Glenavy School

 Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and Glenavy 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 

Glenavy School provides education for students from Years 1 to 8 in a rural area in South Canterbury. The recent rapid roll growth is linked to the local farming industry. This includes a high number of students with English as a second language and a significant number of students moving in and out of the area from year to year. The current school vision is to educate and equip rural students with skills and values to confidently build their own ‘bridge of success’ from the present to their future.

Glenavy School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:

• ensure a consistent language of learning and an assessment tool are used across the school

• further develop and enhance strong and positive learning relationships with the community

• improve transitions for students into, through and beyond the school

• strengthen teachers’ knowledge of how best to equip all students to succeed in their learning in New Zealand.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well a structured literacy approach is supporting positive outcomes for English Language Learners over time.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• there are many learners arriving at school with little to no English language

• the school needs to be sure that the approach is having the desired effect on English Language Learners in particular

• the school needs to know the specific aspects of the approach that are most effective in supporting these learners.

The school expects to see all students:

• improving their communication skills with an increasing understanding of the English language

• meeting or exceeding the school’s expectations in literacy achievement and progress

• having sufficient literacy skills to successfully support learning in the wider curriculum.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support it in its goal to evaluate how well the structured literacy approach is supporting positive outcomes for English Language Learners over time.

• Warm, caring relationships between all members of the school community support students in their learning.

• Teachers and teacher aides have strong cultural knowledge and practices in teaching English Language Learners so that students experience success in their learning journey.

• There are useful systems in place for tracking and monitoring students’ progress and achievement.

• Assessment information is used well to inform teaching and learning practices so that students are learning at their point of challenge.

• The principal’s and teachers’ evaluation skills which enable the best practices to be used to support all learners to succeed.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• staff engaging in ongoing professional learning and development in teaching English Language Learners

• ongoing professional learning and development for teachers and teacher aides in delivering the ‘Structured Literacy’ programme

• supporting parents to understand and reinforce their child’s learning at home

• continued implementation of robust assessment and evaluation of the impact of ‘Structured Literacy’ on English Language Learners

• continued professional learning and development in the use of a learning progressions assessment tool.

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

4 July 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