Clinton School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Clinton 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 

Clinton School is a rural, full primary school located in the South Otago region. They cater for learners from years 1 to 8. The school’s vision is Tipu Oki Kaha enacted through the values of Respect for Ourselves, Respect for Others, Respect for our Environment.

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

• develop the school culture of Manaakitanga-respect, belonging, responsibility and kindness so as to optimise the learning experience of all ākonga
• build the capacity of ākonga and staff so that they progress and develop as confident learners, achieving personal excellence.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the effectiveness of structured literacy initiative on improving learner progress and achievement.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that:

• the school has identified through well-analysed data that many students do not have phonological awareness, which is strongly related to early reading and writing development
• structured literacy initiative is a recent approach the Clinton School has adopted
• learners’ progress will need to be analysed and monitored to measure the effectiveness of this approach in an ongoing way.

The school expects to see:

• a school-wide approach to develop the skills needed by all staff in the structured literacy teaching approach
• ongoing monitoring of teacher practice to ensure consistent implementation of structured literacy across all levels of the school
• teacher evaluation of learner progress through the literacy levels and the impact this has on improving outcomes for all learners.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support it in its goal to improve outcomes for learners in literacy:

• an established learning environment that has ākonga wellbeing at the centre of teaching and learning approaches
• manaakitanga is the integral value that drives the school culture this supports learners to have a clear understanding of expectations for behaviour, engagement and learning opportunities
• targeted professional development that empowers staff to deliver and reflect on the provision of high quality teaching and learning for all ākonga
• ongoing monitoring and evaluation of interventions for ākonga who need extra support.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• continuing the delivery and understanding of the structured literacy approach
• professional learning to support teacher capability and to understand the impact of this initiative on ākonga literacy 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

3 August 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