Waikawa Bay School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 18 months of the Education Review Office and Waikawa Bay 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 

Waikawa Bay School is located 6 kilometres north from the centre of Picton. The school provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school’s vision is, Live and Learn the Waikawa Way- Kia Whakamiharo.

Waikawa Bay School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• to provide a rich curriculum that promotes inclusiveness, curiosity respect, pride and responsibility
• supporting teachers’ professional learning to develop consistent effective teaching practices across the school in literacy and numeracy
• to establish and sustain meaningful educational connections, communication and relationships with whānau, hapū, iwi and parents, families and the wider community.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning. This includes the quality of teacher knowledge and culturally responsive practice, to provide learners with equitable opportunities to achieve and make progress across a responsive curriculum.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation has been an identified need to strengthen effective and responsive teacher practices and knowledge to enhance student and whānau engagement, participation, and learner progress across the school.

The school expects to see a strengthening of effective and culturally responsive teaching and learning practices to provide equitable and excellent learning opportunities and access to a responsive curriculum including:

• teaching and learning practices that respond effectively to all learning needs and uphold the aspirations of iwi, whānau, students, teachers, and leaders
• an increase in opportunities to learn through tikanga Māori, te reo Māori me ōna tikanga, mātauranga Māori and te ao Māori for all learners 
• development of internal evaluation processes to better understand how well learners are progressing and achieving towards excellent and equitable outcomes for all
• increased levels of learner engagement and attendance.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning to provide equitable and excellent learning opportunities and access to a responsive curriculum:

• established use of the local environment for learning contexts
• learner-centred connections with Waikawa Marae
• student voice and agency are evident in learning contexts.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise the strengthening of:

• culturally responsive practices to enhance outcomes for Māori learners
• internal evaluation processes to better understand how well learners are progressing and achieving towards excellent and equitable outcomes for all
• teachers’ professional learning with a focus on purposeful and responsive practice across the school
• follow through within the school to work with whānau to identify and understand barriers that may prevent learners from accessing, participating, or remaining engaged in schooling, and the capacity within the school to work to address them.

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

22 May 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