Sunnybrae Normal School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 18 months of the Education Review Office and Sunnybrae Normal 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

Context 

Sunnybrae Normal School is located in Auckland’s North Shore and provides education for students from Years 0 to 6.

The school’s vision is to be an inclusive school living their values and maximising the potential of all. He kura mākoha e ū anaki ōna mātāpono, e akiaki ana I ngā tamariki kia eke panukuto. Learning is underpinned by the values of Respect, Independence, Cooperation and Excellence.

As a normal school, it works with university's initial teacher education programmes.

Sunnybrae Normal School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for ākonga are:

• the Refreshed Curriculum: create a local curriculum that is inclusive so that all ākonga see themselves and succeed in their learning

• Assessment for Learning: integrate an assessment for learning approach that informs teachers’ teaching, empowers students’ learning and supports continued progress

• Literacy: improve student achievement in Literacy through best practice pedagogy.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate effective schoolwide literacy teaching and learning practises to ensure equitable outcomes, progress and achievement for all ākonga.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

• develop a common teaching model based on research into best practices in literacy

• recognise and celebrate the diverse strengths and needs of all ākonga and ensure they are being consistently identified, understood and met

• ensure all stakeholders (teachers, whānau, ākonga) take collective responsibility to support ākonga literacy development.

The school expects to see strong literacy skills for all ākonga through:

• the implementation of agreed best practices in literacy within and across teams in the school

• the use of assessment procedures that result in deliberate acts of teaching and learning to address needs

• enhanced literacy outcomes for all ākonga.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support their goal to evaluate effective schoolwide literacy teaching and learning practices to ensure equitable outcomes and progress and achievement for all ākonga through:

• ākonga strengths are recognised and built upon

• a learning culture that is well-established and underpinned by the school values

• teachers and leaders collaboratively focusing on improving outcomes for all ākonga

• professional development that fosters pedagogical approaches to effectively teaching literacy

• teachers and leaders creating educationally powerful connections with whānau to support and enhance learning.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise building:

• school-wide consistency of literacy pedagogical teaching and learning practices

• a shared understanding of assessment practices that inform the teaching of literacy.

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for an improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting its progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report which is due within three years.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

4 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