Taipa Area School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

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

Taipa Area School is in Doubtless Bay, Te Tai Tokerau and provides education for students in Years 1 to 13. Most students are of Māori heritage who whakapapa to the local hapū and iwi of Ngāti Kahu. The school’s vision is Kia ngātahi te hoe, Kia whakatere te waka ki uta: Navigate together for success.

Taipa Area School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• to connect: to create connections within our community
• to belong: to create a sense of belonging
• to persevere: to create a culture of perseverance
• to feel safe: to enable all within our community to feel safe within it
• to engage: to create opportunities to engage students in their own learning
• to achieve: all students can achieve success no matter what their pathway.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively culturally responsive and relational teaching practices are promoting positive outcomes for all learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

• promote learners’ sense of belonging and connection to the school and confidence in their identities, languages and cultures
• respond to the aspirations and views of whānau, hapū and iwi
• build teaching capability to improve the impact of teaching on learning and achievement for all learners
• strengthen inclusive practices to support the needs of diverse learners.

The school expects to see:

• learners who demonstrate agency and are well supported to improve their achievement outcomes
• culturally responsive relationships and effective teaching that are focused on the learning and wellbeing of each learner
• increased learner engagement and attendance.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how effectively culturally responsive and relational teaching practices are promoting positive outcomes for all learners:

• meaningful connections, communication and relationships with whānau, hapū and iwi
• leadership is committed to promoting the school’s vision and values and to progressing a culturally responsive, improvement-focused approach
• conditions, structures, systems and processes to support learner wellbeing are being strengthened and refined.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• continued professional development which builds teaching capability in culturally responsive and relational teaching practices
• strengthening the responsiveness of the localised curriculum
• developing student agency to co-construct learning pathways which improve their learning outcomes.

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

26 May 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