Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
Background
This Profile Report was written within twelve months of the Education Review Office and Buller High 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
Buller High School is a state co-educational school located in Westport and caters for students in Years 9 to 15.
Buller High Schools strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:
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focus decision making within the school on raising student achievement
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support and value teachers to meet the learning needs of all students
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make the school a safe and welcoming place and an enabler of student achievement and wellbeing.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Buller High School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well culturally responsive practice meets the needs of all learners, particularly those who identify as Māori and are at risk of not meeting their potential.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:
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understand how targeted use of student qualitative data can positively impact on student and teacher relationships for learning and ongoing improvement in outcomes for learners
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focus on students who identify as Māori, students who are at risk of not meeting their potential, and on addressing disparity for all learners.
The school expects that ongoing monitoring and evaluation of achievement, valued outcomes, and other indicator data will show improved student outcomes in terms of excellence and equity for all students.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to review culturally responsive teaching practices:
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Teachers share high, clear, and equitable expectations for student learning, achievement, progress, and wellbeing
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Internal evaluation practices support the gathering, analysis, and use of evidence of student learning and outcomes to improve individual and collective practice.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise using evaluative thinking and practices to ensure it delivers a responsive curriculum that meets the needs of all learners and addresses disparity.
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
28 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