Vanguard Road , Kelston, Auckland
View on mapTēnā koutou e mau manawa rahi ki te kaupapa e aro ake nei, ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa. Mā wai rā e kawe, mā tātau katoa.
We acknowledge the collective effort, responsibility and commitment by all to ensure that the child remains at the heart of the matter.
Kelston Intermediate in West Auckland provides education for learners in Years 7 and 8. The school serves a diverse ethnic community and offers bilingual Māori provision. The school has a close working relationship with Te Kawerau a Maki, the local iwi. Kelston Intermediate aspires to empower learners in their identity, language, and culture through authentic learning experiences.
There are two parts to this report.
Part A: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki/bilingual settings.
Part B: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.
The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.
| Learners are engaged, make good progress and the majority achieve well. |
| Leadership builds collective capacity and fosters a culture of collaboration to enable positive learner outcomes. |
| The schools localised curriculum is responsive to the community and its aspirations for learners. |
| Stewardship, whānau and iwi relationships and inclusion practices provide a supportive environment for learner success. |
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Every six months:
Annually:
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.
Me mahi tahi tonu tātau, kia whai oranga a tātau tamariki
Let’s continue to work together for the greater good of all children.
Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools
23 August 2024
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of September 2023, the Kelston Intermediate Board of Trustees has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
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For further information please contact Kelston Intermediate Board of Trustees.
The next Board of Trustees 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.
Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools
23 August 2024
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Kelston Intermediate, Auckland, serves a diverse ethnic community and caters for students in Years 7 and 8. The roll includes 19 percent of students who identify as Māori. Just under 50 percent of students have Pacific heritage with the largest groups of students identifying as Samoan or Tongan. Smaller numbers of students identify from a wide variety of other ethnic backgrounds. Students learn in mixed age levels.
The school has experienced significant roll growth over the past few years and continues to grow. This has resulted in new staff and more classrooms. Refurbishment of some rooms has occurred, with more extensive property development planned over the next two years.
The school’s graduate profile, Taumata, aims to empower students to strive for excellence, while celebrating their accomplishments and successes within a cultural, social and academic framework. The Taumata and school values are for learners to be: Respectful (Whakamanatia), Responsible (Rangatiratanga), and Engaged (Whakaanga).
The school offers three bilingual classes, Ngā Kākano ka Puāwai I te reo (Māori), Ulimasao (Samoan) and Fakataukatea (Tongan), and a Tamatoa (boys) class.
The Kelston Deaf Centre has one satellite class within the school grounds. These students integrate into school life at different times during the day.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
Since the 2016 ERO evaluation school leaders and teachers have responded well to the report recommendations
The school is a member of the Te Whānau Mātauranga O Kerehana Kāhui Ako|Comunity of Learning (CoL).
The school is becoming increasingly effective in achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for its learners, particularly in relation to their language, culture, identity and wellbeing.
School data show that by the end of Year 8 the majority of students achieve at or above expected NZC levels in reading, writing and mathematics. There is recent evidence of improving levels of achievement and rates of progress for Māori and Pacific students. 2018 school data show Year 8 Maori students achieving at higher levels than non-Māori in reading, writing and mathematics. A similar trend is evident for Year 8 Pacific students in reading and writing. Raising the achievement of all students continues to be an area of focus for staff.
Some disparity remains between the achievement of boys and girls, and for some other cohorts of students. There are examples of accelerated progress and increasing parity for some cohorts, however variation continues, and improvement trends are not yet consistent over time. Recent school data show accelerated improvement for boys through the Taumata progressions.
The school’s positive culture helps students (ngā ākonga) to achieve very well in relation to other valued outcomes. Ngā ākonga:
The school has many good systems, processes and programmes in place to accelerate learning for those Māori and other students who need this. School data show examples of learning and achievement being accelerated, sometimes significantly. Students with additional learning needs are well supported.
School leaders and teachers know their students as learners. They have implemented a number of responsive and inclusive initiatives to increase parity, accelerate progress and raise student achievement.
A deliberate focus on attendance and engagement is showing an improving picture of student attendance and wellbeing. The Taumata framework tracks students’ learning skills and dispositions.
School leaders and teachers respond very well to the strengths, interests and cultural identities of students. They work collaboratively with whānau and external agencies to support students’ learning, progress and achievement.
Recent initiatives are beginning to show positive results in improved achievement and acceleration. Further analysis of data, over time, should help in evaluating the effectiveness of initiatives.
School leaders build strong relational trust and participation at all levels of the school. Their collaborative leadership models the school’s vision, values and priorities. Highly responsive communication supports and strengthens learning-centred partnerships with whānau.
The principal leads a relentless focus on improvement and purposeful evaluation. Teachers use internal evaluation processes, inquiry and knowledge building to sustain improvement to enable equity.
Leaders and teachers are developing innovative initiatives that support deeper understanding of learning in their school context. Students experience a broad variety of learning opportunities that provide a sound foundation for their social, emotional, intellectual development. They benefit from multiple opportunities to realize their potential.
