12 Cracroft Street, Waitara
View on mapThis Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Waitara Central 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
Waitara Central School is located in Waitara, Taranaki. It is a coeducational primary school providing education for children from Years 1 to 6. A new principal was appointed in Term 3, 2020.
Waitara Central School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
teachers effectively deliver a rich learner focused curriculum so that tamariki will achieve their personal best across all areas
whānau are actively engaged in teaching and learning including the wider school community
the board of trustees works effectively to support student achievement.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Waitara Central School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate to what extent is a shared teacher inquiry approach making a positive difference to learner outcomes.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
to accelerate the progress of identified tamariki
to use research-based teaching methods that the school knows will work for their tamariki
achieving coherence across school systems that will benefit teaching and learning.
The school expects to see
all tamariki showing improved achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
a teaching team who support each other and who seek appropriate external support to develop and extend their teaching knowledge
whānau who are actively engaged in their child’s learning.
The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to use a shared teacher inquiry approach to teaching that makes a positive difference to tamariki:
curriculum expertise already exists in the school that can be shared with others
appropriate external supports are in place
clear strategic intent to develop effective teaching and learning and to engage whānau in teaching and learning
shared leadership that prioritises relationships for learning in a culturally responsive way.
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
accelerating the learning of those children who are identified through teacher inquiry
developing a consistent understanding of teaching as inquiry
finding ways to authentically engage whānau in teaching and learning.
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
27 October 2022
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of March 2022, the Waitara Central School Board of Trustees has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
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For further information please contact Waitara Central School Board of Trustees.
The next Board of Trustees assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.
Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
27 October 2022
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Waitara Central School has made some positive progress in relation to aspects of school improvement. School leaders have worked collaboratively to review, develop and implement the localised curriculum. Collaborative relationships are supporting teaching and learning programmes. To improve outcomes for students, sustained focus is needed on: building leadership capability as a leader of learning; growing effective governance processes and practices; and prioritising the understanding and use of internal evaluation.
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Waitara Central School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Needs development.
Waitara Central School, in Waitara , has a roll of 102 students in Years 1 to 6 and 66 identify as Māori. The school values of: ‘aroha, kōrero and ora’ continue to underpin teaching, learning and wellbeing. Over the past six months the school has undergone significant changes to leadership and teaching staff.
The 2018 ERO report identified significant areas for improvement and recommended that the school continue to seek assistance from the Ministry of Education to support improvements in the capacity of trustees and leaders to manage school resources; and to sustain and improve student learning and achievement. Over the past two years the school has participated in an ERO evaluation process to support improvement.
This ERO report evaluates the progress made and how well placed the school now is to sustain continuous improvement.
The overall goal was to improve governance, school practice and operation to promote positive learning outcomes and accelerate the progress of all students. Areas of focus to support this have included:
An appropriate range of assessment tools supports teachers to make reliable judgements about student progress and learning. Term 4 2020 achievement information, shows that the majority of students are achieving at or above expectation in reading and writing and just under half in mathematics. The overall levels of achievement have declined in these areas since 2019. Disparity continues for Māori learners in mathematics.
The school has started to build a more inclusive culture that better supports the language, culture and identity of the children at the school. Systems are in place to identify and support children who have behavioural and learning needs. As a result, there has been a decrease in the number of major behaviour incidents.
All staff know children and their whānau well. Teachers use a range of appropriate strategies to
engage students in learning. The provision of stimulating learning environments supports students to settle and work. Student learning and wellbeing is well supported by staff through suitable responses to observed needs. Staff are assisted to build their confidence and competence in the use of te reo and understanding of te ao Māori.
School leaders have worked collaboratively to review and develop the localised curriculum. They have consulted with whānau and the local community to explore learning opportunities linked to this region focusing on maunga, awa, whenua and moana. This is now documented and being implemented. The principal has identified, and ERO’s evaluation affirms, that the curriculum needs to more clearly state what, and how, teaching and learning approaches and expectations are enacted.
Useful systems and processes, including teacher inquiry, have been developed to support teachers to build their capability. These were not implemented in 2020. Fully and consistently implementing these is a priority for leaders and teachers.
The principal, trustees and ERO agree that staff need to:
The school needs to continue to grow its capacity to sustain, improve and review its performance. The newly appointed principal is rationalising and organising existing systems and processes to bring information together in a more coherent way.
Trustees receive useful information through the principal’s and Limited Statutory Manager’s reports to the board about a range of school practices and operation.
Trustees agree key next steps are to:
Before the review, the board of trustees and principal of the school completed the ERO Board Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
During the course of the review ERO identified several areas of non-compliance.
In order to address these the board of trustees must:
In order to improve current practice the board of trustees should strengthen the following aspects of policies and procedures:
Recommendations, including any to other agencies for ongoing or additional support.
ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education and New Zealand School Trustees Association provide ongoing support for the board in order to bring about the following improvements:
Waitara Central School has made some positive progress in relation to aspects of school improvement. School leaders have worked collaboratively to review, develop and implement the localised curriculum. Collaborative relationships are supporting teaching and learning programmes. To improve outcomes for students, sustained focus is needed on: building leadership capability as a leader of learning; growing effective governance processes and practices; and prioritising the understanding and use of internal evaluation.
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Waitara Central School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Needs development.
ERO will maintain an ongoing relationship with the school to build capacity and evaluate progress.
ERO’s Framework: Overall Findings and Judgement Tool derived from School Evaluation Indicators: Effective Practice for Improvement and Learner Success is available on ERO’s website.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
18 January 2021