Paengaroa School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within nine months of the Education Review Office and Paengaroa 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 

Paengaroa School is located in the Western Bay of Plenty and provides education for students in Years 1 - 6. The school aims to provide a rich, real and relevant curriculum in ‘an environment where learning has no boundaries’.

Paengaroa School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to foster:

• engaged and achieving students

• effective and inspiring teachers

• a culture of pride and respect.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which a responsive, integrated, localised curriculum is promoting equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is the opportunity:

• to pull a broad curriculum together into a cohesive whole

• to connect students to an environment rich in natural and historical resources

• to understand which aspects of the curriculum are promoting equitable outcomes for all students.

The school expects to see:

• a responsive, integrated and place-based curriculum that provides students with opportunities to link science, Aotearoa New Zealand Histories and te ao Māori to local contexts

• teaching and learning tailored to the interests and needs of students, particularly at-risk learners

• partnerships with whānau and the community supporting, informing and improving the enactment of the curriculum.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to promote equitable and excellent outcomes:

• experienced leadership which deliberately pursues a vision for an inclusive, bi-cultural environment

• participation in a Kāhui Āko that facilitates relationships with mana whenua and promotes culturally sustaining pedagogies

• a broad curriculum that offers students access to a range of engaging and meaningful learning experiences.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise continuing to:

• analyse and respond to student achievement information to meet learner needs and accelerate learner progress

• develop teacher capacity to integrate te ao Māori, Aotearoa NZ histories and science into a responsive, localised curriculum

• strengthen whānau and community partnerships to ensure that the curriculum closely reflects the knowledge, identity and history of mana whenua and the local community.

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

6 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