Aria School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within sixteen months of the Education Review Office and Aria 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 

Aria School is located in the rural Waitomo District of King Country. The school provides education for students in Years 1 to 6 and half of these learners are Māori.

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

• students realising their full potential in all aspects of school life

• prioritising learning as a partnership between family, school and the community

• students having opportunities to develop skills and attitudes to become confident, well-rounded individuals.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively students’ rates of progress are leading to equitable outcomes for identified groups of learners. Strengthening evaluation practices and targeted action to improve outcomes for learners in mathematics, is an ongoing priority for the school.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• the commitment to further strengthen systems and practices to raise achievement, with a focus on those who need it most

• the opportunity it provides to develop and use the school’s evaluation plan to further build their capability for continuous improvement.

The school expects to see increased rates of progress and improved equitable outcomes for all learners.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to improve student outcomes:

• a positive culture for learning that addresses the needs of learners and reflects the school’s motto to ‘be the best we can be’

• leadership of learning that is open to change and enables positive partnerships for learning and continuous school improvement

• a strategic approach to monitoring student learning over time that contributes to effective decision‑making and improved outcomes.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• implementing effective strategies to improve equitable outcomes for all students

• providing targeted professional learning and growth opportunities to further develop effective teacher practice and evaluation capability

• strategic implementation of their evaluation plan to guide direction for continuous improvement.

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.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

3 November 2022 

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