National Park School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 16 months of the Education Review Office and National Park 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 

National Park School is located close to Tongariro National Park in the Ruapehu District. The school caters for students in years 1 to 8. Several changes have occurred to staffing and governance personnel, including the appointment of a new principal in 2022.

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

• ensure children's identity and sense of self is recognised and affirmed

• deliver a curriculum that has meaning for children and connects with their wider lives

• develop a genuine belief in all children which empowers them to achieve personal excellence

• ensure children experience a broad education that opens pathways to further learning.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well school conditions achieve equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is because the school is seeking to gather information over time to inform internal evaluation into the impact of curriculum delivery, teaching practice and school conditions on outcomes for learners.

The school expects to see:

• implementation of a revised strategic plan encompassing the aspirations parents, families and whānau and establishing the schools’ priorities to guide continuous improvement

• school conditions that achieve equity and excellence for all learners

• comprehensive documentation of their localised curriculum that provides shared expectations for teaching and learning at National Park School.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners:

• leaders, teachers, and trustees pursue the schools shared vision for learner success

• an appropriate range of assessment tools are used to identify, monitor, and report the progress and achievement of learners in literacy and mathematics

• learners are provided with a wide range of curriculum experiences and activities with a clear emphasis in the priority areas of literacy and mathematics.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• revising the school’s strategic goals and plans in partnership with parents and whānau to support continuous improvement and provide the basis for evaluation

• continuing to document changes to the National Park School curriculum that establishes agreed expectations for delivery of their localised curriculum

• gathering information from students, parents and whānau to inform evaluation insights into the impact of curriculum delivery and school practices on achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for learners.

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

12 April 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