Finlayson Park 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 

Finlayson Park School is located in South Auckland and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8.  The school offers a number of learning pathways, including English medium, full immersion Māori (Te Huringa Rumaki Reo), bilingual Māori (Te Rōpū Reorua), bilingual Samoan (O Le Taiala), bilingual Tongan (Sia Mo’ui) and bilingual Kiribati (Marewen te Rabakau).

The school’s vision of Nurturing students’ first language is underpinned by the four key values of Courtesy | Aroni, Consideration | Whakaaro-Atawhai, Cooperation | Mahitahi and Common Sense | Whakaatu atu i te mahi tika, known as the Four C’s.

The board appointed a new principal in Term 2, 2024 and an associate principal in Term 3, 2024.

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. 

Part A: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• Most learners achieve at or above the curriculum expectations in mathematics; a large majority achieve these expectations in reading and writing.
• Learners express a strong sense of wellbeing; they experience positive, inclusive and supportive learning environments that celebrate their cultures, languages and identities.
• Less than half of learners attend school regularly and the school is behind the Government’s target for regular attendance; improving attendance remains a priority for the board and leaders. 

Conditions to support learner success

• Senior leadership strategically identifies areas for school improvement, using a range of useful achievement and wellbeing information to carefully plan actions that improve outcomes for learners.
• Senior and middle leadership continue to strengthen relational trust and collaboration among staff that enables teachers to grow their knowledge and skills and be involved in the strategic direction of the school.
• Ongoing professional learning for middle leaders supports a distributed leadership model that creates shared responsibility, clear communication and increasingly consistent approaches to teaching and learning. 

• Learners are highly engaged, and most speak confidently about what they are learning; an identified next step is for students to take increasing responsibility for their learning goals.
• The Pasifika immersion and bilingual pathways effectively promote student engagement and positive outcomes by enabling learners to see themselves within learning programmes, valuing their identities and cultures.
• Learners requiring additional support are identified promptly and supported well by learning assistants and teachers to achieve their personalised goals. 

• Parents and whānau are valued partners in their children’s education; regular communication from leaders and teachers ensures that whānau are aware of their child’s learning goals and progress.
• Strong partnerships with a range of external services and agencies promote approaches that enhance students’ positive behaviour, learning and wellbeing outcomes.
• Well-considered professional learning opportunities meet the needs of staff and are closely aligned to the strategic direction of the school.
• Board members scrutinise a range of achievement information to effectively manage and inform resourcing decisions that positively impact learner outcomes. 

Rumaki/Bilingual Outcomes and Condition to Support Learner Success 

Learner success and wellbeing 

• Data for 2023 shows that:
  • most ākonga in Te Huringa achieved at or above the expected curriculum levels in pānui, with a small majority at or above the expected levels in tuhituhi and pāngarau
  • most ākonga in Te Rōpū Reorua achieved at or above the expected curriculum level in mathematics, with a small majority at the expected level in reading and writing.
• Whānau and kaiako are empowered and committed to providing high quality bilingual and immersion education that is resulting in cultural and academic success for many students.
• Most ākonga in Te Huringa and Te Rōpū Reorua attend school regularly, exceeding attendance targets set by the Government.

Conditions to support learner success

• The senior leadership group monitors and analyses data to identify ākonga achievement and drive progression.
• Kaiako are committed to leading and implementing sound Māori language programmes in Te Huringa and Te Rōpū Reorua to support ākonga learning and progress.
• Senior leadership recognises the importance of ākonga language and culture and leaders provide targeted resourcing.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• monitor and review strategies to continue to increase students’ regular attendance
• implement structured literacy and mathematics approaches, further building teacher knowledge and practice to improve learner outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics
• refine effective teaching and learning practices so that students can take ownership of their learning goals, particularly in the junior and middle school
• continue to provide and monitor professional development to support and strengthen the teaching and learning needs of kaiako in Te Huringa and Te Rōpū Reorua.

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

Within six months:

• review current attendance strategies and initiatives to inform next steps
• provide relevant professional learning opportunities for all staff, including the bilingual units, that strengthen teachers’ understanding and delivery of structured approaches in literacy and mathematics

Every six months:

• review the impact of initiatives to improve students’ regular attendance and identify further actions
• collect and analyse student voice and achievement information to evaluate how well learners talk about their learning goals and next steps, informing ongoing practice
• assess the short-term impact of targeted professional development on ākonga progress

Annually:

• report to the board on student attendance, progress and achievement information to support ongoing strategic decision making for improvement
• review progress in implementing structured teaching approaches, aligning ongoing professional learning and resourcing to further support practice
• review the effectiveness of the annual professional development for Te Huringa and Te Rōpū Reorua in raising overall levels of ākonga achievement.

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

• more students attending school regularly
• teachers consistently using effective strategies in structured literacy and mathematics, improving progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
• confident learners that actively participate in the learning process and can explain what they are learning, why and their next learning steps
• ongoing growth of effective teaching practice and improved ākonga achievement.  

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

Sharon Kelly 
Director of Schools (Acting)

6 May 2025

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