Rongotea School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

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

Rongotea School is a full primary school located in rural Manawatū providing education for learners in Years 1 to 8. The school prioritises developing learners with a strong foundation of values to support them to make well thought out decisions and give positive direction to their daily life at school, at home and in the wider community.

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

• develop an engaging, creative and innovative local school curriculum

• continue to foster an active school and community partnership with positive outcomes for all learners

• continually challenge and grow a competent and motivated staff, committed to equitable and excellent outcomes and the well-being of all learners.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well school leaders and teachers are building and strengthening teaching and learning practices, to accelerate learner achievement in writing.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

• support school leaders and teachers to identify practices that will grow and strengthen their capability to adapt practice to meet the needs of all learners

• develop and embed systems, processes and school-wide capacity for internal evaluation to ensure and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

The school expects to see:

• priority learners achieving at expected curriculum levels, resulting in equitable outcomes for all learners

• strengthened leader and teacher capability to identify which strategies, interventions and practices accelerate student learning

• the formalisation and embedding of internal evaluation systems that support accelerated learning.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to strengthen teaching and learning practices to accelerate learner achievement in writing.

• Organisational structures, processes and practices that sustain focused professional learning and collaborative activity to improve teaching and learning.

• School leaders and teachers share high expectations for achievement, progress, wellbeing and equitable outcomes for all learners.

• School leaders and staff enjoy strong connections with whānau and the local community.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• the further development of a localised curriculum that reflects the histories, experiences, languages and cultures of all members of the school community

• strengthening connections with local hapū/iwi

• building school-wide knowledge and application of culturally responsive relational pedagogies.

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

3 November 2022

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