Amuri Area School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 18 months of the Education Review Office and Amuri Area 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 

Amuri Area School is located in Culverden, North Canterbury and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 13. A new principal was appointed in term 4 2022.

Amuri Area School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• learners at the centre with high aspirations for all

• barrier free access to education for all learners

• quality teaching and learning for equity and excellence

• quality future pathways for learning and work.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the effectiveness of literacy assessment practices in Years 1 to 10 to consistently support effective teaching and learning.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• leaders and teachers identified the need to address disparity in literacy progress and achievement in certain cohorts of learners

• evaluation will inform the effective and consistent use of literacy assessment information to support continuity of literacy learning as students’ progress through the school.

The school expects to see improvements in the way that literacy assessment information is accessed, managed, and used by teachers, students and whānau to address any learning disparity and to support progress and achievement in literacy. 

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to improve the effectiveness of literacy assessment practices in years 1 to 10:

• leaders and teachers work collaboratively to make sense of learning and wellbeing information to inform decision making for improved outcomes

• individual students’ learning and pastoral needs are well known, and the school draws on a range of strategies and resources to respond to these as they strive for equity and excellence of outcomes

• the refreshed strategic priorities focus leaders on what is most needed for organisational clarity and school wide improvement.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• developing literacy assessment activities that are inclusive, authentic and provide meaningful evidence of achievement and progress and a basis for determining next steps

• teachers and students co-constructing challenging but realistic learning goals and success criteria, developing shared understandings about the kind and quality of work required to achieve the desired outcomes

• students identifying their own learning needs by developing and using self-assessment skills to evaluate their own and others’ work against clear criteria

• teachers, parents and whānau actively participating in, and contributing to, students’ learning journeys through ongoing, reciprocal communication.

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.

Kathy Lye
Acting Director Review and Improvement (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

27 March 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