Waimate High School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 18 months of the Education Review Office and Waimate High 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

Waimate High School is a co-educational Year 7 to 13 school in the South Canterbury district of Waimate.

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

• support success for every student

• build a positive culture of learning and an inclusive learning environment

• work with and for the school communities.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which the school provides an engaging, student centred, culturally responsive learning environment, which supports excellent and equitable outcomes for students’ achievement, engagement and wellbeing.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

• maintain the quality, consistency, and coherence of the school's local curriculum

• support all students through effective pedagogy, and ongoing review of practice, to improve student progress and achievement

• strengthen student attendance, engagement and wellbeing

• build internal evaluation capability.

The school expects to see strengthened capability in the analysis and use of data at a classroom and school wide level to support planning and decision-making for continuous improvement.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to provide an engaging, student centred, culturally responsive learning environment, which supports excellent and equitable outcomes for students’ achievement, engagement and wellbeing.

• Teachers share high, clear and equitable expectations for student learning, achievement, progress and wellbeing.

• Teaching and learning programmes aim to support individual learning needs and pathways.

• The board of trustees and school community provide resources to promote student engagement and retention.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• maintaining focus on the impact of internal evaluation practice on excellence and equity in student achievement, engagement, and wellbeing

• assessment, tracking and analysis of student achievement outcomes at Year 7 to 10

• developing coherent, school-wide practices for planning, delivering and evaluating the curriculum

• the ongoing collection and use of whānau and ākonga perspectives about how well the curriculum supports all students' sense of belonging and engagement in learning.

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

29 June 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