Emmanuel Christian School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Emmanuel Christian 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 

Emmanuel Christian school, situated in northwest Christchurch, provides education from a Christian worldview for students from Years 1 to 10. Their vison for students is, Kia rite tā koutou haere ki tā ngā tamariki o te mārama – Walk as children of light.

Emmanuel Christian School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• students will make progress in their learning and develop skills for life in a Christ centred culturally inclusive learning culture

• high expectations and aspirations for every student

• excellence in education for all students by ensuring barrier free access towards gaining foundation skills in language, literacy and numeracy.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Emmanuel Christian School’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively a wellbeing approach and culturally responsive teaching practices have impacted on academic outcomes for students, especially Māori and Pacific learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• teachers need a wider variety of tools to better support the increasingly diverse needs of students

• wellbeing is valued as an important aspect of the Christian character of the school

• the school recognises its role in ensuring that all students feel valued and have a sense of belonging to the Emmanuel Christian community and more widely to Aotearoa New Zealand.

The school expects to see:

• students well supported to apply concepts of wellbeing within their Christian faith, including interactions with others and their own sense of self esteem

• teachers integrating new understandings of culturally responsive practices to better support students in their learning

• increased levels of progress and achievement for all students across the school.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate the effectiveness of a wellbeing approach and culturally responsive teaching practices on outcomes for students:

• a strong and engaged parent community

• learning centred relationships between teachers and students are supportive and caring and include parents and whānau as participants in their children’s learning

• staff have positive and open to learning mindsets toward new initiatives in teaching and learning and curriculum

• an approachable leadership team that works collaboratively to make decisions for the direction of the school.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• professional learning for all teachers to strengthen culturally responsive practices across the school

• professional learning around wellbeing and its relationship to the Christian faith, ensuring it is integral to all learning contexts

• developing shared expectations around the use of te reo Māori in everyday school life to strengthen teacher capabilities in this context.

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

19 July 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