Waitoki School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report 

Background

This Profile Report was written within 9 months of the Education Review Office and Waitoki 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 

Waitoki School is a small semi-rural school in Waitoki, northwest Auckland. It caters for students in Years 1 to 8. A new principal was appointed in Term 2 2023. The school aims to be a “nurturing community of adaptive, creative, curious, lifelong learners, who confidently achieve excellence through integrity and perseverance.”

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

• improve the capability of the school to create a culturally responsive learning environment
• acknowledge, support and strengthen the hauora of all Waitoki School learners, staff and whānau
• provide ākonga with a robust, relevant, exciting, and refreshed local school curriculum. 

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well the school’s refreshed localised curriculum is improving outcomes for all learners. 

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to: 

• develop a shared understanding of biculturalism that is localised and contextualised to Waitoki School 
• grow teacher knowledge, capability, and teaching and learning around te ao Māori me ōna tikanga Māori 
• review the Waitoki School curriculum to include rich learning experiences that recognise, support, celebrate and learn from all the cultures represented in the local and wider community.

The school expects to see further evidence of:

• leaders and kaiako improving their knowledge of te reo me ōna tikanga Māori, in order to develop a deeper understanding of biculturalism and use this in practice
• staff and students thriving and learning in a safe inclusive environment 
• learning experiences that are contextualised to the local community and beyond 
• equitable and excellent achievement outcomes for all learners.  

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how well the refreshed curriculum is improving outcomes for all learners. 

• a small, caring school culture that supports engagement in learning 
• a supportive school community that enables leaders and teachers to enrich opportunities for learners to become confident connected and actively involved 
• teachers who are committed to using effective teaching practice which meet individual learners needs and promotes equitable and excellent learning outcomes. 

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise leaders and staff:

• building knowledge, capability and school practice that embeds te ao Māori into the daily life of the school including tikanga Māori, school pōwhiri and waiata
• continuing to explore what it means to be bicultural in Aotearoa, New Zealand and how this applies and is enacted at Waitoki School. 

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

30 April 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