Raetihi Primary School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Raetihi Primary 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 

Raetihi Primary School is a Year 1 to 8 school catering for students from Raetihi and the surrounding Waimarino rural district. The kaupapa that guides the school is ‘Whakakotahi ki te mahi (Unite in service)’. The vision is defined as: ‘Raetihi tamariki learn together, play together, are connected to the whenua, awa, maunga and strive to make the world a better place’ Over the past year the school has undergone changes to leadership and teaching staff. A new Principal was appointed at the beginning of 2022.

Raetihi Primary School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• all learners will be engaged in an evolving, meaningful and relevant curriculum that fosters high and realistic achievement, addresses each child’s needs and gives priority to numeracy and literacy
• Māori students will be positively engaged in their learning, achieving educational success and become increasingly knowledgeable of their identity, language and culture as Māori
• to foster strong relationships between Raetihi Primary School and the Raetihi community
• an ethic of care is evident across the school
• to ensure the school’s practices are inclusive and culturally responsive and meet the needs of the community.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Raetihi Primary 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:

• school leaders and staff recognise the need to implement practices that will support accelerated learning and achievement across the school
• to ensure that conditions are in place for all learners to enjoy educational success.

The school expects to see the implementation of assessment-for-learning practices, including:

• consistent assessment and moderation practices across the school
• effective use of data to identify and respond to learner needs
• systems and processes for collaborative knowledge building and robust evaluation of practices
• improved outcomes for all learners.

The Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal of excellent and equitable outcomes:

• The school community is improvement focused and highly committed to providing the conditions for successful outcomes for all learners.
• A collaborative staff who are engaged in professional learning to further develop practices that support improved outcomes for all learners.
• School leadership has fostered a positive learning culture that embraces the aspirations of staff, learners and their whānau.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• professional learning in assessment-for-learning practices
• the consistent use of assessment information to inform planning that is designed to meet the needs of each learner
• robust tracking and monitoring of learner progress across all year groups.

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

27 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