Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
Background
This Profile Report was written within ten months of the Education Review Office and Ōtorohanga South 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
Ōtorohanga South School, in the Waikato district, provides education for students in Years 1-8. A new principal and assistant principal were appointed for 2019. The school offers a specialist support class for students with high learning needs, as an alternative to mainstream education. It also provides technology education for twelve local schools in soft and hard materials.
Ōtorohanga South School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
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enhancing culturally responsive practice
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developing and delivering a partnership engagement programme
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implementing a programme to grow students as active participants in structured literacy practices.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Ōtorohanga South School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well school conditions are contributing to raising achievement and improving equitable outcomes for learners. The school is aware of the need to continue to strengthen and embed culturally responsive practices and enable positive partnerships for learning.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
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the need to respond effectively to school data to raise achievement levels and enable equitable outcomes for Māori learners and boys
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to achieve the school’s priority of meeting the needs of all learners in culturally responsive and inclusive ways
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the opportunity it provides to empower parents, families and whānau to be well-informed, confident, and engaged in their children’s learning through educationally powerful connections.
The school expects to see deliberate actions implemented to improve the quality of teaching and learning across the school and accelerate progress for selected students to close the achievement gap.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to implement targeted actions to raise student achievement and improve outcomes for all learners:
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a well-established plan that clarifies actions and initiatives for improvement
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relational trust at every level supporting collaboration, risk taking and openness to change
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targeted professional learning, mentoring, and coaching that develops knowledge, skills and confidence required for evaluation and inquiry.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
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building collective capacity to accelerate the progress of target and priority learners
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improving data analysis and engaging in thoughtful interpretation and evidence-informed decision making
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strengthening culturally responsive learning partnerships with students, families and whānau.
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.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
16 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