Hora Hora School (Te Mai)

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 25 months of the Education Review Office and Hora Hora School (Te Mai) 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 

Hora Hora School is a contributing school catering for students in Years 1 to 6 in Whangārei, Northland. A special feature of the school is Te Ahurutanga, three Year 1 to 6 classes that work as a whānau and have te reo Māori, tikanga, and a Māori world view at the heart of learning. This immersion setting provides bilingual education for whānau who want this opportunity for their tamariki.

Hora Hora School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are: 

• we look after each other

• wellbeing, hauora and belonging

• delivering a curriculum that provides tamariki with every opportunity to make choices about their life’s pathways.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Hora Hora School (Te Mai)’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate firstly, how effectively the school is partnering with whānau and responding to their aspirations for their tamariki within Te Ahurutanga and secondly, how effectively is the school capturing, recording and sharing tamariki learning in a learning through play environment.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• to honour and respond to whānau aspirations for their tamariki

• strengthen learning partnerships with whānau to ensure they can actively support their tamariki in their learning journey

• use professional learning and development and collaborative teaching approaches to build teacher capability in a learning through play pedagogy

• ensure the capturing of learning through play assessments are valid, manageable and sustainable.

The school expects to see:

• learning through play assessment processes document the progress, growth, and development of tamariki at the foundation level of the New Zealand Curriculum

• equitable outcomes for all tamariki

• tamariki supported to confidently speak te reo Māori and extend their reo

• evidence of strengthened whānau learning partnerships and whānau actively contributing to their tamariki’s learning journey

• learning outcomes shared with tamariki, whānau and with teachers as they progress through the school.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goals to respond to whānau aspirations for tamariki and to effectively capture, record and share play-based learning outcomes:

• wellbeing, hauroa and the school’s underlying value “we look after each other” are well enacted for everyone in the Hora Hora community

• a strong sense of belonging and connection where tamariki are proud to be Māori and experience learning programmes that promote success for Māori as Māori

• leaders’ and teachers’ skills and strengths are acknowledged and used to provide leadership opportunities.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• continuing to develop learner focussed relationships with whānau

• enacting a local curriculum that interests and excites tamariki to support equity and excellence

• embedding and sustaining collaborative teaching practice across the school

• further embedding our collective philosophy and shared responsibility for all tamariki.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

1 June 2023 

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