Westbridge Residential School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 6 months of the Education Review Office and Westbridge Residential 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

Westbridge Residential School is in Massey, West Auckland. The school is a specialist residential school catering for students with high, complex and neurodiverse needs. The school caters for students between nine to fifteen years of age. Students usually stay at the school between twelve to eighteen months.

Students must have a Specialist Education Agreement (SEA) between the Ministry of Education, the school and their whānau.

The school employs youth workers in the hostel and teachers, teacher aides and support staff who support the learning and wellbeing of students in the school.

The school experienced significant roll growth in 2023, growing from two students at the start of Term 1, 2023 to 18 in Term 4, 2023. This impacted on school operations in the second half of the year. During this time, an acting principal was in place. The principal returned at the start of Term 1, 2024. A new deputy principal began in their role Term 2, 2024. 

A Ministry of Education appointed school board was established in 2014. The board governs Westbridge Residential School in Auckland and Halswell Residential College in Christchurch.

In 2021, the school was directed by the Ministry of Education to produce a plan to eliminate physical restraint. This plan was in place at the time of the initial ERO visit in Term 1, 2023. Strengthening practices that support positive behaviours and learning continues to be a key focus for the school.

Westbridge Residential School’s strategic and annual goals for improving outcomes for learners are:

• student learning – fostering student achievement by providing teaching and learning programmes that incorporate the National Curriculum and are underpinned by the key competencies
• effective teaching – all staff are recognised as leaders in providing children and adolescents with complex needs and behavioural needs to maximise achieving individual student learning goals
• leading the school – the service is cost effective, caters for needs of all students, and represents best practice. The school’s goals include being inclusive, culturally responsive and safe physically and emotionally for students.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate improvements in the school and hostel operations in relation to health and safety, and wellbeing of students and staff.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to: 

• use and embed comprehensive health and safety systems, policies and practices to ensure that students and staff feel well supported in the school and hostel
• implement the school strategic and annual improvement plan to lift student outcomes through better targeted teaching and learning strategies
• ensure that the board, school and hostel staff work cohesively to improve positive behaviour and learning outcomes for students.

The school expects to see:

• robust staff guidelines implemented for effective behaviour management that improves positive behavioural outcomes
• leaders providing comprehensive induction and training processes and practices for school and hostel staff to support behaviour management
• strengthened monitoring and reporting of behaviour management to the board that shows trends and patterns that can inform ongoing responses and strategic decisions over time
• evidence gathering processes that include student, whānau and staff surveys to enable leaders and the board to know how programmes and interventions impact on student outcomes.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate improvements in the school and hostel operations in relation to health and safety, and wellbeing of students and staff.

• The use of key competencies, especially managing self, participating, and contributing, are drivers of the school and hostel curriculum.
• Classroom programmes are based on students’ interests to support engagement and guide teaching and learning.
• School leadership understand the importance of strengthening professional capability and collective capacity of the board, leaders and staff to effectively support behaviour management for students.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• continuing to access and use external and internal professional development expertise for trauma-informed practices to support staff training
• working with the Ministry of Education to manage roll growth, and to ensure robust transition plans are carefully monitored and implemented to support student outcomes
• the board, school leadership and staff to consolidate and embed recent school improvements
• strengthening monitoring and evaluation processes to ensure that changes in practices are having the required positive impact on student outcomes.

ERO has concerns about

At the end of Term 4, 2023 ERO had significant concerns about the high numbers of reported incidents of physical assaults and property damage. In response to ERO’s concerns, the board took immediate actions to access expertise in trauma informed staff training and strengthened the school’s behaviour policy and procedures to guide practice. 

ERO verified in Term 1, 2024 early signs of the positive impact of strengthened behaviour management practices. This was reflected in a significant reduction in the number of behavioural incidents in the school and hostel reported to the board. This work remains a key focus for the school.

Recommendations

ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education continues to work collaboratively with the board and school leaders to manage the pace of student enrolments. This includes ensuring students have access to learning support expertise such as therapists and psychologists that meet the needs of students enrolled at the school.

ERO will continue to work alongside the school to support its ongoing improvement journey.  

This includes monitoring: 

• the implementation of the annual school improvement plan
• the ongoing impact of targeted external professional learning development on improving students' outcomes
• the school strengthening systems, policies and practices to support students learning experiences and outcomes.

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

21 June 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