Pitau-Allenvale School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 6 months of the Education Review Office and Pītau-Allenvale 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

This report is part of a nationally coordinated evaluation of 27-day specialist schools during the second half of 2023. This included the development of day specialist school evaluation indicators by ERO with significant input from principals, staff and the Special Education Principals’ Association of New Zealand (SEPAnz).

Context 

Pītau-Allenvale School is a day specialist school that caters for Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funded learners aged from 5 to 21 years in the North-West of Christchurch and in Canterbury. Pītau-Allenvale School is a member of Waimairi-iri Kāhui Ako and works with other specialist schools in the South Island and nationally.

A specialist therapist team supports students’ wellbeing and access to learning through a transdisciplinary approach. A specialist teacher outreach service works with ORS funded students enrolled in local schools.

The school continues to navigate and manage roll growth pressures along with the employment and property demands associated with this.

The school’s vision is Kia Puaki to Pitomata – Let the Potential Be Revealed. The school’s culture and relationships are underpinned by its ‘KORU’ values of Kindness, Ora, Respect, and Uniqueness.

Pītau-Allenvale School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners focus on developing:

• communication
• mathematics
• co-regulation and self-regulation.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate leadership of effective curriculum, teaching and assessment.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is: 

• the school has been engaged in a purposeful review of vision and values, and a consultative process to develop a graduate profile, and these actions have supported leaders to define priorities for continuing focus and growth
• strategic planning highlights a refresh of the school’s localised curriculum with enhanced pedagogy and practices
• leaders have identified opportunities to promote greater consistency in planning, teaching and assessment, including consideration of how to further engage whānau and families in these areas. 

The school expects to see growth in assessment practices, which would further hone planning to responsively build on prior learning and each student’s unique learning pathway. The three strategic priorities will be highly evident in practice, supporting learners to gain skills for life. Teaching teams will demonstrate shared understandings of quality practices, with leadership systems and structures scaffolding enhanced capability and consistency of these signature practices across all areas of the school.  

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate leadership of effective curriculum, teaching, and assessment practices.

• A clear focus on ensuring that students’ learning goals and supporting programmes are well known, build on prior learning and show progression over time.
• A well-established culture of care that is deeply relational, inclusive and student focused, and promotes collaboration with families to support wellbeing and learning outcomes.
• Teachers, specialists, and support staff work seamlessly as a collaborative team, fostering learner progress toward individualised goals, demonstrating respect for students and valuing uniqueness.
• Reflective and strongly improvement focused leaders who work purposefully and cohesively to support enhanced successes at all levels of the school.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• further developing existing schoolwide assessment practices that build on prior learning and show progression in relation to individual learner goals
• continuing to build leadership systems that identify and monitor the impact of teaching and support programmes on student outcomes.

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

28 March 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

This school has a base school site, a stand-alone campus, two satellites located within host schools, a new transition centre, and an Outreach service that supports some learners with high and complex needs who are enrolled in mainstream schools. The base school and one satellite will relocate to new purpose-built sites in Term 1, 2024.