Goldfields School (Paeroa)

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 6 months of the Education Review Office and Goldfields School (Paeroa) 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

This report is part of a nationally coordinated evaluation of 27-day specialist schools during the second half of 2023. This included the development of day specialist school evaluation indicators by ERO with significant input from principals, staff and the Special Education Principals’ Association of New Zealand (SEPAnz).

Context

Goldfields School in Paeroa is a specialist school dedicated to meeting the unique learning needs of students aged from 5 to 21 years. All students have Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding. Students learn across a range of settings, including four classes at the base school, a transition unit for older students at the base school, and five satellite classes in four host schools.

Specialist therapy services such as speech language therapists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, support students’ wellbeing and access to learning through a transdisciplinary approach.

The school continues to navigate and manage roll growth pressures along with the employment and property demands associated with this.

The whakatauki ‘He mahitahi’ - working together, guides staff to work collaboratively to strengthen the school through partnerships. The school’s vision is ‘i te puāwaitanga o te harakeke, he ritowhakaki whāruarua’ - when the flax blossoms, its many offspring begin their journey. 

The school’s values that underpin and guide the holistic wrap around care and nurturing for tamariki, rangatahi and their whānau, are: 

• kotahitanga – unity in everything we do
• kaitiakitanga – protect and uphold the rights, needs and aspirations of ākonga (learners) 
• whanaungatanga – develop and nurture relationships within the school and community
• manaakitanga – support and enhance the hauora (wellbeing) of ākonga

Goldfields School (Paeroa)’s strategic priority for improving outcomes for learners is:

• for students to be nurtured and prepared to achieve tino rangatiratanga and live self-determined lives through:
• he pito mata nō te ākonga ake – personalised learning
• hapori – community
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi – the Treaty of Waitangi
• hauora – wellbeing.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Goldfields School (Paeroa) website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate to what extent school systems, processes and practices are reflecting Te Tiriti o Waitangi and respond to growth to sustain positive learning and wellbeing outcomes for their unique ākonga.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to: 

• ensure the school has a well-planned and strategic approach to growth and ongoing improvement by:
• continuing to build and grow leadership and staff capability
• responding to whānau and kaimahi voice.

The school expects to see: 

• shared understanding of what effective leadership looks like across the school 
• a collaborative leadership team responsive to ongoing changes in a complex environment
• cohesion and consistency of practices across the school
• systems and processes to support productive engagement with whānau Māori.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate to what extent school systems, processes and practices are reflecting te Tiriti o Waitangi, and responding to growth, to sustain positive learning and wellbeing outcomes for their unique ākonga.

• Systems and processes that effectively identify and respond to the holistic needs of learners and their whānau.
• Well-established systems and process set strategic priorities and aligning key conditions within a culture for school improvement.
• Leadership that fosters innovative solutions to sustain improved outcomes for learners.
• Staff consistently demonstrate and enact high expectations for learners and their success. 
• Transdisciplinary knowledge of learners that is consistently evident in planning for learning.
• Staff consistently demonstrate and enact high expectations for learners and their success.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise: 

• schoolwide professional learning and development focused on leading by learning
• evaluating how well the school vision and values are evident in practice and contribute to a positive school culture through developing an evidence base from a survey and other tools
• developing a shared understanding of what a positive school culture looks like.

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 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