Te Aroha College

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within eight months of the Education Review Office and Te Aroha College 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 

Te Aroha College is located in the Waikato. It caters for learners from Years 9 to 13. A new principal was appointed in Term 2 2023.

Te Aroha College’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• valuing a supportive and inclusive learning environment

• providing accessible, authentic and relevant learning opportunities through quality teaching and learning

• through relational practice and high-quality education, make Te Aroha College a place where learners flourish, enjoy and choose to be.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Te Aroha College’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively a focus on improving attendance, engagement and pastoral systems improves student outcomes.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• to improve student achievement in NCEA, across all levels

   

• to improve the retention rate, particularly for Māori students

• to reduce the disparity in achievement and attendance for Māori learners.

The school expects to see improved attendance and engagement of all students. Leaders and teachers will understand which interventions are effective in promoting equitable outcomes for all learners.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support it in its goal to improve student attendance, engagement and outcomes:

• the collaborative review and development of a new strategic and annual plan

• established tracking and monitoring of student achievement for NCEA students

• a refined and improved system to monitor student attendance.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• developing responsive interventions to improve attendance and engagement

• offering targeted, personalised learning programmes to build student confidence in their ability to learn and achieve national qualifications.

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.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools                                                                                                                 

6 September 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