David Henry School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 18 months of the Education Review Office and David Henry 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 

David Henry School is in Tokoroa and caters for students in years 1 to 6. Since the last ERO review the principal continues in her position and the roll has grown significantly. School WHARE (Whanaungatanga, Honesty, Ako, Respect and Engaged in learning) values are the foundation for everything that happens in the school.

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

• strive for continued personal growth for students and staff to achieve to their best abilities
• embrace the whole child/identity, knowing who you are, show who you are
• develop a curriculum that is responsive to the cultures, needs, interests and aspirations of all ākonga
• strengthen the sense of community by improving the way we communicate, engage and collaborate to ensure happy ākonga, staff and whānau.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well student achievement is being accelerated to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

• raise school-wide levels of achievement, with a focus on those whose learning is at risk of underachievement
• further develop target setting, planning and reporting procedures to focus on excellent and equitable outcomes
• build internal evaluation processes so that leaders and teachers focus on what is most effective in their practice and adapt their practice accordingly.

The school expects to see:

• improved outcomes for all learners
• accelerated outcomes for those students who need it
• increasingly evidence-based decisions about school improvement.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal of achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners:

• an inclusive environment and visible, aligned vision and values that support Pacific and Māori students’ language, culture and identity
• adaptive, culturally responsive, strength-based leadership and direction
• a common language of learning that supports learner wellbeing, engagement and success.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• building teacher capability to accelerate outcomes for target learners and achieve equitable outcomes for all learners
• external and internal professional development to support school-wide priorities and build internal evaluation capability across the 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

20 June 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