Rotherham School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within twenty-four months of the Education Review Office and Rotherham 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 

Rotherham School is a small rural school located in the Hurunui District, North Canterbury. It caters for students in Years 1 to 6. A new principal was appointed in Term 2, 2021. The school’s vision is to develop ‘Inspiring, Exceptional Learners.’

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

• provide inspirational educational opportunities

• foster a climate of inclusivity, excellent communication and school values

• embrace best practice for evolving educational needs.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively approaches to teaching literacy are raising the achievement of reading across the school.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

• lift the achievement of reading for all learners

• consolidate assessment practices to ensure consistency and support best practices within the teaching of reading

• support learners to know about their learning and what they need to do to improve, especially in reading.

The school expects to see an increase in the achievement of all students in reading, supported by best practice literacy strategies and students’ having greater ownership of their learning.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to raise achievement in reading for all learners:

• Quality targeted teaching in small group settings that enables opportunities for one-to-one learning.

• Additional support for those students who need it, through a wide range of strategies and external expertise as required.

• Ongoing and relevant professional development based on best practice literacy teaching and learning.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• developing processes for goal setting that enable learners to understand their learning progressions

• consolidating assessment and moderation practices to ensure there is consistency and accuracy.

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

25 May 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