Aranui School (Wanganui)

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 18 months of the Education Review Office and Aranui School Wanganui 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 

Aranui School is a coeducational primary school that provides education for children from year 1 to year 6. It is located in Castlecliff, Whanganui.

Aranui School Wanganui’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• Responsive Curriculum: children will experience and learn with a student-centred, future focussed, culturally responsive curriculum.

• Connection: the whole school community will be actively engaged in all that happens at Aranui School.

• Culture: everyone involved with Aranui School will feel welcome and safe.

• Environment: staff will work in, and our children will learn in, a modern, attractive school environment.

A copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan can be requested from Aranui School.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the school’s learning approach supports improvement in writing for learners in years 3 to 6.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is because the school wants to know how the school’s learning approach:

• supports learners in years 3 to 6 to improve their writing

• builds on from the structured literacy approach used in the junior years.

The school expects to see:

• improved rates of achievement and progress in writing from all learners in years 3 to 6

• learner feedback that shows improved engagement, enjoyment and confidence in writing

• schoolwide documentation of the learning progressions for writing used to identify and share each learner’s next steps in writing

• continued use of te reo Māori that enriches the teaching and learning of writing.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how effectively the school’s learning approach supports improvement in writing for learners in years 3 to 6:

• school wide involvement in appropriate professional learning with external and internal experts

• a learning environment that encourages the holistic development of each child

• a schoolwide commitment to use te reo Māori me ona tikanga in the learning environment.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• strengthening the use of schoolwide processes to use achievement, progress and dispositional evidence to guide decision making for learning

• continuing to use internal and external expertise to further develop teacher knowledge and shared expectations that improve the teaching of writing

• encouraging learners with their whānau, to recognise and engage with their next steps toward quality writing

• finding and using ways to confidently incorporate the use of te reo Māori in the teaching and learning of writing.

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

15 September 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