Aka Aka School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 6 months of the Education Review Office and Aka Aka 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 

Aka Aka School is located in a rural setting in Waiuku and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8.

Aka Aka School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to have:

• an actively engaged school community who strive to achieve their personal best

• a future focused curriculum that enables empowered learners

• a safe physical and emotional environment that promotes wellbeing for all.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which the localised curriculum design and planning is improving equity and excellence for all learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

• increase the inclusion of te ao Māori into the local curriculum design and planning

• refine and strengthen the curriculum design and planning processes within the school

• increase opportunities for Māori to learn and succeed as Māori.

The school expects to see a local curriculum that includes targeted planning to improve outcomes for learners, informed by effective internal evaluation.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to strengthen localised curriculum design and planning to improve equity and excellence for all learners:

• An inclusive learning climate that provides support for all learners.

• School values are lived and embedded into everyday practices.

• A collaborative teaching team that supports each other to improve practice.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• further developing the curriculum planning framework to promote deliberate inclusion of te ao Māori within the teaching and learning programme

• strengthening internal evaluation to better identify what is working, for whom and why.

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 School

16 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