Ruawaro Combined School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within thirteen months of the Education Review Office and Ruawaro Combined 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 

Ruawaro Combined School is located in a rural Waikato location west of Huntly. The school provides education for students in Years 1 to 8.

Ruawaro Combined School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• all students making progress measured against the learning progressions

• strengthening home/school and community partnerships in learning

• promoting effective transitions into, through and out of the school.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively school conditions contribute to increasing progress for students in literacy. Further building home and school learning partnerships and strengthening evaluation capability will be an ongoing focus.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• the opportunity it provides to strengthen practice and improve rates of progress in literacy for all learners with a focus on junior students

• the school’s commitment towards equity and excellence for all students.

The school expects to see strengthened, collaborative and consistent approaches in place that improve student learning outcomes.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to increase learners’ rates of progress in literacy:     

• leadership for learning that is focused on continuous improvement

• a range of programmes and resources in place that support progress and achievement

• a detailed plan that guides direction for improvement and professional development.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• further development of consistent, school-wide teaching practices in literacy and assessment to increase knowledge and raise learning outcomes

• strengthening reciprocal relationships between home and school to support student learning

• building collaborative data literacy skills to inform direction and clear expectations for planning and teaching.

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

9 December 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