Morrinsville School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 22 months of the Education Review Office and Morrinsville 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 

Morrinsville School is located in the rural Waikato township of Morrinsville within the boundaries of Ngāti Hauā, the local iwi. It provides education for students in Years 1 to 8.  An established leadership team continue in its role.

Morrinsville School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are aligned to the National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP).  In 2022, under NELP 1, some of the strategic aims were that:

• all children effectively access The New Zealand Curriculum | Te Marautanga as evidenced by strong achievement and progress against the curriculum levels | ngā taumata ako

• children independently set some of their own learning goals and know what to do to achieve them

• tō tātou kāinga | our place provides an environment where we can nurture each other, we help each other to grow and inspire each other to achieve beyond our expectations.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which the school’s curriculum is responsive to the aspirations of students, parents and whānau for improved outcomes for all students. 

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• to ensure the that the school curriculum reflects parent and whānau aspirations, including those of the local iwi, Ngāti Hauā, increasing students’ sense of belonging and engagement

• to further strengthen the ways Māori students are empowered to succeed as Māori.

The school expects to see:

• improved teaching of te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and Ngāti Hauātanga in classroom programmes for equitable outcomes

• greater levels of student belonging and engagement leading to higher levels of progress and achievement.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate the extent to which the school’s curriculum is responding to the aspirations of students, parents, and whānau: 

• a strong, clearly documented commitment to equity and to Māori students succeeding as Māori, that is visible in school systems and processes

• well-articulated school values that underpin a strong, positive culture for learning

• teachers use learning progressions to identify students’ next steps in learning and respond to these in their planning.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• reviewing the extent to which curriculum design aligns with current theory and best practice

• continuing to strengthen relationships with Ngāti Hauā to better teach about local iwi history and tradition.

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

19 July 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