Castlecliff School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within twelve months of the Education Review Office and Castlecliff 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 

Castlecliff School is located in Whanganui and provides education for children in Years 1 to 6. The school seeks to provide teaching and learning experiences that are relevant, purposeful and challenging. Specifically, Te reo Māori is highly valued and nurtured within the school with every child having the opportunity to experience and be proud to speak reo Māori.

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

• maintain and further enhance a culture of positive relationships and physical and emotional safety

• deliver powerful learning programmes that meet individual needs and community priorities

• provide effective communication

• effectively deliver school-wide planning, implementation and to review strategic goals

• ensure school property and the environment are safe, well maintained and supportive of the school vision, purposes and values

• respect the environment and work towards a sustainable school community for current and future generations.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which assessment and planning effectively identify and respond to the needs of all learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

• strengthen staff capability to engage in teaching and learning practices that support learners to progress and achieve at expected levels and to accelerate learner progress where needed

• ensure assessment data is effectively used to inform teaching and learning programmes.

The school expects to see:

• consistent assessment and moderation practices, and robust tracking and monitoring of learner progress

• teacher planning that reflects the specific needs of each learner

• all staff knowing and understanding the impact of their practice and programmes on learner outcomes

• improved rates of progress and higher levels of achievement.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to meet the learning needs of all learners:

• Leadership prioritises culturally responsive teaching expectations that are clear, shared and implemented across the school.

• The social and emotional needs of learners are nurtured and supported through a range of approaches, systems and processes and modelled by leadership.

• Staff and leaders demonstrate commitment to a range of professional learning to build capability and capacity across the school.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise excellent and equitable outcomes for all learners through: 

• staff professional learning about effective assessment practices

• deepening understanding of the Learning Progression Framework and how to utilise this resource to improve outcomes for all learners

• the development of a school-wide approach to the teaching and learning of te reo Māori, beginning with a self-review of current programmes across the school. 

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

 31 July 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