Galatea School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 6 months of the Education Review Office and Galatea 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 

Galatea School is a rural primary school located in the Whakatāne district, approximately 75 km south of Rotorua and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school values/building blocks: know myself – mana; know others – whanaungatanga; know my learning – akoranga; know my place – kaitiakitanga; are prioritised to support positive outcomes for learners.

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

• raise student achievement through a culture of continual improvement, developing teaching, learning and assessment capability

• implement the Galatea curriculum within classrooms through planning, teaching, assessment and reporting

• engage learners, parents, whānau, community and local iwi in children’s learning and school.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well schoolwide conditions, including teaching and learning practices, are positively impacting wellbeing for all and progress and achievement for learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

• improve outcomes of progress and achievement, and attendance for all learners

• develop and maintain high expectations for positive behaviour and wellbeing for all

• strengthen leadership and stewardship to improve schoolwide conditions.

The school expects to see improvements in:

• regular attendance rates for all learners

• schoolwide consistency in effective teaching, learning and assessment practices, that result in improved achievement for all learners

• shared and enacted expectations for positive wellbeing for learners and staff

• leadership for learning, resulting in effective decision-making and resourcing that significantly improves the school’s performance and learner outcomes.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goals:

• learners experience positive relationships with peers and staff

• established school values that support the priority of positive wellbeing for all

• engagement with external support in order to facilitate improvement in leadership and decision-making.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise achieving outcomes of equity and excellence for all learners through engaging in professional learning focused on:

• strengthening collaborative relationships, behaviours and professional expectations to ensure positive wellbeing for all

• improving schoolwide consistency in effective teaching, learning and assessment practices

• ensuring reliable assessment is used effectively to inform reporting, planning and improvement

• establishing consistent processes to monitor and respond effectively to student attendance data

• strengthening capacity for effective leadership and governance, resulting in improved and sustainable school performance. 

ERO has concerns about

Leadership of learning and governance to bring about the required improvements for equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners in an inclusive school environment that ensures positive wellbeing for all.

Recommendation

The school continues to focus on valued outcomes for learners in a positive environment for teaching and learning while embedding effective leadership and governance.

The Ministry of Education is working alongside 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

2 November 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