Waitetuna School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 10 months of the Education Review Office and Waitetuna 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

Tainui Te Waka,
Pirongia Te Maunga,
Waitetuna Te Awa,
Aramiro Te Paa,
Te Kaharoa Te Tupuna Whare,
Waikato Te Iwi,
Ngaati Maahanga Te Hapu,
Moerangi Te Whenua.

Waitetuna is a small country school, 20 minutes from Raglan in the Waitetuna valley, that promotes whaanaungatanga in three multi-level classrooms. The school offers diverse learning experiences, high adult to student ratios, an environmental education programme and an inclusive school culture.

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

• continue to partner with the local iwi and community, to encourage participation from all, and to protect taonga together

• accelerate progress for all learners, with a focus on priority learners

• create opportunities for professional collaboration to strengthen the conditions that improve student outcomes.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the implementation of Te Whare Tapa Whaa school framework is improving student learning and wellbeing outcomes.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

• support, improve, and maintain the wellbeing and achievement of learners by building teacher practice and school wide collaboration

• co-design the curriculum with Ngaati Maahanga, as this drives the strategic direction of the school for improving outcomes for all learners.

The school expects to see:

• Te Whare Tapa Whaa framework visible throughout the school

• improved wellbeing and learning/achievement outcomes for all learners

• ongoing co-design of the living curriculum incorporating Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles where Maaori learn and succeed as Maaori in partnership with whaanau.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how effectively the implementation of Te Whare Tapa Whaa school framework is improving student learning and wellbeing outcomes:

• strong community and hapuu involvement in the daily life of the school

• an inclusive school environment where students feel a sense of connection and belonging

• a collaborative staff culture, where systems are well established to support the implementation of Te Whare Tapa Whaa framework

• effective cycles of collaboration to review and improve the outcomes for priority learners.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• timely internal evaluation of Te Whare Tapa Whaa planning framework, to identify what worked, for whom and why?

• staff reflection on their practice and collaborative planning to support academic progress and wellbeing for learners.

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

28 July 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