achievement data shows some gender-based differences, with the overall achievement of girls exceeding that of boys, particularly in writing and reading. In response, the board, school leaders and teachers continue to focus on deliberate actions to reduce this disparity.

The school's moderation processes rely on internal discussions and teachers sharing examples of children's written work to ensure that their overall teacher judgements are valid and reliable. Representatives from each school in the Mid Bays Cluster collaborate to verify overall teacher judgements made in each school and across the cluster. This concerted effort to ensure consistency across the cluster has occurred over the last four years.

Since the last ERO evaluation the school has

• strengthened biculturalism, providing a stronger sense of things Māori at all levels of the school led by the Ka Hikitia team
• increased the number of specific intervention programmes and resourcing to accelerate the learning of target students
• improved English as Second Language programmes, funding, training and reporting
• strengthened performance management systems to include reflective teaching practices to accelerate student progress and achievement
• increased children's use of information and communication technologies
• reviewed the school curriculum to promote student agency.

3 Accelerating achievement

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

The school is highly effective in responding to Māori children whose learning and achievement needs acceleration. Raising the achievement of Māori and Pacific children and those with special educational capabilities and needs is one of the school's key priorities.

From the time children arrive at the school, teachers are focused on creating opportunities for Māori children to be successful in their learning.

Identification processes begin prior to these children transitioning into the school and at each transition point during the child's time at the school. Whānau are closely involved in identifying the strengths, needs and capabilities of their child. Leaders and teachers use an extensive range of targeted approaches to identify Māori children not achieving through the use of a thorough, school-wide tracking and monitoring process.

Teachers are deepening their understanding of what is required to improve and accelerate student progress and achievement through a shared understanding of accelerated learning. They reflect on ways they can modify their practice to best meet children's learning requirements. Teachers are mindful of their changing relationships with children to promote children's self-efficacy in their learning. These more personalised approaches all help to promote and accelerate the progress of Māori children at risk of not achieving.

School achievement information shows that the few Māori children who do not achieve at National Standards are better positioned for success in their learning because of the progress they have made. Whānau who spoke with ERO, see the progress their target children make in learning through teachers' deliberate actions and new approaches in the classroom. They value the strength of relationships with teachers in supporting children's learning at home.

Leaders and teachers collate and analyse a wide range of data to critically evaluate the success of initiatives designed to accelerate Māori students' learning progress with respect to National Standards. They evaluate how well programmes suits each child's specific learning requirement, and allow for refining and refocussing to maximise opportunities for success. Maintaining longitudinal records of each target child's learning progress and highlighting key acceleration points helps sustain the accelerated progress that these children have made.

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

The school responds very effectively to other children whose learning and achievement needs acceleration.

External professional development for teachers is targeted to accelerate children's progress and achievement in writing. Teachers respond through a range of approaches to address the gender disparity by:

• identifying every child who is below or well below in writing and in relation to National Standards
• setting an achievement target for each child and identifying their individualised learning goals
• deciding on the teaching actions that are required to help students reach their targets/goals
• inquiring into their writing programmes to ensure that they provide children with enough choice
• analysing and discussing the progress of these students at team level.

Teachers think deeply about what they can do to accelerate the progress of these children. They scaffold children's learning through a range of rich learning experiences across the curriculum and build on what they know about individual children's interests, strengths and capabilities. The children who spoke with ERO value the opportunities to use technology and give feedback to each other in their writing groups. They also enjoyed the use of pictures and images to develop their ideas and make choices about their writing.

This development is also supported by specific school actions that focus on effective teaching practices. Teachers have a target group of students alongside the priority learners in each class. The progress of this target group is monitored carefully and senior leaders maintain a data base to monitor the longitudinal progress of children in the inquiry project.

Leaders collate very useful progress information to identify children's expected and accelerated progress from Year 2 to 6 in writing. 2015 data shows over half of the targeted Year 2 to 6 children made the necessary progress to achieve at and above National Standards by the end of 2015.

School leaders and teachers closely track and monitor all children from school entry. Identified groups of children, including English language learners and those with special abilities are tracked through the English Language Learning progressions and /or Individual Education Plans. These children are progressing and achieving a range of successful outcomes.

