Te Kowhai School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and Te Kowhai 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 

Te Kowhai school is located in the township of Te Kowhai, near Hamilton. The school provides education for students in Years 1 to 8.

Te Kowhai School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are focused on:

• targeted and deliberate teaching practices to positively impact the progress of all learners
• culturally responsive practice to value diversity, culture, languages, identities and wellbeing
• building a responsive curriculum that connects to students’ lives, community and environment.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the effectiveness of programmes and practices to increase learner outcomes in literacy. Implementing a sequential school-wide approach to teaching and strengthening students’ knowledge and ownership of their learning pathways are ongoing focus areas for the school.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• the opportunity to further strengthen effective pedagogy in teaching and learning that consistently promotes equitable outcomes for students
• the commitment to further develop learner agency and empowerment in learning.

The school expects to see deliberate actions implemented to improve equitable outcomes for all learners in literacy.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to raise student outcomes in literacy:

• strategic leadership that is reflective, open to change and focused on continuous improvement
• a collaborative, inclusive learning culture that supports the diverse needs of learners
• the provision of professional development that supports improved teaching practices and scaffolds new learning.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• developing students’ learning-to-learn capabilities to empower them to lead their own learning
• implementing a strategic approach to teaching and learning to support consistency of school-wide practices and improve student achievement.

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

12 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