Orewa Beach School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report 

Background 

This Profile Report was written within 6 months of the Education Review Office and ​Orewa Beach 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 

Orewa Beach School is on Auckland’s Hibiscus Coast. The school caters for students from Years 1 to 6 and serves an increasingly diverse community. The school’s motto is He Waka Eke Noa and vision is ‘creating pathways for the future’. The values of resilience, empathy, self-belief, perseverance, equity, cultural awareness, and togetherness are used to enable students to be the best they can be.  

​​Orewa Beach School​’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are: 

• an Environment where everyone feels safe and secure 
• a culture of success for all 
• creating a culturally sustaining context for learning. 

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how successfully Orewa Beach School is creating a culturally sustaining context for learning through Te Ao Māori.  

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:  

• a commitment to “knowing better and doing better” in relation to improving cultural competence 
• for Māori learners to see their language, culture and identity valued and an integral part of the school 
• to ensure reciprocal teaching and learning practices will improve educational outcomes for all learners. 

The school expects to see: 

• a school free of racism, bullying and Māori language becoming an intrinsic part of the school culture 
• children who are connected to their culture through the school environment, where their language, culture and identity is recognised and valued 
• teachers who have high expectations of all tamariki 
• positive relationships continually fostered with whānau. 

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to create a culturally sustaining context for learning: 

• successfully engaging with the Māori Achievement Collaborative and Te Pūheke programmes to ensure Māori learners have opportunities to achieve success as Māori 
• staff who are learning te reo Māori to support culturally responsive teaching practices 
• developing closer connections with local iwi/hapū. 

Where to next? 

Moving forward, the school will prioritise: 

• teachers' participation in culturally responsive professional learning to enhance a school culture where language and identity are recognised and valued 
• community outreach to work together for tamariki and support their learning. 

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 

​​21 March 2024​ 

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