Ardgowan School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and Ardgowan 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 

Ardgowan is a semi-rural Years 1 to 8 school on the outskirts of Oamaru in North Otago. The school’s values of Respect, Integrity, Love of Learning, Community Involvement, and Personal Excellence and Confidence underpin its vision for its learners. A new principal was appointed and began in March 2022.

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

• to have strong community partnerships that will enhance the wellbeing of learners and the school environment
• to develop a strong culturally sensitive environment supported by an authentic localised curriculum
• that tikanga/practices are innovative, engaging, up-to-date and grounded in the school’s values.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well the school is honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi through culturally responsive curriculum and practices.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• school leadership is leading and promoting school-wide tikanga Māori practices
• partnerships with local experts, groups and runaka supporting Mātauranga Māori are being forged and strengthened 
• ongoing staff training in te reo me ona tikanga and Mātauranga Māori is strengthening giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• staff are strongly committed to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi and achieving equity for all learners. 

The school expects to see:

• learners working through established learning progressions in te reo Māori me ona tikanga and Mātauranga Māori across the school 
• Māori learners being and feeling well supported through the promotion of whānau partnerships 
• all learners with a strong sense of their culture and identity in classrooms and curriculum.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to have a culturally responsive curriculum.  

• A positive and culturally aware learning climate that promotes engagement, respectful relationships, and restorative practices.
• Effective teaching and learning programmes that are responsive to and accelerate the progress of learners, including those with high and diverse needs.
• Positive and caring relationships throughout the school, including tuakana-teina approaches, that promote wellbeing for all learners and staff.
• Strong professional leadership that promotes the vision and values of the school alongside ongoing improvement and innovation.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• establishing baseline learning progressions across the school that will give full and systematic effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• enhancing partnerships with whānau including establishing regular whānau hui to collaborate, build trust and nurture respectful interactions
• continuing to build teacher knowledge and capacity in te reo Māori me ona tikanga and Mātauranga Māori and for this to be strongly evident in classrooms.

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.

Kathy Lye
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

3 March 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