Our Vision
Together, learning to live our best lives
Our Motto
More than a school
Values
Kia Hono/Connected and Kia Māia/Courageous
Our brand is much more than the school’s logo, our quality programs and our cutting edge techniques.
Sommerville is a way of life. It’s more than a job. Tasks are undertaken for the good of the whole, out of a sense of passion, commitment and responsibility. It is the result of many different factors coming from many facets of this incredible school.
People with enormously varied capabilities, talents, and needs, work together, day after day.
It is fair to describe Sommerville as ‘More Than A School’.
Sommerville is also a school that sets out to make a difference to the learning, wellbeing and future life chances of children and young adults with additional needs. Specialist Teachers, Therapists and Special Support assistants work together in trans-disciplinary teams to meet the individual needs of every pupil.
Together, we believe we can unlock each child’s potential and support achievement for all. Our aim is to create completeness for children and young adults with developmental disabilities through education, leading edge therapy and community engagement experience’s, so that they may more easily develop their potential, be better understood and meaningfully participate in life.
Like all of our students, Sommerville is also unique; delivering an incredibly dynamic learning environment for diverse learners.
We pride ourselves in being a ‘specialist’ school, providing a nurturing, supportive and low stress environment to help our students learn to manage their behaviours and make social and academic progress.
We aim to support our students by unlocking their own potential to achieve key goals during their time here:
- To be themselves, aspire and be successful
- To become curious learners, empowered and confident.
- To develop strategies and coping mechanisms to move towards a level of self-actualisation in order to advance in the neurotypical world.
Principles and Aims
A focus on continuous improvement for achievement of equity and excellence.
Sommerville School will provide the best possible learning environment for students with special learning needs aged from 5 to 21.
We will staff the school with the most qualified, experienced and appropriate personnel to provide the expertise in order to expedite quality learning in this environment.
Students will be encouraged to value:
- Excellence by aiming high and persevering in the face of difficulties;
- Innovation, inquiry and curiosity by thinking critically and reflectively;
- Diversity as found in our different cultures, languages and heritages;
- Equity through fairness and social justice;
- Community and participation for the common good;
- Ecological sustainability, which includes caring for the environment;
- Integrity which involves being honest, responsible, accountable and acting ethically;
- Respect for themselves, others and of human rights
Staff will be committed to:
- Acknowledging and celebrating diversity and inclusion;
- Providing specialist programmes that enable all children to experience success;
- High expectations of pupil achievement with an emphasis on literacy, numeracy and communicative skills;
- Professional learning, reflection and personal development;
- Demonstrating enthusiasm, optimism and professionalism in their interactions with students, colleagues, community and whanau.
The school environment will:
- Be a safe and secure environment for teachers and students, which is critical to learning;
- Reflect teaching and learning programmes;
- Reflect our cultural diversity;
- Be visually welcoming.
Cultural diversity – our students will:
- Be accepting of other cultures and differences;
- Value each other's heritage, culture and people;
- Reflect the nature of biculturalism in classroom activities;
- Incorporate Te Reo me ona Tikanga Maori into current programmes, where appropriate;
- Incorporate programmes to support the Pasifika languages and cultures in the school.
Our school and community value the attributes of:
- Respect for self and others; maintaining dignity, tolerance and acceptance;
- Caring for others;
- Cooperation and fairness;
- Manaakitanga (respect for position and attributes);
- Whanaungatanga (familial and interpersonal relationships);
- Tohatoha (working together towards a shared vision and collaborative outcomes)