Trident High School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 24 months of the Education Review Office and Trident High 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

Trident High School, located in the city of Whakatāne in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, provides education for students in years 9 to 13. The school strives to offer a quality education in a partnership environment where excellence and respect are encouraged. The Trident High School community respect and acknowledge Ngāti Awa as mana whenua.

Trident High School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• a culture of excellence - all members of the Trident High School community are supported in aspiring to personal excellence across the four cornerstones of Academic, Sport, Arts and Culture, and Leadership
• an inclusive and supportive community - all students and staff are supported to build confident connected relationships in order to become global citizens
• building strength and resilience and integrity – Trident High School is a learner centred environment in which all learners, and particularly Māori and Pasifika learners, enjoy success through support of their languages, cultures and identities.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which a focus on authentic, place-based curriculum, equitable pathways, and powerful partnerships is promoting improved attendance and achievement outcomes for Māori students.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• pursuing more equitable outcomes for Māori students
• understanding which strategies and interventions are supporting greater equity.

The school expects to see attendance and achievement of Māori students strengthening as a result of:

• authentic, place-based programmes that reflect the aspirations, identities and cultures of students at Trident
• literacy and numeracy programmes across the school that support equitable access to success in NCEA
• partnerships with Māori whānau and mana whenua that support shared decision-making and improved understanding of Māori students’ aspirations and needs.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to improve outcomes for Māori students:

• a clearly articulated strategic direction that prioritises equitable outcomes
• a strong pastoral system established through the whānau ako structure in which whānau have close and consistent contact with a single whānau teacher who advocates for the young adult in every aspect of school life
• systems and structures that support teachers to collaborate to meet the needs of learners and groups of learners.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise continuing to:

• strengthen and align authentic place-based programmes which reflect the aspirations, identities and cultures of the students who attend Trident High School
• build teacher confidence and capacity to develop more culturally relevant curriculum by strengthening cultural competence
• develop responsive programmes that meet the needs of students and groups of students in literacy and numeracy
• partner with Ngāti Awa and Māori whānau to better understand student needs and aspirations.

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

26 October 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