Otahuhu School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and Otahuhu 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

Otahuhu School has over 165 years of history catering for years 1 to 6 students in Otahuhu, South Auckland. The school motto is ‘He wahi tutaki mo nga tamariki o te ao — A meeting place for the children of the world’. Bilingual education is offered across all levels for Māori students in Te Whānau Tūtakitanga, Samoan students in Tafa o Ata and Tongan students in Lalanga Mo’ui. Otahuhu School is part of the Ōtāhuhu Kāhui Ako.

Otahuhu School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• grow teacher capacity 
• enhance use of digital technologies and fluency 
• strengthening relationships with school and local community
• a safe and secure learning environment that supports the health and wellbeing of students and staff.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how a responsive local curriculum promotes increased engagement, progress and achievement for all learners. 

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is: 

• inquiry and learner agency form the basis of the matau framework for the local curriculum
• a strategic priority is to strengthen teacher capacity through a consistent and connected approach to teaching and learning throughout the school.

The school expects to see teachers using coherent and responsive practices to support independent and confident learners to achieve at or above expected levels.

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how a responsive local curriculum promotes increased engagement, progress and achievement for all learners.

• learners who show commitment to learning and in the school’s HEART values 
• commitment at all levels of the school and community to quality and responsive bilingual education for Samoan, Tongan and Māori students
• collaborative leadership based on relational trust which is open to positive change in the school
• experienced and long-serving teachers and staff who are committed to the school and community.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise: 

• supporting teachers, learners and whānau to set consistently high expectations for teaching and learning 
• further develop and embed the matau framework (inquiry model) to capture learner voice and provide genuine opportunities for learners to have agency in their learning
• continue to develop a responsive localised curriculum which reflects the aspirations of the community
• leaders and teachers monitor and evaluate the success of Māori and Pacific achievement plans using culturally appropriate evaluation tools
• New Zealand School Trustees Association professional development for newly appointed board members to strengthen their role.

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

12 December 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