Valley View Road , Glenfield, Auckland
View on mapWindy Ridge School is located in Glenfield on Auckland’s North Shore. Of the 303 children, Māori children make up 11 percent of the roll and 8 percent have Pacific heritage. In addition, there are smaller groups of children from a wide variety of other ethnic backgrounds.
Approximately 30 percent of children attending the school are involved in programmes that assist them to learn English.
The board and senior leaders have responded well to the findings of ERO’s 2014 review. There has been a considered approach to building student agency in learning through a strong focus on collaboration across all school levels.
The school has a clear vision for promoting a ‘learner outcomes focus’ that values all children as capable learners. Well considered professional learning and development (PLD) has supported this vision.
The school hosts two satellite classes from Wilson School that provide non-mobile children with an adapted educational programme. Teachers and children from these satellite classes are included in the life of the school.
Windy Ridge School is a member of the Kaipātiki Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako.
Most children achieve well in relation to the National Standards for reading, writing and mathematics.There are small levels of disparity between Māori and Pacific learners and the rest of the school. Very few children are working well below the National Standards.
The school’s systems and processes contribute to very good equitable outcomes for all learners. A focus on enhancing children’s wellbeing, a responsive curriculum, culturally responsive teaching, effective leadership, and strong connections with parents and whānau provide a foundation for successful learning.
The school demonstrates strong progress toward achieving equity in educational outcomes, supported by effective, sustainable practices.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
The school responds well to Māori and other children who are at risk of not achieving. Action plans for improving learner outcomes, including achievement for Māori and Pacific students guide school operations and teacher practice.
A social justice focus is supported by the school’s values and vision: “Striving for excellence while valuing effort”. The school and community promote equity through a variety of actions and resourcing to support children and their families to experience success.
Māori children are acknowledged for their capabilities in their language and identity as Māori. This deliberate approach from teachers contributes to children’s high levels of engagement in their learning.
Māori children achieve at comparable levels to the rest of the school population in writing and reading. There is some disparity in mathematics for Māori. While small in number, Pacific students are not achieving to the same levels as other learners. Many of the school’s Pacific students are new to New Zealand and the English language. Regardless, the school has very few children working well below National Standards. This achievement trend indicates the success of teaching initiatives that are focused on supporting children’s progress.
Over three-quarters of children achieve National Standards for reading and mathematics. Slightly less children achieve at similar levels for writing. Boys’ achievement in reading and writing is lower than girls. In mathematics, boys achieve at comparable levels to girls.
Children with additional needs are supported by the school’s inclusive practices. Their presence and contributions to the life of the school are valued. Each child’s achievement and progress is well monitored through collaboratively constructed and evaluated planning.
Moderation of children’s work is done within the school. Involvement in the Kaipātiki Community of Learning |Kāhui Ako (CoL) will support across-school moderation. The achievement challenges for the CoL support the school’s work in accelerating Māori and Pacific children’s progress.
The school has very good processes that enable achievement of equity and excellence. Systems are increasingly evaluated, and contribute to equitable outcomes for all children.
Children enjoy learning in a creative curriculum that engages their thinking and builds on their experiences. They have opportunities to use literacy and mathematics in meaningful ways.
Children’s wellbeing is strongly promoted by the school and community, and provides a foundation to successful learning. Parents and whānau are increasingly involved in learning partnerships with their children and the school. Leaders and teachers provide resources to support parents with their children’s learning, including updates about how well children are progressing.
School leaders successfully promote the notion of children as connected, active, lifelong learners. Their collaborative decision-making has a positive influence on the learning culture of the school. Teachers are open to new ideas, and work together to meet children’s diverse learning requirements. They use achievement information well to inform planning and teaching practice. Children know how well they are learning and their next steps.
The school’s deliberate focus on culturally responsive teaching practice supports Māori learners to be confident in the use of their language and in their identity as Maori. Pacific children of Samoan, Tongan and Cook Island heritages, while small in number, have a significant presence in the school. They are supported in their learning by targeted programmes, some of these are focused on ‘English as a Second Language’ approaches.
