Puketapu School (New Plymouth)

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report 

Background

This Profile Report was written within 9 months of the Education Review Office and Puketapu School (New Plymouth) 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 Kura o Puketapu is located in Taranaki in the mana whenua of Te Atiawa and the hapū of Puketapu. The kura is a co-educational year 1 to 8 school. A new principal started in Term 1 2024. The school belongs to the Central New Plymouth Kāhui Ako.

Puketapu School (New Plymouth)’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• Kawa o te ako: growing and developing the teaching and learning of our people 
• Kawa o te ora: growing and developing the health and wellbeing of our people 
• Kawa o te mauri tangata whenua: growing and developing the special nature of the people of this whenua. 

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Puketapu School (New Plymouth)’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively Te Marautanga o Puketapu (the school’s curriculum) helps all tamariki engage and succeed with learning.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that Marautanga o Puketapu documents what the school knows works best to support their tamariki to engage and succeed with learning. It is designed to help tamariki, kaiako, whānau and community work together to support high expectations of success and genuine engagement in learning.

The school expects to see: 

• Te Marautanga o Puketapu continually strengthened and refined to ensure responsiveness to the needs of tamariki, whānau and community
• kaiako who can confidently design, implement and assess learning for all tamariki using Te Marautanga o Puketapu 
• improved and equitable outcomes for all tamariki
• tamariki achievements and success are noticed, shared and celebrated with whānau and community to secure genuine engagement and encourage high expectations for learning.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to evaluate how effectively Te Marautanga o Puketapu (the school’s curriculum) helps all tamariki engage and succeed with learning:

• Te Marautanga o Puketapu is available to the community on the school’s website to help grow a partnership for learning
• leadership that prioritises a culture of positive relationships and high expectations for teaching and learning
• the school has recognised the need for school-wide professional learning and has resourced this to further build kaiako capacity
• school systems which enable the tracking and monitoring of individual tamariki to facilitate a responsive approach to meet the needs of all.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise continuing to: 

• strengthen and refine te Marautanga o Puketapu in response to the needs of tamariki, whānau and community
• build the capacity of kaiako to confidently design, implement and assess learning using Te Marautanga o Puketapu
• find ways to notice, share and celebrate success with tamariki, whānau and community to secure genuine engagement and encourage high expectations for learning.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

3 April 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