Foxton School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and Foxton 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 

Foxton School is located in the Horowhenua region and sits within the boundaries of Ngāti Raukawa Te Au ki te Tonga. It provides full Māori immersion and partial-immersion education for learners in Years 1 to 8. School leaders and staff prioritise working in partnership with mana whenua and the wider community to deliver on their aspirations of creating confident, self-motivated, engaged learners and citizens.

Foxton School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• that the needs of every learner are identified, and every learner is supported and motivated to achieve success in literacy, numeracy, te reo Māori and across all other curriculum areas so that they achieve curriculum expectations or beyond, and realise their own unique potential

• to facilitate and support strong and effective relationships between tamariki, staff, parents, whānau, board of trustees, iwi and community, which will enable the children and whānau to become active members of the community

• to ensure the growth and development of languages/te reo me ōna tikanga within the school and the wider community.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Foxton 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 learning needs of all learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

• strengthen staff capability to engage in teaching and learning practices that ensure equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners 

• provide the conditions where students are able to be agentic learners.

The school expects to see consistent and effective use of school-wide learning progressions that are responsive to the needs of all learners, resulting in improved rates of progress and higher levels of achievement.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal of achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

• The school is highly committed to realising the aspirations of whānau, hapū and iwi through programmes that enhance student knowledge of the language, culture and identity of Ngāti Raukawa.

• Ongoing capability building, inclusive of equity for Māori learners, is consistently enhancing teacher practice.

• In its role, the board is actively representing and serving the school and community.

• Leadership prioritises culturally-responsive teaching expectations that are clear, shared, well-implemented and focused on continuous improvement of practice to support all learners.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise strengthening:

• consistency in school-wide assessment and moderation practices

• the use of assessment information to inform planning that is designed to meet the needs of each learner

• tracking and monitoring of learner progress, particularly those at risk of underachieving.

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

25 January 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