Flanshaw Road School

School Context

Flanshaw Road School caters for students in Years 1 to 6. There are currently 378 students enrolled at the school. The roll includes 26 percent Māori, 32 percent Pākehā, and smaller groups of children from a wide variety of other ethnic backgrounds.

The school’s mission, “Growing Leaders of Tomorrow”, promotes leadership at all levels of the school. Its vision of “developing academically strong, culturally centred, socially resilient, physically confident students who understand they can make a difference in the world” underpins the school’s values. The school’s vision and values are reflected in its attainment of gold level environmental school status.

The school’s strategic goals are to provide a place where students and teachers love learning and teaching. This includes empowering parents to be engaged and effective first teachers of their children and active partners in their ongoing learning.

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

• progress and achievement overall and for cohorts of students in reading, writing and mathematics
• wellbeing, engagement and attendance
• curriculum and extra-curricular areas that align to the school’s strategic goals
• programmes and interventions designed to support children with additional learning needs, including those who speak English as a second language
• teaching and learning strategies introduced as the result of teacher professional development.

The school has a positive ERO reporting history. Since the 2014 ERO review, staff have participated in a number of professional learning developments aligned to the schools’ strategic direction. Recent curriculum initiatives include:

• the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) in the curriculum
• developing schoolwide rubrics to build student assessment practices that contribute to increased student ownership of their learning
• using the strategic plan for Māori Achieving Success as Māori (MASAM) to continue to build teacher knowledge and capacity in culturally responsive practices across the school.

The school participates actively in the wider educational community. School members value the opportunities they have to network and be a part of the WAPA 2020 Network of Schools (Waitakere Area Principal Association 2020 Network).

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 works well in achieving equitable and excellent academic outcomes for its students across the curriculum. Data collated termly in year levels show how well students are tracking in terms of expected levels of progress and achievement.

School data show high levels of achievement in reading, where almost all students achieve at or above the expected levels by the end of Year 6. Data show good levels of achievement in writing and mathematics. The majority of students also achieve at or above expectation by the end of Year 6 in these areas.

Achievement outcomes for different groups of students, including Māori and Pacific students, show variability from year to year. The school continues to successfully work towards parity for all groups of students.

The school’s valued outcomes are clearly expressed and guide curriculum and decision making in teaching. Valued outcomes that are highly evident include students who:

• have a strong sense of pride, belonging and individual identity
• display high levels of engagement in their learning
• are confident learners who understand their role in the learning process
• demonstrate respectful relationships with each other and adults.

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

The school has data showing good levels of accelerated progress for those students who are achieving below expectation.

Teachers, learning assistants and leaders know students well as individuals and are responsive in developing the whole child. They use this knowledge and their research and inquiry into best practice to provide targeted in-class support for individuals and groups.

School leaders are aware of a correlation between increased rates of acceleration and the school’s introduction of STEAM and MASAM approaches in the curriculum. Both are promoting increased levels of student engagement in learning for these students who need acceleration.

School leaders and teachers successfully respond to the strengths, interests and cultural identity of each child. They work collaboratively with whānau to seek ways of increasing the progress and achievement of students.

Children with additional learning needs make very good progress in their learning. They respond positively to the school’s special support they receive and to the high quality inclusive practices that support them to participate fully in the curriculum.

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?

High quality school leadership supports equitable outcomes for students. Leaders build strong educationally focused relationships with other educational and community institutions. Being part of multiple networks provides opportunities for them to build individual and collective leadership capability and capacity within the school.

The school’s very effective distributed leadership model provides many opportunities to capitalise on teachers’ and students’ talents and strengths. This supports the school’s work towards achieving their vision for learning. School leaders ensure that processes and practices promote students’ wellbeing, confidence in their identity and engagement in learning.

The school’s broad and responsive curriculum engages students in their learning. It helps children to understand their learning and to make links across different curriculum areas. The curriculum incorporates connections to students’ lives, their prior understandings, and out of school experiences. It helps make learning authentic and relevant to students.

The school very effectively weaves Māori perspectives across all aspects of the curriculum. Students have access to te reo Māori as a living language at all year levels. Kapa haka and other cultural values are included in the curriculum. High levels of student participation and engagement in these groups continues to build strong culturally-centred learners.

The school has strong educationally powerful connections and relationships with parents, whānau and its community. Students, teachers and adults benefit from reciprocal relationships that are learning-centred, respectful, and value diverse identities, language and cultures. These positive qualities empower whānau/families to contribute successfully to their children’s learning with confidence.

The board of trustees promotes quality and excellence, and serves the school very well. Strong relationships between trustees and school leaders are based on trust, integrity and openness. The board has strategic and practical approaches for school systems, organisation and practices. These approaches are strongly and appropriately aligned with the school vision, values and priorities. Board practices help ensure there is coherence between the school's charter and annual plans and that these are an integral part of all processes within the school.

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

School leaders have identified the need to consider ways to enhance learning through the use of digital technologies.

School leaders continue to build on place-based learning experiences and MASAM approaches to foster positive equitable outcomes for students, particularly Māori and Pacific students.

The school’s extensive data gathering and analysis could be further refined. Developing data sets and summaries that show what is making the biggest difference to student achievement and other valued student outcomes could help further support strategic curriculum decisions.

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 Practice 2016. At the time of the review there were two international students. The school provides international students with very good education and pastoral care. Students benefit from the school’s inclusive culture, and opportunities to participate in a wide range of school activities.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

• high quality school leadership that promotes a culture of inclusiveness and a strong focus on student wellbeing
• responsive curriculum design that aligns to the school’s vision, values and goals and promotes equity and excellence
• very strong educationally powerful connections and relationships that support school development and that support families/whānau to contribute successfully to their children’s learning
• trustees that actively represent and serve the school and its community very well.

Next steps

For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in the school continuing to enhance strategic decision making and continuing to embed current quality systems and practices.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

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

Violet Tu’uga Stevenson

Director Review and Improvement Services

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

14 December 2018

About the school