Avalon School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within two years of the Education Review Office and Avalon 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

Avalon School serves a multicultural community in Hutt City. It delivers learning opportunities to children in years 1-6 in the conventional classes and to those children requiring specialist teaching within the special needs unit.

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

• cultivate an environment where students flourish and are encouraged to explore their potential
• create an environment where all whānau understand the importance of education and support their child’s progress and achievement
• impact positively on the lives of learners through identifying and growing strategic partnerships
• embrace Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the heart of our kura.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the school's partnership with parents and the local community is enriching the wellbeing and achievement of all students. 

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is: 

• an understanding of how a strong parent/school partnership can support student learning and wellbeing
• a desire to build on the improved communication and engagement with families. 

The school expects to see, through increased engagement with whānau, improvement in the wellbeing, engagement and achievement of all students.

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to build effective partnerships with parents and the local community to enrich the wellbeing, engagement and achievement of all students.

• A strong focus on hauora and well considered strategies that build on the strengths and interests of students so that they are active and involved in their learning. 
• Cultural inclusion and meaningful connections across the diverse range of students’ cultures that informs the local curriculum.
• Caring staff who provide varied and responsive learning opportunities and experiences that fosters children’s sense of belonging.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise: 

• strengthening connections with whānau and community to support student learning and engagement
• gathering knowledge of the local communities and local stories to inform the further development of a local curriculum.

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

18 March 2024 

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