Whakatane S D A School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within ten months of the Education Review Office and Whakatane S D A Schoolworking 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 

Whakatane S D A School is located in Whakatane in the Eastern Bay of Plenty and provides education for students in Years 0 – 8. The school’s GROWTH values and ‘peaceful culture’ provide a platform for learning and a framework for all aspects of school life.

Whakatane SDA School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:

• continue to grow students’ relationship with God through our GROWTH values

• develop a curriculum that is responsive to student need and makes connections to their lives

• ensure that reliable, consistent assessment data informs acceleration-focused planning

• ensure that tikanga, te reo and te ao Māori are valued and visible.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Whakatane S D A School’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which teaching and learning in mathematics is being tailored to the needs of each student to support equitable and excellent outcomes.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• the need to improve achievement rates in mathematics

• the opportunity to understand which teaching practices are supporting students to achieve in mathematics.

The school expects to see more equitable and excellent outcomes in mathematics resulting from:

• teachers using reliable assessment information to identify student learning needs and track student progress

• learning activities and opportunities being tailored to students’ learning needs

• leaders and teachers using student achievement information to understand what is working for who in mathematics.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to strengthen student outcomes in mathematics:

• established partnerships with the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Kāhui Āko and school community

• a school culture that promotes positive relationships and a sense of community

• an ongoing focus on wellbeing that supports student and whānau engagement.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• using reliable assessment tools consistently to pinpoint learner progress and next steps

• supporting teachers to plan learning activities that are tailored to students’ learning needs

• using student achievement information to evaluate and strengthen mathematics programmes.

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

17 April 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