Hamilton West School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 18 months of the Education Review Office and Hamilton West 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 

Hamilton West School is located to the southwest of Hamilton City central business district near Waikato Hospital. The school provides education for students in Years 1 to 8 and draws from a community of diverse cultures. The school curriculum is underpinned by the values of ‘Ako, Manaakitanga, Kaitiakitanga and Whanaungatanga’ and promotes ‘Rangatiratanga – Our Best Always’.

Hamilton West School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• learners at the centre – to provide an inclusive curriculum reflective of Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership

• barrier free access to education – ensuring every learner has sound foundation skills

• quality teaching and leadership – continual growth of staff capability and collective capacity.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which distributed leadership is building professional capability and collective capacity to improve outcomes for learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• to provide further structure and information to deepen and refine processes that support distributed leadership

• to use the information gathered to further strengthen internal evaluation practices linked to growth of teacher capability, and continual improvement of outcomes for learners.

The school expects to see leadership supporting the growth of:

• culturally responsive teaching practices that improve student achievement

• consistent tikanga within the local curriculum that reflects te ao Māori perspectives, and progressions of te reo Māori implemented within the school

• student voice being used alongside student achievement information to further refine the local curriculum and teaching practice.

Strengths

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

• a culture of wellbeing, engagement and respect that is supported by effective systems, processes and communication

• leaders and teachers are focused on continual improvement, effective teaching strategies, and meeting the needs of all learners

• a curriculum that is continually responding to diverse learning needs and is focused on growth toward meeting the intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• building collective capacity in relation to culturally responsive teaching practices

• sustainable growth of leadership and teaching that reflects adaptive expertise

• ensuring the individual and diverse learning needs of all students are met.

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

23 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