This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Blockhouse Bay Intermediate 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
Blockhouse Bay Intermediate caters for a diverse community, servicing the central-west suburbs of Blockhouse Bay, Lynfield, New Lynn and surrounding areas. The school provides education for students in Years 7 and 8 and works collaboratively within the Lynfield Kāhui Ako . The values of Manaakitanga, Wairuatanga, Whanaungatanga and Rangatiratanga are fundamental and integrated into all aspects of the school.
Blockhouse Bay Intermediate’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Blockhouse Bay Intermediate’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well data is gathered and used to strengthen transitions for learners/ ākonga , moving into, within and out of the school.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to strengthen transitions to further accelerate ākonga achievement. This will be enabled by the analysis of social emotional learning data to support the ongoing implementation of strategies to improve ākonga well-being and engagement.
The school expects to see all ākonga experiencing successful transitions as they move into, within, and out of the school through:
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how well data is gathered and used to strengthen ākonga transitions:
Moving forward, the school will continue to prioritise the following to support successful transitions:
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 October 2023
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of May 2023, the Blockhouse Bay Intermediate School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
For further information please contact the Blockhouse Bay Intermediate School Board.
The next School Board assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.
Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.
Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools
19 October 2023
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
The Education Review Office reviews schools that are signatories to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020.
The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code and has completed an annual self-review of its implementation of the Code.
At the time of this review there was one international student attending the school.
Blockhouse Bay Intermediate has highly effective processes for reviewing its provision of pastoral care for international students, including established systems for collecting and responding to stakeholder voice. There is a clear focus on students’ holistic wellbeing as well as their academic progress and achievement.
International students are well integrated and valued members of the school community.
Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools
19 October 2023
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Blockhouse Bay Intermediate caters for approximately 830 students in Years 7 and 8. The school serves a diverse, urban community. Māori students make up seven percent of the roll, 20 percent are Pacific, 28 percent are Indian, and 22 percent are Pākehā.
The school’s strategic focus targets improving effective pedagogy, growing leadership capacity and community involvement. Further strategic priorities include improved achievement in literacy and mathematics, the implementation of digital technologies, and community involvement. Consultation with the community has guided the review of the school’s values and vision statement. The vision statement ‘Ruia Taitea, Stand Tall’ is focused on the values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, wairuatanga and rangatiratanga. These valued outcomes have been developed into a student graduate profile.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board school wide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
Since ERO’s 2015 report, there has been a change in the senior leadership team and new whānau (syndicate) leaders have been appointed. The board consists of experienced and newly appointed trustees.
Recent school wide professional learning and development (PLD) has focused on effective pedagogy in writing. This aligns with the school’s strategic goals to increase student agency, improve culturally responsive pedagogy and PB4L, with a focus on gaining a better understanding of the school values. The board has also invested in coaching PLD and building leadership capacity at all levels of the school.
The school is a member of the Lynfield Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning (CoL). School initiatives to build teacher capability align with the CoL’s emphasis on coaching and teaching as inquiry. This is particularly relevant for middle and senior leaders.
The school’s data over the last three years show that it is increasingly effective in achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for its students.
The school has high expectations for student learning and achievement and is working towards increasing in-school parity for Māori and Pacific students. At present, data show some disparity between the achievement of boys and girls, and for Māori and Pacific students in literacy and mathematics.
The board has set schoolwide achievement targets in reading, writing and mathematics. School information shows varying success in meeting those targets. In the last two years, achievement data show that a higher proportion of students are succeeding in reading, writing and mathematics as they move from Year 7 to 8.
Learners achieve well in relation to the school’s broader valued outcomes. Students are confident, friendly and demonstrate a sense of belonging at school. They demonstrate the school’s values, take greater ownership of their learning and are self-managing.
Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration make good, and sometimes significant, progress in reading and writing.
Teachers have a collaborative approach to improving outcomes for students whose learning needs acceleration. They monitor, track and review the progress of these priority learners. In groups across the school, teachers inquire into the effectiveness of their own practice in accelerating students’ learning.
A clearer focus on improving outcomes for Māori and Pacific students and for boys, would help teachers to identify successful teaching approaches and to increase student engagement and success. Recent initiatives focus on improving learner engagement and outcomes. Explicit targets and deliberate monitoring of outcomes for priority learners should help to ensure that they achieve success.
Leaders have clear, schoolwide expectations that support the achievement of equity and excellence. Parents and the community have participated in the consultation process to clarify the school’s vision. Leaders prioritise respectful and trusting relationships and recognise that a positive school culture is integral to improving student outcomes.
A senior leader closely monitors the achievement and wellbeing of students identified as requiring additional learning support. School leaders and teachers work collaboratively with parents, external agencies and in-class teacher aides to provide appropriate support for the various learning needs of these students.
School leaders are committed to recognising Māori as tangata whenua and integrating bicultural practices into the school’s formal protocols. Students who spoke to ERO say they are proud of the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa. The school celebrates and values the languages and cultures of all students.
Leaders and teachers have developed a responsive, localised and integrated curriculum. A key priority has been to develop a student-centred approach that supports students to lead their learning. Students have many rich opportunities for learning and ready access to digital technologies.
The school has a strategic and coherent approach to enhancing teaching. Systematic, collaborative inquiry processes and challenging professional learning opportunities align with the school vision, values, goals and targets. Emphasis is placed on extending leadership capability and developing coaching and facilitation skills.
Leaders use internal evaluation and consult with parents and the school community to make decisions that contribute to improved student outcomes.
The school could develop more effective use of learning information to support the needs of students whose learning needs acceleration. In particular, this should include:
Leaders should prioritise the enhancement of teachers’ understanding of and skills for helping students to identify their own next steps for learning.
Leaders should also evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and learning strategies and their impact on student engagement, progress and achievement. Evaluation should have an explicit focus on reducing disparity so that the school knows what works well for learners.
Before the review, the board and principal of the school completed the ERO Board Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to the following:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016 (the Code ) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989 . The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code.
At the time of this review there were four international students attending the school.
The school’s practices and processes provide very good support for pastoral care, and ensure monitoring and support for students’ learning and achievement. International students are involved in a wide range of cultural and school activities, and are well integrated into the school community.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
Blockhouse Bay, Auckland
Ministry of Education profile number
Intermediate (Year 7 and 8)
Boys 52% Girls 48%
Māori 7%
Pākehā 22%
Indian 28%
Chinese 9%
Samoan 7%
Fijian 3%
Tongan 2%
Niuean 2%
other 20%
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)
Review team on site
Date of this report
Most recent ERO report(s)
Education Review June 2015
Education Review November 2010
Education Review October 2007