Leaders have created a collective staff responsibility for accelerating the progress and achievement of students at risk of not achieving. The 2016 charter targets are clearly focused on acceleration through a strategic and coherent approach across the school. Internal evaluation and a collaborative inquiry approaches provide teaching teams with opportunities to reflect deeply and adapt practices to suit individual children.

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?

The school's curriculum, processes and practices are very effective in developing and enacting the vision, values, goals and priorities for equity and excellence.

The school's charter contains goals, targets and actions that are focused on accelerating student progress and achievement, particularly for Māori, Pacific and target students in writing. These goals support the enactment of equity and excellence through the school's key improvement strategies.

The Browns Bay School curriculum (Pathways to Success) was reviewed in 2015 to include student agency as part of the effective teaching practices. Student agency is supported by teaching practices that help students to actively contribute to and lead their learning.

The broad curriculum provides opportunities for all children to engage their interests through classroom inquiries and enrichment programmes. The school's curriculum themes and extensive co-curricular activities are highly responsive to children by building on their prior knowledge and experiences outside school.

Children participate and learn in a collaborative and inclusive school culture. They are supported to learn alongside their peers in deliberate mixed ability grouping where they test and explore their ideas. Teachers scaffold prior knowledge to allow children to connect their learning to new information or ideas and this enables children to apply their new skills immediately as they learn.

Te Whare Rama is an initiative to support children's positive engagement in their writing. Team building opportunities connect children through a sense of belonging to share their interests and give feedback to each other about their writing. Children's use of digital devices suppors them to accelerate their progress in writing.

The school recognises the positive impact that bi-cultural practices, curriculum content and the use of te reo Māori has on Māori student, language and culture. The Ka Hikitia team focuses on strengthening the significance of bi-culturalism within the school's culture and curriculum. Māori children and their whānau value their school as a place to learn and connect with their culture.

The school is further extending their networking and collaborative practices by being part of the Mid Bays Community of Learning (CoL). A well-documented action plan linked to the school's strategic plan has a focus on improving learning in writing and mathematics. The professional culture of accountability that is prevalent in the school contributes positively to accelerating the progress of children at risk of not achieving.

The quality of teaching is high. Teachers and support staff work collaboratively to find new and innovative approaches to stimulate and challenge children. Self and peer critique is integral to teachers' professional practice. A highly effective and well-coordinated performance management system supports teachers' professional practice and growth.

Trustees, school leaders and staff place a high significance on building meaningful relationships and developing strong home-school partnerships. Parents and whānau who spoke with ERO value the way the school responds to their aspirations and ideas about their children's learning.

The board, school leaders and teachers are future focused and committed to ensuring that the school serves its community well. Extensive internal evaluation is used to meet the requirements of diverse learners and the changing school population. The complementary nature of external and internal evaluation is focused on setting the school conditions for leaders and teachers to respond holistically to the learning and wellbeing of all children, particularly those at risk of not achieving.

5 Going forward

How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?

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.

Browns Bay School is very well placed to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children. A high degree of coherence between all processes and systems is evident, due to the effectiveness of thorough, purposeful internal and external evaluation.

Capable trustees bring a range of expertise to their roles. They evaluate their performance in their stewardship role and the work of the school in achieving valued student outcomes. Trustees are supported to be bi-culturally responsive and build on whānau partnerships with the school.

Senior leaders have a purposeful, cohesive and collaborative leadership approach. Their measured management of change and improvement in the school is well-paced and considered. A focus on building collective capacity in evaluation and inquiry has helped encourage people to think and do things differently. Staff wellbeing and their individual and professional growth is valued and cared for. This is helping the school to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children.

The senior leadership team and the board of trustees acknowledge that their internal evaluation and ERO's external evaluation has prompted the emergence of their ongoing development areas. These include:

• continuing to develop teaching practices that build on children's self-efficacy
• sharing the outcomes of inquiries to inform best practice, particularly in accelerating children's progress and achievement
• continuing to build connections in response to the communities growing diversity
• considering extending the school's ongoing bi-cultural focus through consultation with the local iwi to create a shared local story.

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
• provision for international students.

7 Recommendation

ERO recommends that the school continues to use internal evaluation to achieve excellence and equity in outcomes for all children. 

Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

8 August 2016

About the school