School Context
Laingholm School caters for students in Years 1 to 6. New Zealand European/Pākehā students make up most of the roll. The next largest group is Māori. There are smaller numbers of students from other ethnicities.
The school’s key focuses are ‘our people, our place, our purpose’. These focuses inform strategic goal setting. The school promotes the values of honesty, excellence, aroha, respect, trust (HEART).
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
-
overall achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
-
progress and achievement for students with additional learning needs and those requiring extension
-
attendance, especially in relation to the students at risk of not achieving.
Since the 2016 ERO review there have been property upgrades and enhancements. Year 6 students are now learning in an innovative learning environment (ILE).
The school is a member of the Kōtuitui Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako.
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 has a strong focus on ensuring equity and excellent outcomes for all its students. The consistent trend in the school’s achievement information indicates that nearly all students achieve at or above expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
Students who need challenge are well supported through an engaging curriculum. There is some disparity in achievement for boys in reading and writing. Māori students’ achievement is similar to that of other students.
Students with additional health, social, emotional, academic and other needs, are well supported to achieve their individual learning goals.
Students achieve very well in relation to the school’s other valued outcomes through a broad, relevant local curriculum. They enact the school values and demonstrate:
-
a strong sense of belonging
-
willingness for leadership
-
dispositions of curiosity, creativity, community and sustainability
-
growing ability to be self-directed in their learning.
1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?
The school is making good progress in accelerating learning for those students who need this. The school has very good systems in place for identifying and responding to and monitoring the progress of those students who require targeted support.
Leaders and teachers use knowledge of their learners well. They also ensure that foundations for learning are in place to maximise students’ engagement, learning and success. Individual learners make accelerated progress.
Teachers have participated in professional learning to build their professional capability and the school’s capacity in teaching science. This emphasis on science is part of a strategy to lift boys’ engagement and achievement in reading and writing and to develop all students’ skills in self-directed learning.
Leaders, teachers and teacher aides provide a range of programmes and strategies for those students with additional needs. Students participate, progress and achieve in class and in withdrawal programmes. The school provides ongoing professional development for teacher aides and accesses external agencies to ensure a wraparound service for students who need this.
Teachers’ learning partnerships with parents and whānau support learners’ accelerated progress.
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?
Educationally powerful connections, a broad, relevant curriculum and effective leadership are key school conditions that enable equity and excellence.
The school has strong educationally powerful connections and relationships with parents, whānau and the Laingholm community. Students and families benefit from, and are empowered by, these learning-focused relationships. Teachers seek parent input into the broad curriculum and report on students’ learning in many different ways to celebrate their progress and success.
The school’s local curriculum supports in-school engagement, equity and excellence. It builds on students’ passions and strengths, and places an emphasis on building creativity and curiosity. Teachers make use of local contexts and connections to support new learning. They promote student agency, encourage self-management and ‘learning to learn’ capabilities through approaches, including workshopping, choice and tuakana/teina opportunities.
Ongoing review of the curriculum continues to ensure teaching programmes enhance students’ opportunities and experiences to be engaged, develop curiosity and creativity, and be extended. Staff use student and parent surveys well to inform the curriculum.
Students learn in creative, focused learning environments. Classrooms are inclusive and students with additional needs or abilities are provided with appropriate support or challenge. Parents who spoke with ERO commented that their children are stretched through the many opportunities to take risks in their learning. Year 6 students make good use of digital devices to support their learning.
The school continues to strengthen its bicultural curriculum. The board funds a teacher who provides te reo Māori programmes throughout the school. Students have leadership roles in pōwhiri and kapa haka. Leaders and teachers have recently aligned the cultural concepts of whānauangatanga, pono, whakamana and manaakitanga to school priorities. This is a good way to continue developing bicultural practices at the school.
The principal and deputy principal are readily accessible and highly involved in supporting students with additional learning needs. Leaders place a strong priority on teacher wellbeing.
The board of trustees serves the school well in its stewardship role. Trustees have a shared understanding of their governance role and responsibilities. They resource strategically for equity, so all students can participate in the wider curriculum.
2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?
Some teachers are engaging in professional learning focused on assessment. This will build leaders’ and teachers’ capability to determine the impact of teaching strategies on outcomes for students. It should also support students to further develop their ‘learning to learn’ capabilities and increase their agency in learning.
Leaders, teachers and the board could further develop their internal evaluation capability. They could build on their good systems for identifying, monitoring and analysing information, to include greater evaluation of the impact of practices. By strengthening internal evaluation in this way, they will be better placed to understand which strategies are most effective, and what makes the biggest difference for all learners.
School leaders acknowledge that a next step in curriculum development is to strengthen te ao Māori perspectives across learning areas. Accessing local history and resources could enable more meaningful learning opportunities for all. A further development for the school’s curriculum is to include the perspectives of other cultures to reflect the increasing diversity of the school community.
The board of trustees should consider ways to strengthen a te ao Māori perspective at the governance level.
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 Children’s Act 2014.
4 ERO’s Overall Judgement
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Laingholm School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.
ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.
5 Going forward
Key strengths of the school
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
- caring, creative, inclusive learning environments that are responsive to students’ passions, strengths and wellbeing
- a well-resourced school curriculum that enables students to learn and achieve in the breadth of the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC)
- strong collaborative relationships with the school community
- supportive leadership and stewardship.
Next steps
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
- refining internal evaluation to determine the impact of programmes on outcomes for all learners
- developing bicultural knowledge and practices and multicultural perspectives that will strengthen students’ language, culture and identity.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
2 December 2019
About the school
|
Location
|
Laingholm, Auckland
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number
|
1338
|
|
School type
|
Contributing, Years 1 - 6
|
|
School roll
|
314
|
|
Gender composition
|
Girls 52% Boys 48%
|
|
Ethnic composition
|
Māori 14%
NZ European/Pākehā 78%
Chinese 4%
other ethnic groups 4%
|
|
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)
|
Yes
|
|
Provision of Māori medium education
|
No
|
|
Review team on site
|
September 2019
|
|
Date of this report
|
2 December 2019
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review May 2016
Education Review June 2013
Education Review June 2010
|