Tahunanui School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Tahunanui 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

Tahunanui School is situated in Nelson and provides education for students in years 1 to 6. Their vision is with an ‘I can, I will’ attitude, Tahunanui school empowers children to become resilient, connected and successful citizens.

Tahunanui School’s strategic priority for improving outcomes for learners is:

• to enhance educational outcomes for all students, by strengthening engagement with whānau and adapting teaching to children’s cultural, social, physical and learning needs, strengths and circumstances.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the school delivers a relevant and engaging curriculum that is culturally responsive and meets the diverse needs of the students. 

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is: 

• through continually reviewing its local curriculum the school has identified a need to continue to develop teacher practice in line with current best practice and pedagogical thinking
• culturally responsive practices that have been developed in the past 3 years would be further enhanced by continuing to build further capability in te ao Māori
• as the community has become more diverse, the school has identified a need to ensure a consistent approach to differentiating classroom programmes.

The school expects to see:

• learning programmes that reflect student’s strengths, needs and identity in order to strengthen student and whānau engagement and equitable and excellent outcomes for students
• strengthening the delivery of the classroom programme through collaboration, integration and maximising opportunities to ensure consistent practice
• the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi continuing to be embedded through the development of a progressive approach to teaching te reo Māori and further strengthening of teachers and learners understanding and use of te reo Māori.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate how effectively the school delivers a relevant and engaging curriculum that is culturally responsive and meets the diverse needs of the students.

• A strong and focused leadership team who work collaboratively to guide continuous improvement in the school. 
• Educationally powerful relationships have been developed with iwi, its Kāhui Ako, and the local community to support further improvements in culturally responsive practices.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• the professional development of staff in order to implement a progressive schoolwide programme of te reo Māori instruction
• staff collaborating to ensure consistent  practice for integration and differentiation of teaching and learning
• strengthening schoolwide understanding and use of internal evaluation to inform continuous improvement in the school.

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

12 February 2024

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