Sunnyhills School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 4 months of the Education Review Office and Sunnyhills 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

Sunnyhills School is a Years 1 to 6 school located in Pakuranga, Auckland. The school continues to develop their GEMS values, (Growth, Empathy, Mana, Self-belief) to embed these throughout all aspects of the school. The Board are about to appoint a new principal in Term 1 2024.

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

• a future focused curriculum that enables empowered learners
• practices are inclusive, respectful, and culturally centred
• an actively engaged learning community
• a safe, physical, emotional, and sustainable environment.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate its ongoing commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to developing a deeper understanding of biculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• further developing the cultural capabilities of staff by raising their bicultural awareness and improving practice
• maintaining the relationship with Te Tahawai marae and the Buddhist Temple, as well as continuing to foster a connection with Ngai Tai Ki Tāmaki as mana whenua
• further developing a curriculum that supports students to answer the question, “Do learners know the place where their feet stand?”.

The school expects to see further evidence of

• implementation and use of Te Mātaiaho (Refreshed Curriculum) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi 
• the integration of te reo and tikanga Māori in classrooms and across the school that supports all learners, particularly Māori
• evidence of a rich local curriculum that reflects the diversity of the school community, including Māori and Pacific learners and whānau
• effective engagement with the parent community, particularly in aspects of tikanga Māori.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to develop a deeper understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and biculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand.

• A professional staff culture with high capability and expectations for themselves and learners.
• A caring school culture that supports engagement in learning and a strong sense of citizenship.
• Leadership that supports and utilises internal monitoring strategies to ensure that there is a focus on continuous improvement.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• support for teachers learning te reo Māori and te Ao Māori.
• building knowledge, capability, and pedagogy around school pōwhiri, karakia, waiata, tikanga (including mihi and pepehā) and cultural applications of these taonga
• ongoing staff and student visits to places of cultural significance, to provide authentic learning opportunities for students to develop their understanding of “the place they stand”.

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

28 February 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