ERO has discussed with trustees and school leaders deliberate actions that could be taken to refine and improve a shared understanding of accelerated progress through the school. The progress for children at risk of not achieving needs to be better analysed to provide information for supporting collaborative teaching practice for acceleration.
ERO also recommended that the board continue to develop its evaluation capability. The planned use of Hautū: Māori Cultural Responsiveness Self Review tool for Board of Trustees is likely to support this process.
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
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.
The school is a signatory to the of International Students) Code of Practice 2016 established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code.Education (Pastoral Care
At the time of this review there were two international students attending the school.
The school provides good quality pastoral care, responds well to parental aspirations and communicates progress and achievement regularly and effectively.
Learners are achieving well. The school demonstrates strong progress toward achieving equity in educational outcomes, supported by effective, sustainable processes and practices.
Agreed next steps are to:
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
27 October 2017
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Location |
Glenfield, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
1575 |
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School type |
Contributing (Years 1 to 6) |
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School roll |
303 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 51%, Boys 49% |
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Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
47% |
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Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
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Review team on site |
August 2017 |
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Date of this report |
27 October 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2014 |
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Windy Ridge School is increasingly multicultural. Students are settled and friendly. School leaders and teachers value partnerships with parents. There is a strong focus on lifting student achievement and progress of priority learners. The school should increase the pace of change to further promote high quality curriculum and teaching consistently across the school.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Windy Ridge School in Glenfield, Auckland provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. Year 1 children make up 30 percent of the school roll. Most students live in nearby suburbs.
There are a lot of students for whom English is an additional language (ESOL) attending the school. The school hosts two satellite classes from Wilson School. The students and teachers from the satellite classes are well integrated into the school.
Students have a sense of ownership of the school. They warmly welcome visitors and confidently start conversations with adults. Students who are new to the school say that they settle in and make new friends easily.
Parents and whānau have many opportunities to be involved in school life. They can join support groups for families new to the country. There are also forums where they can talk about their understanding of present day education and share their ideas.
The school is well supported by the board of trustees and a parent teacher association. The library was recently refurbished and is now an attractive and comfortable learning space.
The leadership team has been extended to include three team leaders. The team leaders have responsibility for teaching and learning within their area of the school. The two deputy principals’ roles now include responsibilities across the school. This gives them the opportunity to promote school-wide initiatives and directions, and to monitor the consistency of implementation.
The 2011 ERO report found the school had a positive tone and that students were well engaged in their learning. ERO also identified the need to prioritise strategic actions and noted that leadership roles and responsibilities required development. The school has made progress in these areas.
Senior leaders and the board of trustees make good use of student achievement information. Trustees are knowledgeable about student achievement and committed to promoting better outcomes for students. Their strategic decisions aim to support students to make increased progress.
Students engage well with their learning in calm and settled classrooms. They set goals that help them to behave in ways that benefit their learning. Students share their learning and progress with their parents and whānau. They are proud to share their successes with their family.
Overall, students achieve at similar levels to other students locally, regionally and nationally. Māori students achieve well in reading. Senior leaders report that Pacific students achieve at similar levels to other students. However, they now aim to ensure that more Pacific students excel in relation to National Standards. The school’s annual Action Plan for Pasifika Success focuses on the actions needed to achieve this goal.
Senior leaders provide a structure and framework to help teachers use student achievement information well. They support teachers to use this data when planning for teaching. Teachers have regular opportunities to discuss the achievement of their students. They plan learning activities that will match their students' varied learning levels in reading and mathematics. They work closely with small groups of students during focussed teaching times.
Priority learners are clearly identified and their progress and achievement is well monitored. They are supported in their learning within class programmes and through an additional teaching programme. This programme helps teachers to identify the strategies that will assist each student to make better progress in reading and writing. Students are showing good progress and improved attitudes in the early stages of the project.
ESOL students are making good progress learning English. English language learning programmes are well monitored to ensure that teacher aides are supported to meet students’ learning needs. A parent support group, specifically for parents who are new to this country, provides information about education in New Zealand in general, and this school in particular.
