Gladstone School (Auckland)

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and Gladstone School (Auckland) 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 

Gladstone School (Auckland) is located in Mt Albert and caters for students from Years 1 to 6. The school is a member of the Mt Albert Kāhui Ako.

The school’s mission is Poipoia te Kakano, kia Puawai - Passionately preparing people for life. The Gladstone Way -Te Kawa o Gladstone promotes guiding principles: Be Respectful – Kia Whakautea; Be Inclusive – Kia tae ana ki etahi; Be Responsible – Kia Haepapa; Be the Best Learner you can be – Kia eke panuku; Be Safe – Kia Haumaru and these are visible throughout the school.

Gladstone School (Auckland)’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• to have high aspirations for every learner/ākonga in an environment that responds to their learning needs, sustains their identities, curiosities, languages and culture

• to ensure Gladstone is a safe, inclusive, welcoming school where barriers to education are identified and strategies put in place that are centred on the needs of learners and supported by their family/whānau

• supporting a positive teaching and leadership culture where teachers are confident, innovative, and engaged in the success of their learners/ākonga.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Gladstone School (Auckland)’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the success of initiatives which support the development of equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners/ākonga in writing.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• analysis of achievement data has identified a need to focus on raising achievement in writing

• a learning environment which has high aspirations and a deliberate focus on meeting individual learning needs is a strategic priority.

The school expects to see:

• high quality professional learning that continues to promote deliberate, consistent and effective teaching of writing across the school

• increasing levels of learner engagement and enjoyment of writing

• excellent and equitable outcomes for all learners/ākonga in writing and across the curriculum.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate the success of initiatives which support the development of equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners/ākonga in writing:

• the school’s values programme “The Gladstone Way” provides a consistently strong sense of belonging and connection

• teachers are committed to using effective teaching practices which meet individual needs and promote equitable and excellent outcomes

• school-wide leadership is well established and utilises collaborative inquiry and internal monitoring to ensure that there is a focus on continuous improvement

• a supportive school community supports leaders and teachers to enrich opportunities for learners/ākonga to become confident, connected and actively involved.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise.

• continued development of a culturally responsive local curriculum which provides authentic and engaging learning opportunities, and which gives full effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi

• targeted professional development, both internally and externally led, which focuses on teaching and learning in writing

• ongoing monitoring, evaluation, inquiry, and knowledge building to promote excellence and equity.

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.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

18 July 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