Petone Central School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within twelve months of the Education Review Office and Petone Central 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 

Petone Central School is a full primary school providing education for students in years 1 to 8. The school draws from a diverse linguistic and cultural community and affirms student’s cultural identities alongside Te reo Māori and tikanga Māori. Inā kei te mōhio koe ko wai koe, I anga mai koe e hea, kei te mōhio koe, kei te anga atu ko ki hea!  If you know who you are and where you are from, then you will know where you are going! 

Petone Central School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• Whanaungatanga- sustain and nurture relationships with Petone Central School Community.
• Maintain Teacher knowledge through Professional Learning and Development.
• Grow and understand what each child is capable of and how to get there, ‘E kore au e ngaro, he kākano i ruia mai i Rangiātea- I will not be lost, I am a seed descended from Rangiātea’.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how a continued focus on fostering confidence and a shared cultural identity can be integrated into a curriculum responsive to the needs of students who need to make progress in specific areas of language, literacy and mathematics.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is: 

• all students are embraced for their strengths and supported with their needs. School data shows many students have specific areas for development in relation to language acquisition, fluency and mathematics, all are growing their identity as citizens of Aotearoa New Zealand.

The school expects to see:

• learners who each have a pathway within the school’s Māori Language Strategy and Language Progressions to further develop their competence in language and tikanga
• positive shifts for students identified as needing to make progress in specific areas of language and mathematics.

 Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate the success of initiatives to raise achievement by working together as a school community to reach the potential of each learner:

• a culturally diverse and supportive community of whānau, parents, teachers, families and learners who are engaged in learning partnerships founded on a shared understanding of learner needs and celebration of strengths
• experienced and expert leadership practices in Māori Achievement leading to strongly established educational connections with local kura, iwi, whānau
• successful integration of Māori Language Progressions, Iwi Literacy Strategy and a classroom culture in which each learner’s own identity is valued and nurtured through Te Ao Māori, Te Reo Māori ona tikanga
• clear strategic planning and regular achievement analysis, integrating shared goals with identification and support for students with additional needs and ESOL requirements.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• consulting whānau to unpack what whānau consider as potential 
• using a variety of sources to evaluate learner progress including student and whānau voice, Poutama Reo, Māori Language Progressions and the Hikairo Schema 
• developing teacher capability in structured literacy practice to be used as a tool alongside other teaching and learning strategies in supporting the progress of all learners in reading and writing.

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

30 November 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