Stonefields School

Stonefields School

School Evaluation Report

Tēnā 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.

Context

​Stonefields School​ is situated in Stonefields, Auckland and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8. The school has four vision principles that guide school improvement. These are building learning capacity, collaborating, making meaning, and breaking through.

The school has a satellite unit from Sommerville Specialist School.

There are three parts to this report.

Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation.

Part B: 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 C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.

Part A: Previous Improvement Goals

Since the previous ERO report of August 2022, ERO and the school worked together to evaluate how well the application of Stonefields’ learning process model led to equitable outcomes for all students.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

The learning process consistently implemented throughout the school.

  • Students know and articulate well the key elements of the learning process. These elements use learners’ thinking skills to help them understand new things, make sense of these and know when, where and how to use this information.
  • Teachers consistently use the language and visuals of the learning process model to tailor learning experiences for students’ needs.

All learners applying the learning process to successfully lead and take action.

  • Almost all students have developed confidence in and ownership of their learning.
  • Students actively lead and participate in decision making that positively impacts on their learning.

All stakeholders (staff and learners) continuing to grow a shared understanding of Stonefields School’s learning process.

  • Positive shifts in learning outcomes are evident across the school.
  • Staff and learners have a clear understanding about what is being learned and why and confidently make links to the learning process model.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action has been the overall consistency and intentional use of the learning process model to design and enable meaningful learning experiences for learners.

Part B: Current State

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing

Outcomes for learners show continuous improvement over time.
  • The majority of learners achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics; achievement information over time (three years) shows that almost all learners attending continuously achieve at or above curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
  • Māori learners achieve lower than non-Māori in reading, writing and mathematics; however the rate of progress of Māori learners in reading and mathematics exceeds that of the whole school.
  • Learners are confident in their identities, languages and cultures; they show a strong sense of belonging and pride in their school.
  • The majority of learners attend school regularly and the school has achieved the Ministry of Education’s 2024 target of having less than five percent of learners chronically absent.

Conditions to support learner success

Strategic and effective school leadership builds and sustains high quality systems and processes for teaching and learning.
  • High levels of relational trust, collaboration and a focus on professional learning among leadership and staff support continuous improvement and innovation.
  • School leadership prioritises school improvement and creates a culture of evidence-based evaluation and targeted responses to areas of identified learner need.
  • School leadership actively engages with learners, staff, parents, whānau and local iwi, ensuring that the school’s vision, goals and priorities reflect community aspirations.
Learners experience a range of rich learning opportunities that are engaging and meaningful.
  • Teachers consistently create positive learning environments that foster mutually respectful teacher-learner relationships; learners speak confidently about their learning and progress.
  • Learners experience an extensive range of relevant and authentic learning opportunities through the localised curriculum.
  • Teachers design and differentiate learning to meet the needs of their learners, building students’ confidence and independence.
Key conditions, including learner wellbeing, staff collaboration and partnerships, that underpin successful schooling are embedded and well-aligned.
  • Parents and whānau are respected and valued partners in their child’s learning.
  • Learners with diverse learning needs are a priority; leaders and teachers partner with parents, whānau and support services to ensure the wellbeing and learning needs of these students are well catered for.
  • Leaders and teachers confidently collect, analyse and interpret data from a range of sources using broad and innovative data collection and management systems to inform decision making.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

  • resource learners with strategies to grow and sustain their wellbeing
  • accelerate progress in literacy, with a focus on writing and give priority to raising the achievement of Māori learners
  • actively strengthen teacher engagement in parent partnerships to enhance outcomes for all learners.

The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.

Every six months:

  • implement the wellbeing approach (MITEY) consistently across the school and embed in learning design and practice
  • upskill teachers in the junior area of the school in the Structured Literacy approach to teaching literacy
  • provide professional learning opportunities to grow teacher confidence and capability in establishing and strengthening parent partnerships

Annually:

  • review school initiatives and actions quarterly, with a focus on how these are raising the achievement of Māori learners
  • analyse and evaluate the impact of the implementation of strategic priorities to inform next steps.

Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:

  • engaged and well attending learners who can manage their wellbeing and challenges
  • continued accelerated progress in literacy, particularly for Māori learners’ achievement
  • teachers and parents reporting that partnerships have a positive impact on learner progress and outcomes.

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

​11 June 2024​

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

Stonefields School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report ​2024​ to ​2027​

As of ​February 2024​, the ​Stonefields 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​

Actions for Compliance

​ERO has​ identified the following area of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

  • every safety check of a person must comply with the requirements for safety checks for core workers.
    [s 31 (1) Children’s Act 2014]

The board has since ​addressed​ the area of non-compliance identified.

Further Information

For further information please contact ​Stonefields School​, 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.

Shelley Booysen
​Director of Schools​

​11 June 2024​

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

Stonefields School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 10 months of the Education Review Office and Stonefields School working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. This timeframe was impacted by COVID Lockdowns.  For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz

Context 

Stonefields School is a state school located in Stonefields, Auckland catering for students from Year 1 to Year 8. Stonefields School’s learning philosophy rests on four key vision principles. They are:

  • Building learning capacity - Akoranga

  • Collaborating - Mahi ngātahi

  • Making meaning - Hanga tikanga

  • Breaking through - Whakatikenga hou

Stonefields School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • to grow teacher and leadership assessment capability to inform curriculum design and teaching   

  • to design relevant learning and deep thinking in students, to enable individual success, agency and transference across all learning areas

  • to strengthen partnerships and opportunities for learning between parents, staff and the wider educational community for educational gain.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well does the application of Stonefields’ learning process model (a foundational pedagogical tenet), lead to equitable outcomes for all students? The evaluation will:

  • determine how Stonefields’ learning process model influences the quality of teaching

  • determine how the Stonefields’ learning process model influences the quality of the learning design

  • examine how students understand and apply the learning process model to successfully lead and take action with their learning.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

  • to meet the learning strengths and needs of all students

  • to be culturally responsive to all groups of students and their whānau

  • that teachers will consistently apply the learning process model throughout the school, to achieve equity and excellence for all students.

The school expects to see:

  • their learning process consistently implemented throughout the school

  • all students applying the learning process to successfully lead and take action

  • all stakeholders continuing to grow a shared understanding of Stonefields School’s learning process.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the evaluation of the learning process model:

  • strong research and evaluative capability of leaders

  • highly reflective inquiry practices and comprehensive data analysis that inform the school’s curriculum design and implementation

  • learning design and teaching informed by comprehensive data analysis

  • strong continuous improvement philosophy, leading to innovative learning practices.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • continuing to modify professional development from the analysis of mid-point evaluation data

  • continuing to undertake in-depth data analysis of priority and targeted learners to determine next steps

  • continuing to provide challenging and deep learning opportunities for students to apply their knowledge of the learning process model.

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

30 August 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

Stonefields School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of September 2021, the Stonefields School Board of Trustees 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 Stonefields School 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.

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

30 August 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