Taumata continues to be at the heart of the school’s improvement efforts and has contributed to improving student achievement. Students are encouraged to actively engage in their learning and they are motivated to achieve success. Leaders and teachers value student voice and make good use of feedback to improve on the quality of teaching, learning and student wellbeing.
Leaders and teachers are committed to developing and implementing a curriculum that is relevant to students’ lives, prior understandings and experiences. The curriculum draws on parent, whānau and community knowledge of students’ identities, languages and cultures, and is responsive to their aspirations. Cultural and linguistic diversity are viewed as strengths to be nurtured and enriched. Programmes show a strong focus on bilingual pathway education.
The majority of students at the school speak two or more languages. Students are well supported to access learning in their preferred language. Kaiāwhina bring expertise, local knowledge and experience to support students. Community collaboration and partnership extend and enrich opportunities for students to become confident, connected and actively involved learners.
School leaders have implemented comprehensive assessment practices in relation to literacy and numeracy. They should now continue to broaden their assessment practices to complement the culturally responsive curriculum. Gathering and analysing this additional information would help to evaluate the impact of the school curriculum and initiatives in fostering valued outcomes for learners.
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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Kelston Intermediate’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.
ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in continuing to:
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
6 September 2019
| Location | Kelston. Auckland |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 1330 |
| School type | Intermediate (Years 7and 8) |
| School roll | 339 |
| Gender composition | Boys 57% Girls 43% |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 19% NZ European/ Pākehā 6% Samoan 30% Tongan 11% Indian 8% Fijian 4% Niue 4% other ethnic groups 18% |
| Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) | No |
| Provision of Māori medium education | Yes |
| Review team on site | June 2019 |
| Date of this report | 6 September 2019 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review May 2016 Education Review December 2012 Education review September 2009 |
Kelston Intermediate School has strong connections with and commitment to whānau, aiga and families. Senior leaders guide the school direction effectively and teachers and students respond positively to their high expectations. The curriculum engages students well so that they develop culturally, socially and academically. Teachers are continuing to refine programmes to accelerate students’ progress and learning.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Kelston Intermediate School in West Auckland provides education for students in Years 7 and 8.
The multi-cultural student roll is representative of the local community. More than 50 percent of students have a Pacific background with the largest number of students being Samoan and Tongan.
Māori students make up 19 percent of the school roll.
The learning culture for students and teachers is founded on values of respect, responsibility and engagement. This focus results in a strongly cohesive and collaborative school tone. Close relationships are evident between whānau, aiga and the school.
Māori concepts underpin the school’s ethos. Māori staff and students support the whole school, including the parents, to understand and participate in tikanga Māori. The school’s philosophy aims to support students to develop culturally, socially and academically and is captured by the phrase ‘We are Kelston.’
Classes consist of groups of students from both year levels. Most students have the same class teacher for their two years at the school. Specialist teachers provide additional expertise and opportunities in technology learning areas. Māori and Samoan language enrichment classes opened in 2016. Students from a range of different cultural backgrounds choose to be in these classes.
The board of trustees has been in negotiation with the Ministry of Education to progress property development. The anticipated improvements should provide students with enhanced learning facilities that will heighten staff and students’ pride in the school.
The 2012 ERO report commented on effective leadership, the broad curriculum and relationships between students and teachers as strengths in the school. These features have been further enhanced and continue to be evident in the continuing improvement of the school. Areas identified for development included greater student ownership of their learning, refinement of National Standards reporting and whānau engagement in their children’s learning. Good progress has been made in these areas. School buildings and playgrounds require improvement to provide a suitable teaching and learning environment for students and staff.
Senior leaders and teachers know students and their whānau very well. They use achievement information deliberately to make changes that will impact positively on student engagement, progress and achievement.
Students have high self-belief as learners and are highly engaged in their learning. They confidently share ideas in conversations with their peers and adults. Students plan for their progress in relation to the school’s taumata. They are aware of the expectations for their year level and accordingly set goals for what they want to achieve. Students use comprehensive frameworks to support this goal setting and the subsequent self-evaluation process.
Senior leaders set learning and social targets for students. These targets are linked to the school taumata which describe cultural, social and academic levels of attainment. The learning targets identify expected achievement for both year groups. Students who are currently achieving well below the relevant standard are identified and accelerated progress is expected. Writing more specific student targets and defining the rate of progress expected would help the school when reviewing how successful initiatives have been for particular groups of students.
Leaders use school-wide systems to track and monitor students’ engagement and progress. Teachers particularly focus on those students who need to achieve at a better level in reading, writing and mathematics.
Senior leaders have established good systems and frameworks to guide teachers. Regular, planned professional conversations between teachers provide good opportunities for them to share effective practices and to reflect on their impact on student outcomes. Teacher collaboration and consistency of approaches are well established across the school.
Data provided by the school show that achievement for all students in relation to the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics is at a slightly lower level than other schools in the region and nationally. However Māori and Pacific students achieve at similar levels to Māori and Pacific students in the local region. Senior leaders have reviewed their processes to ensure school data is robust.
