Mt Richmond School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written since August 2023 following the Education Review Office and Mt Richmond School 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

This report is part of a nationally coordinated evaluation of 27-day specialist schools during the second half of 2023. This included the development of day specialist school evaluation indicators by ERO with significant input from principals, staff, and the Special Education Principals’ Association of New Zealand (SEPAnz).

Context 

Mt Richmond School is in Ōtāhuhu, South Auckland. The school caters for learners from 5 to 21 years of age who have high or very high complex needs and are eligible for Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding.

A specialist therapy team provide transdisciplinary support for students’ wellbeing and access to their learning. The specialist teacher outreach service based at the school, work with ORS funded students enrolled in local schools.

In addition to the base school in Ōtāhuhu, the school has satellite classes at Bairds Mainfreight Primary School, Flat Bush Primary, Rongomai Primary, Te Uho o te Nikau Primary, Papatoetoe Intermediate and Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate. A new satellite will open at Ormiston Primary School in 2024. 

The school continues to navigate and manage roll growth pressures along with the employment and property demands associated with this. 

The school’s longstanding principal retired after 47 years of service in mid-2022 and the board appointed a new principal in Term 3, 2022. The school leadership team contains both long serving and more recent appointments. The board has a very experienced presiding member and another member with extensive service. More recent board members were elected in September 2022. 

Mt Richmond School’s strategic and annual goals for improving outcomes for learners are:

• to develop an inclusive village-style approach that engages ākonga, whānau, staff and the community as all being essential components to the learning process, grounded in Reggio Emilia
• to improve the effectiveness of the Positive Behaviour Support framework and strengthen support for all ākonga, staff and whānau
• to focus on hauora-wellbeing, build and sustain lives worth living through developing strong and inclusive relationships by valuing kaiako, ākonga and whānau identity, language and culture which are underpinned by the three Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles of participation, partnership and protection.

A copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan can be requested from Mt Richmond School.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well the school’s systems and processes support teaching and learning to enable equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to ensure: 

• cohesive schoolwide systems, policies and processes are in place and followed
• the school vision and strategic direction informs the implementation of a local curriculum and includes the views and aspirations of student, parents, whānau, staff and community 
• a shared understanding and expectations for staff of effective teaching, learning and assessment that meets learners’ individual needs that is supported by targeted staff professional development.

The school expects to see:

• robust systems, policies and procedures implemented so that consistent expectations for practice guide and foster a positive school environment
• a schoolwide localised curriculum that provides relevant and interesting learning opportunities that responds to the unique profiles of all learners
• consistent and effective teaching, learning and assessment practices across the school supported by ongoing staff capacity building to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes.

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal of enabling equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners:

• Learners experience a positive learning climate that supports their engagement and caters for their diverse needs.
• Classroom learning cultures are characterised by respect, inclusion and empathy, with aspects of Reggio Emilia guiding teaching and learning evident.
• The school leadership team understand the importance of continuing to strengthen the foundations for building the professional capability and collective capacity of all staff through a strategic approach towards school improvement.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• continuing to build school leadership, board and staff capabilities to support ongoing school improvement 
• strengthening and embedding schoolwide systems, policies and processes to more effectively guide school operations including more targeted strategic planning to support this work
• developing and implementing a localised school curriculum, based on consultation, that responds to the aspirations of students, parents, whānau, staff and the wider community to achieve equitable and excellent student outcomes
• school leaders developing and implementing guidelines to support effective teaching, learning and assessment practice along with targeted staff professional development. 

ERO has concerns about

School governance and school leadership in relation to:

• ensuring an ongoing planned cycle of policy review and that school policies and processes are implemented with fidelity
• the urgent need for a documented school curriculum that guides teaching and learning, including assessment practices
• ensuring students, parents, whānau and the wider school’s views and aspirations for their children are sought through consultation to develop the curriculum, particularly whānau Māori
• the need for the school strategic plan to focus on key areas for school improvement in 2024 that supports strengthened governance and professional leadership for teaching, learning and student outcomes.

Recommendations

The school continues to focus on improving outcomes for learners while adopting a new policy framework. School leaders should begin to develop a localised school curriculum and continue to strengthen schoolwide teaching practices, learning and assessment. 

ERO recommends that the Secretary for Education consider an intervention listed in section 171 of the Education and Training Act 2020, by appointing a Limited Statutory Manager (LSM) to bring about the following improvements in:

• the implementation of new school policy framework and processes, including planned policy review and targeted ongoing board and staff training
• community consultation to inform curriculum development for effective teaching and learning, including assessment practices
• strengthening staff appointment processes 
• strategic and annual implementation planning as a basis for annual school improvements that includes the above key areas in this report.

ERO intends to support the school in its improvement journey through regular progress evaluation activities. 

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

19 April 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

This school has a base school site, satellites located within six host schools (seven host schools in 2024), a transition class and an outreach service that supports ORS-funded learners who are enrolled in mainstream schools.