Hikutaia School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within seven months of the Education Review Office and Hikutaia 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 

Hikutaia School, located in a rural community near Paeroa, provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. A strong, supportive community is a significant feature of this multi-cultural school.

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

• to strengthen student achievement outcomes
• to continue developing student engagement and empowerment in learning
• to strengthen teacher capability and culturally responsive practice.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively outcomes for all learners are improved through targeted actions to strengthen quality teaching practices. Teacher knowledge and capability in evaluation is an ongoing priority for the school’s continuous focus on equity and excellence.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• the priority to increase rates of progress for all learners in literacy and mathematics
• the need to further strengthen students’ engagement and knowledge of their own learning pathways
• the opportunity it provides to use a formalised process to strengthen evaluation capability for improvement.

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

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to raise achievement for all students:

• leadership that uses data effectively to inform planning, and direction
• an increasingly collaborative team culture that is focused on continuous improvement
• the layering of a tikanga Māori lens across the local curriculum that supports students to learn in a respectful, culturally inclusive environment.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• further strengthening learner agency to empower students in their own learning
• strategically supporting teachers to enable consistency of practice to accelerate learning and develop collective capability in evaluation
• embedding culturally responsive practice to promote sustainability for future teaching and learning.

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

6 March 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