Our Lady of the Rosary School (Waiwhetu)

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and Our Lady of the Rosary School (Waiwhetu) 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 

Our Lady of the Rosary School (Waiwhetu), located in Lower Hutt, provides education for learners from Years 1 to 8.

Our Lady of the Rosary School (Waiwhetu)’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• faith in action
• empowering our learners/ākonga
• cultural responsiveness and wellbeing
• collaboration and partnerships.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Our Lady of the Rosary School (Waiwhetu)’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively assessment is being used to know and grow learners, with an initial focus on structured literacy.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• that while the majority of learners achieve at or above expectations in reading, writing and mathematics, the board, leaders and teachers have identified the need to accelerate the achievement of some groups of learners in literacy
• that the board and leadership have prioritised lifting student achievement in literacy through further building and strengthening of collective staff capability and culturally responsive practices
• to empower learners so they grow in confidence and self-worth, and actively participate in literacy learning using a range of reflective learning strategies that deepen their understanding and lead to continuous improvement.

The school expects to see building of collective leadership and teacher capacity, effective evaluation practice, empowered learners and the lifting of achievement of all ākonga in literacy.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to effectively use evaluation to know and grow learners:

• strongly embedded school virtues guide and underpin responsive relationships and learning and behaviour expectations that support and accelerate learner success
• the board, staff, whānau and ākonga are reflective learners; open to change and committed to improving achievement in literacy
• established, culturally responsive pedagogical practices that support and promote learning in literacy.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• the development of a guiding strategic framework that will enable the school to effectively plan, implement and assess literacy learning that is strongly focused on lifting achievement of all identified learners
• continuing to review assessment practices that will effectively inform, challenge and change teacher practice, with a particular focus on raising achievement in literacy
• further strengthen partnerships with whānau through learning-based conversations and deliberately planned reciprocal interactions.    

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

16 October 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