Waitaha School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report  

Background 

This Profile Report was written within 6 months of ERO and Waitaha 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 

Waitaha School is a day specialist school that caters for students aged between 5 to 21 years that are eligible for Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding. The base school is in Rolleston, Christchurch with additional satellite classrooms at 3 local schools and a separate community tertiary hub.  

A specialist outreach teacher service team also supports ORS funded students enrolled at schools in the Selwyn District and other South Island locations.  

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 for all to grow, thrive and succeed in learning and in life. The school’s culture, programmes and relationships are underpinned by its values of aroha, mana and mahi tahi. 

Waitaha School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners focus on developing: 

• curriculum 
• community 
• environment. 

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate leadership of reciprocal whānau and community engagement, fostering educationally effective partnerships that support learners to grow, thrive and succeed.  

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:  

• leaders recognise, through research and experience, that effective home-school relationships can strengthen a holistic, wraparound support for learners’ wellbeing and success 
• the school’s current strategic plan prioritises reviewing and refining existing community engagement approaches to further enrich educationally powerful connections with whānau and families 
• partnership with whānau Māori will be purposefully fostered, aligned with the board, leaders and staff commitment to upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi 
• leaders also want to investigate the effectiveness of the school’s partnership and supports for families from diverse cultures. 

The school expects to see that: 

• all learners experience the school’s vision, to grow, thrive and succeed in their learning so that when they transition out of the school as young adults, they are well placed to achieve happiness, employability and success in life 
• whānau and families will experience a strengthened sense of belonging to the school, embrace a targeted range of opportunities to engage in reciprocal learning and knowledge sharing including engaging in decision making with leaders about future curriculum and school developments 
• leaders and teaching teams will actively foster educationally powerful connections and relationships that benefit learner success and wellbeing through carefully considered adaptation and innovation of the curriculum and teaching practices 
• opportunities for staff to influence and enable specialist supports for learners enrolled in other school settings by enhancing teachers understanding of diverse learners, challenging perceptions and nurturing inclusive community practices. 

Strengths  

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate leadership of reciprocal whānau and community engagement, fostering educationally effective partnerships that support learners to grow, thrive and succeed: 

• School systems that enable students to progress and achieve in relation their individual learning goals, including communication and self-management. 
• Collaborative and supportive relationships foster whanaungatanga, and underpin a strong culture of inclusion, demonstrated by: 
• building on each learner’s preferences, prior experiences, and aspirations and incorporating whānau views in Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) and Good Life Plans (GLPs) 
• valuing diverse cultures and languages, and supporting learners to recognise and celebrate their identity 
• supportive school board funding for communication devices and virtual reality hardware that enables tailored approaches that foster student choice and agency  
• preparing seamless, well-considered transition plans and processes for students and their family.  

School leaders model and influence ongoing school improvements by: 

• a distributive leadership approach that expects all staff to improve and promote staff collaboration, innovation and adaptive practice  
• effective communication and of practice expectations that promote regulated and engaged student behaviours 
• supporting the specialist knowledge of the therapy team to enact a collaborative and creative transdisciplinary approach for students 
• an innovative and inclusive specialist teacher outreach service that provides targeted professional support for students and teachers in local schools  
• taking a lead role in building the wider local community understandings of inclusive practices, including advocating for students and their families with external agencies and organisations. 

Where to next? 

Moving forward, the school will prioritise: 

• building on existing positive connections with whānau and families, to further develop strategic and curriculum conversations, and partnership in decision making to support ongoing improvement for students 
• continuing to explore and develop a whānau Māori hui as a reference group for the board and leaders’ decision making, and other meeting opportunities that embrace the school’s diverse communities. 

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 

​​20 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, three satellites located within host schools, a transition centre and an Outreach Service that supports learners with high and complex needs who are enrolled in mainstream schools.