Students with special learning needs or who could benefit from close monitoring are well provided for. Senior leaders and teachers commit to promoting positive outcomes for these students. Effective systems provide holistic support for students who need additional help and guidance. This good practice focuses on caring about the whole student and their whānau.
Senior leaders and ERO agree that continuing to focus on teaching and learning strategies that result in accelerated progress for students who need to achieve better is a priority.
Senior leaders have developed a curriculum that is well aligned to The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) and fits the school community well. The curriculum highly values all students as culturally- located individuals who live and learn in a bicultural country. It promotes and supports student learning very well.
School values based on whakamanatia (respect), rangatiratanga (responsibility) and whakaanga (engagement) strongly influence what is considered worth learning. The school’s curriculum provides clear guidelines and expectations about how teachers will foster this learning. Social skills, cultural understanding, inquiry learning and critical thinking are all prioritised.
Students learn through an inquiry approach in all learning areas. Teachers integrate science and social studies into literacy and numeracy to make good use of time and to also provide meaningful learning tasks.
Students develop their own future-focused inquiries around a common theme. They have good access to digital devices to support their learning, to undertake research and for presentation purposes. Increasingly students and teachers are using e portfolios to plan for and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning.
Specialist teachers provide good quality opportunities for students to experience and experiment with a range of materials. They implement the school kaupapa through their programmes. As a consequence the school direction is evident and consistent across all classrooms.
Additional groups provide opportunities for students to develop or pursue their interests. The focus on students developing their understanding of culture is promoted through cultural groups and indigenous studies.
The school promotes educational success for Māori, as Māori, very well. The school celebrates Māori as tangata whenua and New Zealand’s bicultural heritage. Kaumatua, the principal and Māori teachers support other teachers well to fulfil school expectations around language, culture and identity for Māori students.
School and individual pepeha are prominent in establishing the school tone. Te reo Māori is used purposefully and incidentally throughout the day. Tikanga Māori is strongly evident in the schools planning, priorities and operations.
Tuakana/teina relationships are fundamental to the teaching and learning process. Māori students lead the powhiri tikanga through karanga, whaikorero and hariru. Students now have the added opportunity to learn through te reo Māori in the bilingual class.
Several staff speak te reo Māori and/or identify as Māori. They provide good points of contact for whānau. The wider school community has good opportunities to experience bicultural practices in meaningful and authentic ways. Māori students spoken to by ERO confirm a strong sense of belonging in the school.
The challenge for the school is to lift the academic achievement of Māori students, in line with the rich experiences and opportunities provided to promote Māori success, as Māori.
The school is well placed to sustain and improve its performance. There is a high level of commitment to the present students and the wider school community.
Trustees are experienced and representative of the community. They bring capability to their roles. Trustees are proud of their school and the improvements that have been embedded. Effective and trusting relationships exist between the board and the staff.
The school is led by highly professional school leaders. The principal provides strong leadership for the school. He is well respected and supported by the school community. The school leadership team works well together to ensure that school values and directions are promoted and embedded. They have established a very consistent learning culture across the school.
The school direction and values provide clear signposts for expectations and decision making. Teachers’ performance management process supports them to improve their practice through reflection and feedback. Teachers share their action research projects and contribute to internal professional development opportunities.
School leaders are closely involved in classrooms, with teachers and with students. This helps them to know what is happening for students as individuals and to provide support and guidance for teachers. Senior leaders provide good opportunities for teachers to develop leadership in their areas of strength or interest.
The internal evaluation of programmes and initiatives is ongoing and responsive. Parents, teachers and students have opportunities to contribute their ideas and suggestions. Trustees, senior leaders and teachers should continue to use the school’s self-review processes to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of programmes and initiatives in promoting positive outcomes for students.
The continued improvement of the school over time and the concerted focus on improving outcomes for learners are reflected in the board's agreement that ERO should return in three years. Agreed next steps for the board and senior leaders include developing a more evaluative approach to self review, continuing to find effective ways to lift student achievement and strengthening the board’s internal evaluation.
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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
Kelston Intermediate School has strong connections with and commitment to whānau, aiga and families. Senior leaders guide the school direction effectively and teachers and students respond positively to their high expectations. The curriculum engages students well so that they develop culturally, socially and academically. Teachers are continuing to refine programmes to accelerate students’ progress and learning.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
23 May 2016
| Location | Kelston, Auckland | |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 1330 | |
| School type | Intermediate (Years 7 to 8) | |
| School roll | 253 | |
| Gender composition | Boys 59%, Girls 41% | |
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Samoan Tongan Indian Cook Is Māori Fijian Niue Filipino other Pacific other | 19% 7% 29% 16% 5% 4% 3% 3% 2% 3% 9% |
| Review team on site | March 2016 | |
| Date of this report | 23 May 2016 | |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review Education Review Supplementary Review | December 2012 September 2009 September 2006 |