Ward School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 24 months of the Education Review Office and Ward 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 

Ward School is a small, rural, year 1 to 8 school situated in Ward, Marlborough. Their mission is to empower and lead their tamariki to value their learning, identity, whānau, and place. The school vision is Whai Ākoranga | Leading our learning.

Ward School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• Hauora - positive social, emotional, mental and physical wellbeing for all learners
• to strengthen curriculum and iwi connections by building positive relationships in school and with the local and wider community
• through reflective inquiry, teaching, and leadership creating equity and excellence for all learners.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effective the literacy programme is in providing positive outcomes for all students within a culturally responsive school environment.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• the school has identified a need to improve equity and excellence for some groups of students in literacy

current strategic priorities include improving outcomes in literacy and improving culturally responsive practices.

The school expects to see:

• improved outcomes in literacy for all students
• increasing capability of teachers to develop differentiated programmes of learning to meet the diverse needs of students
• strengthening of teacher capability in culturally responsive practices.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate how effective the literacy programme is in providing positive outcomes for all students within a culturally responsive school environment.

• A supportive community that works with teachers and leaders to strengthen educationally powerful relationships.
• Teachers who set high expectations for learners and are focused on strengthening their practice in order to improve equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• continuing to build teacher capability to develop and deliver high quality teaching and learning programmes in literacy that will improve equitable and excellent outcomes for students
• building teacher capabilities and competencies in Mātauranga Māori and te reo Māori to improve outcomes for all learners.

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

3 August 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