Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
Background
This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and St Joseph’s School (Timaru) 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
St Joseph’s School (Timaru) is a Catholic primary school located in Timaru and caters for students in Years 1 to 8.
St Joseph’s School (Timaru) strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:
- provide high quality teaching and leadership to empower all learners to reach their highest potential
- develop meaningful ways to live out our Catholic Special Character
- engage in positive and collaborative partnerships with our learners, their families/whānau, and our parish, community and Kāhui Ako.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on the St Joseph’s School (Timaru) School website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate to what extent the local curriculum meets the needs and aspirations of the key stakeholders in teaching and learning at St Joseph's School.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is the:
- school's strategic plan has a Whakamana & Ako goal for developing a localised curriculum
- local curriculum review aligns with the Ministry of Education’s refresh of the national curriculum
- school has planned to review the timing and methodology for reporting student progress and achievement.
The school expects that the review of the local curriculum will contribute to excellence and equitable progress and achievement of all students. High quality teaching and learning will be evident in classroom practice.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to achieve excellent and equitable achievement outcomes for all students:
- senior leaders and teachers closely identify, track, and monitor each child’s progress and achievement, and have a good understanding of their next learning steps
- school leaders provide strong pedagogical leadership, and have well-considered ideas and initiatives to prepare children to be lifelong learners and well-rounded citizens
- the senior management team gather staff, parent, and student voice to reflect the preferences of the school community.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
- revising of the localised curriculum to ensure students’ ownership, engagement, and success as 21st Century learners by 2023
- investing in teacher professional learning to develop theory and practice to implement a local curriculum which supports whānau and ākonga sense of belonging and engagement in learning
- further improving the progress and achievement of all children, particularly those needing acceleration.
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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
15 June 2022
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