Hoon Hay Te Kura Koaka

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 11 months of the Education Review Office and Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka 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 

Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka is a contributing primary school, located in Christchurch. It provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school’s values are whanaungatanga | we belong, ako | we learn, manaakitanga | we care, and manawanui | we persist.

Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:

• meet the passions, abilities, and needs of students through inclusive practices, and ensure that all students are valued and offered opportunities for success

• celebrate every student’s identity and affirm their sense of belonging

• ensure Māori will enjoy educational success as Māori

• maximise student achievement as benchmarked to the New Zealand Curriculum.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the impact of a consistent school wide approach to the teaching of literacy on student engagement, progress and achievement.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that the school:

• has identified increasing numbers of students starting school with lower levels of literacy which need acceleration

• is evaluating its new approach to literacy, introduced initially in Years 1 and 2, which has a stronger focus on phonological skills to support reading, writing, and spelling development.

The school expects to see:

• accelerated progress in literacy for those students identified as needing it

• improved achievement, engagement, and progress in reading, writing, and spelling across all year levels.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate the impact of a consistent schoolwide approach to the teaching of literacy on student engagement, progress and achievement.

• there is sustained and equitable achievement in reading, writing, and maths which provides a platform for continued improvement

• the school regularly engages with its community to gather their voice to inform decision making

• consistency guidelines for teaching and assessment practices have been developed and implemented across the school

• teachers plan collaboratively for individuals and cohorts, informed by comprehensive data analysis

• support and teaching staff are engaged in targeted professional learning to support this evaluation goal.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• ongoing, targeted professional learning in literacy strategies for support staff and teachers

• ensuring that approaches to the teaching of literacy are aligned with the school’s consistency guidelines

• continued analysis of data to evaluate the impact of a more consistent approach to teaching literacy on improved outcomes for students.

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

13 November 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