Te Pakihi o Maru

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report 

Background

This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Te Pākihi o Maru 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 

Te Pākahi o Maru is situated in central Oamaru. It provides education for students in Years 1 – 6. The school’s mission is to provide a safe, inclusive learning environment where everyone can be their social, emotional and physical best.

Te Pākihi o Maru’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for students are:

• a safe, inclusive environment, which focuses on everyone’s wellbeing
• dynamic and innovative teaching and learning
• board, staff and whānau working together to support learning and wellbeing.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Te Pākihi o Maru’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively strategies for the teaching of mathematics are accelerating students’ progress rates.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is: 

• the school’s progress and achievement data show that all students’ progress rates in mathematics need to improve, especially those students whose learning is most in need of acceleration
• after a three-year focus on structured literacy, school leaders have identified a need to focus on improving the effectiveness and consistency of mathematics teaching practice across the school. 

The school expects to see: 

• increased teacher confidence and capability to deliver coherent, effective, culturally responsive pedagogies in mathematics 
• improved progress rates for all students, particularly those students who are not yet making sufficient progress in mathematics. 

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how effectively strategies for the teaching of mathematics are accelerating students’ progress rates:

• development, implementation and evaluation of a successful schoolwide literacy strategy over the past three years has raised progress rates in literacy
• school leaders model a collaborative approach, guided by the principles of whakawhanaungatanga and manaakitanga to develop purposeful partnerships with whānau and the wider community, which creates a sense of belonging for students
• teachers provide inclusive and engaging learning environments, where students’ languages, cultures and identities are reflected in the enacted curriculum.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• strategic planning to ensure goals for the mathematics curriculum development are clearly articulated and understood so that these goals can be aligned with schoolwide systems and processes to support 
• consistent and effective mathematics teaching across the school 
• professional learning to grow teachers’ collective capabilities to teach mathematics effectively to deliver excellent and equitable outcomes in mathematics
• consultation with students and parents to better understand what is working well and what is not working well for them in mathematics.

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

28 November 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