Ross School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 24 months of the Education Review Office and Ross 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 

Ross School caters for students in Years 1 to 6 from the township of Ross and surrounding district on the West Coast of the South Island. It has a long history as an integral part of its local community. The school roll is 22 students. The well-resourced school promotes actively the vision and values of Personal Best, Respect, Integrity, Diversity and Empathy (PRIDE) so students have pride in themselves, their community, and their environment. 

Ross School School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• a student centred and responsive curriculum
• to develop intentional teaching that embeds school values 
• building further relationships with community, whānau and iwi to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi through te reo Māori and tikanga teaching and learning embracing the culture and language including local history
• develop learning programmes that reflect and incorporate the Ross region’s unique culture and heritage.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the effectiveness of the student centred and responsive curriculum.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is: 

• to ensure the curriculum is individualised and responsive to the learning needs of every student
• to evaluate how well school values are embedded across the school to ensure equity and excellence for all learners.

The school expects to see students that are engaged, confident, motivated and self-challenges that reflect the school’s vision and values in themselves as learners and everyday life. 

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate the effectiveness of the student centred and responsive curriculum.

• Small class sizes that enable individualised learning and teaching.
• Stable experienced staff who know their students and whānau well.
• Strong board support with a focus on improving learning outcomes for all.
• Good use of external agencies to support students’ learning outcomes.
• Active involvement in the Kāhui Ako for targeted professional development for teachers. 

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise

• developing relationships further with whānau, community and iwi
• focusing deeper on student learning needs that is based on robust achievement data and student voice and feedback.

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

14 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