Liz Kane Structured Literacy Programme
In literacy, we are embracing the Liz Kane Structured Literacy programme. This approach is rooted in the "Science of Reading," which means it's based on extensive research into how children's brains learn to read, write, and spell.
How we cater to all students:
Explicit and Systematic Teaching: This programme teaches reading, writing, and spelling in a clear, step-by-step way. Children learn the connections between sounds and letters (phonics), develop their awareness of sounds in words (phonemic awareness), expand their vocabulary, build fluency, and improve their understanding of what they read (comprehension). This structured approach ensures that no foundational skills are missed.
Building Confidence: By providing a logical and sequential path, the Liz Kane Structured Literacy programme helps all children build confidence as they master each skill. They understand "why" words are spelled and read in certain ways, leading to a deeper and more secure understanding.
For students who might be finding literacy challenging, this explicit and systematic approach is incredibly beneficial. It breaks down complex skills into manageable steps, allowing teachers to identify specific areas where a child needs more support and provide targeted interventions. The multi-sensory nature of Structured Literacy, where children use seeing, hearing, and doing, can be particularly helpful for those who learn differently. Research shows that this approach can even "normalise" brain function for struggling readers, helping them to develop stronger reading pathways.
While it provides essential foundational skills for all, it also allows teachers to move at a pace that challenges advanced learners. By building a deep understanding of spelling patterns, rules, and word parts (morphology), these students can extend their vocabulary, improve their spelling accuracy, and tackle more complex texts with greater ease and comprehension. The programme provides resources and pathways to take their understanding to the next level.
Numicon Math Programme
Numicon is a distinctive, multi-sensory approach that helps children understand mathematical ideas through hands-on experiences. The nature of the Numicon programme is to teach each mathematical concept in its most simple form in the beginning of the week, building to more complex understandings as the week progresses.
How we cater to all students:
Visual and tactile learning: Numicon uses colourful, patterned shapes that represent numbers. This allows children to see and feel numbers, making abstract mathematical concepts tangible and easier to grasp. This hands-on approach helps children visualise the relationships and values of numbers.
Exploring relationships and patterns: Numicon helps children understand how numbers are made up, how they can be combined, and how they relate to each other. By physically manipulating the shapes, students discover patterns and develop a strong foundation in counting, ordering, and basic operations.
Numicon is particularly effective for students who find maths challenging or learn best through visual and tactile methods. The concrete nature of the shapes helps to bridge the gap between abstract number concepts and real-world understanding. Children can physically "do" calculations, which makes the learning real and helps to build their confidence. It provides a way for teachers to "see" a child's thinking, even if they struggle to express it verbally. This concrete, pictorial, abstract (CPA) approach is highly supportive for developing a strong number sense.
For our very capable mathematicians, Numicon offers rich opportunities for deeper exploration and problem-solving. While building strong foundational understanding, the programme encourages children to reason mathematically, explore complex relationships, and generalise concepts. Teachers can provide more challenging investigations and problems that require students to apply their understanding in different contexts, embracing critical thinking and a love for mathematical discovery. Numicon's structured approach also allows for flexible differentiation, enabling teachers to extend students who grasp concepts quickly. We believe that by implementing these two high-quality programmes, we are providing our students with the very best tools and strategies to become confident and capable learners in literacy and numeracy.
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As part of our ESOL and language programmes we provide either in class or group support for students where English isn’t their heritage language. The children may or may not be New Zealand born, but predominantly their first language isn’t English. Our ESOL programme enriches and develops a further understanding of a student’s language and English. Cultural celebrations are included in ESOL planning and shared school-wide.
As a school we celebrate United Diversity as one of our Charter Goals. “The United Diversity critical success factor is about unity. WES has a diverse community and student population which is a point of strength, identity, and celebration.”
This ESOL programme runs in line with the classroom programmes.
At West End School we pride ourselves in providing inclusive education and experiences for our high need students. There is a strong focus on relationships with students, their whanau and specialist teams. All of our students are part of an age appropriate classroom where they have the opportunity to feel a sense of belonging amongst their peers; supported by a team of additional teachers and teacher aides. Fully adapted individual programmes are created to meet the pastoral and learning needs of students. Our focus is to foster ‘the best me’ to enable our students to feel success.
Nau mai, haere mai ki Pihipihingā – Our Level 2 Bilingual team at West End School
Welcome to Pihipihingā, our vibrant Level 2 Māori medium bilingual unit that provides a supportive, comprehensive, and culturally rich learning environment for ākonga from Year 1 to Year 6. Guided by a team of highly skilled and collaborative kaiako, Pihipihingā is dedicated to maximizing educational and cultural outcomes for every child.
Cultivating Te Ao Māori & Whānau engagement
At the heart of Pihipihingā is a deep commitment to Te Ao me ōna Tikanga Māori. Every single day, our journey begins positively with tikanga ōkawa (formal protocols), incorporating karakia and waiata to center our emotions and "kia tau te mauri" (settle our spirits). Our classrooms operate under a powerful Tuakana-Teina approach, where older students step into leadership roles to guide, mentor, and build capacity among their younger peers. Because we have many families stretching across our junior, middle, and senior classes (Rūma 7, 8, and 9), we pride ourselves on having cultivated a deeply connected, supportive whānau and community network.
Innovative & Intentional academic programmes
We believe that high-standard foundations are the ultimate key to long-term success. Our daily curriculum balances rigorous, expert-designed frameworks with student-centered care:
Balanced & joyful curriculum
Beyond core literacy and numeracy, our ākonga actively engage in daily kapa haka sessions where they explore the rich history, whakapapa, and stories (pūrakau) behind traditional waiata and mōteatea. Whether they are handling poi, patu, or rākau, our children absolutely love to sing and perform! Our holistic curriculum also features power hour blocks diving into Science, Social Sciences, Drama, Practical Arts, Inquiry, PE, and Health.
Pihipihingā is more than just a classroom, it stands as our school's whare manaaki, a safe haven where all of our bilingual ākonga gather to share their pepeha, reflect on kupu hou (new words), and grow together proudly in their identity. We invite you to join our thriving community, where culture and academic excellence walk hand-in-hand.
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