Senior leaders have identified some important next steps. These steps could positively affect outcomes for students and include:
The school’s current curriculum review is an opportunity for teachers to build on current practices and develop a school curriculum that consistently promotes and supports high quality teaching.
Already during this review senior leaders and teachers have identified what is important in the teaching and learning of mathematics, English and science. They plan to extend this review to other learning areas. Teachers will increasingly taking a leadership role in the review process. Senior leaders are developing documentation that will guide teachers’ implementation of the curriculum.
The curriculum continues to have an appropriate focus on developing students’ knowledge and skills in literacy and numeracy. Teachers use an inquiry approach that helps students to make links across the learning areas of the curriculum. Teachers know that when making these links they need to respect the integrity of each learning area including science, social studies, technology and the arts.
The board supports professional learning and development for all staff. Senior leaders and teachers are part of a local cluster that shares some professional development. Teachers also have opportunities to lead professional learning and development for their colleagues.
Teachers participate in forums within the school where they discuss teaching and inquire into the impact of their own practice. They are beginning to use student feedback and preferences for learning to help them plan their teaching. These good practices could also help support students to plan for their own learning.
Senior leaders and ERO agree that to enhance the school’s curriculum it will be important to:
School leaders are building their understanding of what it means to promote educational success for Māori, as Māori.
Māori students express a strong sense of identity and report that they feel supported and acknowledged as Māori within the school. Many have opportunities to participate in te ao Māori with their whānau. These experiences support students’ knowledge and awareness of their language, culture and identity.
Māori students value the leadership opportunities they have. Māori student achievement is similar to the achievement of other students in the school. The school’s Māori students as a group, achieve better in National Standards than Māori students in other schools locally, regionally and nationally. The school participates in Te Reo Tuatahi, a project that uses language assistants to teach te reo Māori language to students. This programme could now be extended so that students learn te reo Māori at progressively more advanced levels as they move through the school.
The school is focusing on building the confidence and capability of teachers to use Ministry of Education resource materials to teach and use te reo Māori. This could be helpful in further supporting Māori students and promote bicultural practice for all students. Students ERO spoke to during the review, said that the school could further reflect the place of Māori within its environment.
The school is well placed to sustain and improve its performance.
The board has a strategic approach to governance. Trustees are experienced and knowledgeable about education. They are highly collaborative. They are committed to undertaking training about their roles and responsibilities. Succession planning has helped the board to ensure newly elected trustees transition smoothly onto the board. This is helping them to sustain good governance practices.
The senior leadership team is experienced and works cohesively. Leaders bring complementary skills, knowledge and styles to their roles. Senior leaders are keen to build leadership capacity in teachers and support their career pathways.
Self-review processes help senior leaders make decisions. A more structured, evaluative approach to self review could promote more robust analysis of school programmes and operations.
In order to further improve school performance, it is timely for the board and school leaders to continue to:
The school is a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students (the Code) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code.
At the time of this review there were two international students from China and Saudi Arabia attending the school. These students are enrolled for one year. They benefit from the good practices the school has developed to support students for whom English is an additional language. International students experience high quality inclusion, relationships and teaching practices.
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:
In order to improve practice, the board should comprehensively review the match between school policies, procedures and practices. Senior leaders should ensure all staff are familiar with updated policies and procedures so that these clearly guide school operations.
Windy Ridge School is increasingly multicultural. Students are settled and friendly. School leaders and teachers value partnerships with parents. There is a strong focus on lifting student achievement and progress of priority learners. The school should increase the pace of change to further promote high quality curriculum and teaching consistently across the school.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services Northern Region
8 October 2014
|
Location |
Glenfield, Auckland |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
1575 |
|
|
School type |
Contributing (Years 1 to 6) |
|
|
School roll |
222 |
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Number of international students |
2 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 52% Boys 48% |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Chinese African British Filipino Japanese Indian Latin American South East Asian Tongan other |
12% 55% 6% 4% 4% 4% 4% 2% 2% 2% 2% 3% |
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Special Features |
Two Wilson School satellite classes |
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Review team on site |
August 2014 |
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Date of this report |
8 October 2014 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review Supplementary Review Education Review |
December 2011 October 2008 July 2007 |