Ferndale Te Ahu

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report 

Background

This Profile Report was written within 6 months of the Education Review Office and Ferndale Te Ahu 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 

Ferndale Te Ahu is a day specialist school providing specialised education, therapy and care for ākonga aged between 5 to 21 years eligible for Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding. The school’s catchment area covers mainly eastern and central suburbs in Ōtautahi Christchurch. 

The school has a specialist therapy team that supports students’ wellbeing and access to learning. A specialist teacher outreach service works with ORS funded students enrolled in local schools.

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

The school’s vision is that learners should reach their full potential through individualised programmes that enable them to be ‘The best I can be.’ This is underpinned by the school’s values of Tipu – Growth, Whanaungatanga – Connection, and Hauora ­– Wellbeing. 

Ferndale Te Ahu’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• Ako learning – creating barrier-free, equitable and accelerated learning for ākonga in literacy and the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum, Te Mātaiaho.
• Hauora wellbeing – supporting ākonga and kaimahi to flourish.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Ferndale Te Ahu’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the development and implementation of specialised literacy practices are supporting ākonga within all aspects of their learning.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is: 

• the school purposefully sought the community voice to inform its strategic priorities, which highlights the importance of growing ako or learning, for ākonga 
• leadership identified the importance of continuing to grow teaching and learning practices within literacy to respond to the uniqueness of individual ākonga and to develop a cohesive approach to accelerate learning in all areas of literacy
• recognition of the importance of and obligations to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• the implementation and embedding of assessment for learning from recent teacher professional development to underpin literacy practices
• the recent implementation of the local curriculum creates a platform for these next steps in literacy.

The school expects to see continued development of cohesive, schoolwide specialist literacy practices that enable ākonga to accelerate in all areas of their literacy learning.

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to develop specialist literacy practices.

• Well-targeted teaching programmes that support students to achieve individual learning goals with a suitable level of challenge.
• A student-centred, nurturing culture that fosters strong relationships and a sense of belonging for ākonga and their whānau.
• The collaborative, reflective and supportive teaching team culture focussed on ongoing improvements for students and maintaining a calm and settled learning environment. 
• A highly responsive and supportive school leadership team that provides clear schools systems, direction and expectations for high quality care and education.
• Specialist, evidence-based, innovative and inclusive teaching and learning practices underpinned by ongoing reflection and monitoring for success.
• Highly effective education connections within the wider community to support ākonga success and life pathways.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise: 

• further developing and embedding best practice in specialised literacy programmes
• giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi through literacy teaching and learning including the role of culturally responsive practices
• continuing to strengthen the partnership with whānau to support the development of literacy learning of students.

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

22 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, three primary satellites (Linwood Ave, Marshland, Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto), two secondary satellites (Haeata, Waikahu - Shirley Boys’/Avonside Girls’) and a Transition Hub (Tētēkura) in a community hub in Phillipstown.