Auckland Normal Intermediate

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 18 months of the Education Review Office and Auckland Normal Intermediate working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz

Context 

Auckland Normal Intermediate (ANI) in Mt Eden caters for year 7 and 8 learners. The school’s vision is to have internationally minded, inquiring, knowledgeable and confident lifelong learners.

ANI continues to work with the University of Auckland and its initial teacher education programme. It currently shares some of its grounds with the Faculty of Education.

Auckland Normal Intermediate are part of the Auckland Central Community of Schools Kāhui Ako (ACCOS).

Auckland Normal Intermediate’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are grounded in:

• belonging: to be locally connected and to be balanced

• preparedness: to be knowledgeable and to be lifelong learners

• innovation: to be globally minded.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Auckland Normal Intermediate’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well the school’s local curriculum supports the individual needs and interests of all learners. The school will also investigate how well the curriculum supports the effective implementation of the Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories curriculum and New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) refresh.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

• align school and Kāhui Ako key focus and priorities

• support key shifts for the school in curriculum development and implementation

• help students successfully transition between Kāhui Ako schools.

The school expects to see clear and consistent expectations for student progress and achievement.  Students will experience an engaging local curriculum and learning pathways that are consistent among schools in the local Kāhui Ako. Staff expect to see an effective implementation of the Aotearoa New Zealand histories curriculum as part of the NZC refresh.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support it in its goal to evaluate how well the local curriculum supports the individuals needs and interests of all learners:

• an inclusive and positive learning environment that supports a sense of belonging for students and staff

• overall high levels of learner achievement and engagement in a variety of different academic, cultural, and sporting activities

• teachers who provide relevant and meaningful learning activities to support successful outcomes for all students

• school-wide leadership opportunities for staff and students.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• continuing to develop and implement the Aotearoa New Zealand histories curriculum

• working with the ACCOS Kāhui Ako to develop learning pathways across, and through local schools

• addressing areas of non-compliance identified in the school’s Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025 to meet the requirements of the Children Act 2014

• the School Board undertaking a comprehensive review of the school’s health and safety obligations, policies, and procedures to ensure they are implemented correctly and consistently.

Recommendation

Although the Board attested to having policies and procedures in place to safeguard the physical and emotional safety of all its students, the board has not sufficiently monitored the implementation of the policies and procedures and has not verified that the agreed actions and guidance have been followed in practice. The board has not taken all reasonable steps to fully ensure the safety of every child within the school.

ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education continues to support Auckland Normal Intermediate to ensure that the school is meeting their legislative requirements including processes for appointing staff and school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014. ERO recommends the Ministry of Education consider an intervention under the Education and Training Act 2020.

ERO further recommends that Auckland Normal Intermediate School Board continue to undertake training with New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) to strengthen their governance capacity to meet their legal requirements.

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

14 April 2023 

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