Woodstock School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 13 months of the Education Review Office and Woodstock 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 

Woodstock School is situated in Fairfield, Hamilton and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6.  A new principal started in July, 2021 and the senior leadership team at the beginning of 2022.  The school has a Conductive Education Unit. 

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

• ensure all students are able to access The New Zealand Curriculum as appropriate and relevant to their year level, special learning needs and ethnicity
• ensure Māori students are engaged in their learning and are achieving educational success with pride in their unique identity, language and culture as Māori
• promote excellence in teaching
• enable students to value, respect and contribute to an ecologically sustainable environment
• create an educational learning environment which minimises health and safety risks to staff and students
• continually build an inclusive relationship between school and community
• ensure school finances, personnel and property are effectively managed to support the educational outcomes of students and to enhance teaching and learning.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well teacher pedagogy (expected high quality teaching practice in mathematics and literacy) supports students’ learning, progress and achievement. 

The rationale for this focus is to:

• promote equity and excellence through high expectations of teachers and learners, and teachers’ belief that all children can progress and achieve 
• provide equitable opportunities for all learners to acquire foundational skills in literacy and mathematics, and experience the inherent culturally responsive approaches to learning
• enhance student engagement, attendance and educational success.

The school expects to see:

• raised attendance and engagement levels 
• progress and achievement in every cohort, including acceleration for those learners who need this
• stated expectations for high quality teaching consistently evident in practice schoolwide. 

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its evaluation of how well teacher pedagogy supports student learning:

• leadership and staff work collectively to achieve valued outcomes for students 
• clear direction through school goals with student-focused improvement actions, including the  development of collective teacher efficacy (aspiring for excellence and consistency so every child has equitable learning opportunities)
• enacted school values that increase students’ sense of connection and confidence.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• continuing alignment of school practices to curriculum changes to inform the development of assessment processes 
• continuing the deliberate approach for effective, consistent schoolwide teaching so that all learners have equitable opportunities to learn and progress.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

26 March 2024

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