Otakiri School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within twelve months of the Education Review Office and Otakiri 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 

Otakiri School, located in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, provides education for students in Years 0 – 8. The school appointed a new principal in 2022. The ‘Otakiri Way’ and the school’s LEAD values encourage students to become ‘learners forever, LEADing the future’.

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

• to improve outcomes for all ākonga through culturally responsive pedagogy

• to build effective partnerships with whānau which place ākonga at the centre.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which integrated, culturally responsive teaching practices are supporting students to feel confident in their language, culture and identity, and raising student achievement.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is a commitment to:

• meeting responsibilities under Te Tiriti o Waitangi

• pursuing equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners, particularly Māori learners.

The school expects to see more equitable and excellent outcomes for all students, particularly Māori students, resulting from:

• teaching practices and a curriculum that respond to student identity, need and voice

• partnerships with mana whenua and whānau guiding curriculum development and strategic planning

• students feeling increasingly confident in their language, culture and identity.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to raise student achievement:

• the systems and structures to identify student learning needs and the capacity to tailor teaching and learning to these

• wellbeing practices that promote resilience and optimism

• relationships within and beyond the school that support inclusion and engagement.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• building teacher understanding of and capacity in culturally responsive teaching practices

• engaging with student voice and student achievement information to inform the development and implementation of culturally sustaining pedagogy and curriculum

• collaborating with mana whenua and whānau, to ensure ongoing refinements to curriculum and pedagogy promote their aspirations.

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

28 April 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