Sara Cohen School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 6 months of the Education Review Office and Sara Cohen 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 

Sara Cohen School is a day specialist school in Dunedin that provides education and specialist education therapy for students eligible for Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding aged from 5 to 21 years. The school caters for students in Dunedin and the wider Otago region. 

The school’s specialist therapy team provides transdisciplinary support for students’ wellbeing and access to learning.  A specialist teacher outreach service works with ORS funded students enrolled in local schools. 

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 students to learn the skills to best equip them to actively participate in and meet the challenges of life beyond school, through high quality individualised and adapted education. The values of difference and diversity, respect and caring, community, participation and equity inform the school’s strategic direction.

Sara Cohen School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• all learners will be engaged in learning that recognises each individual’s needs, language and identity, and reflects the school’s visions and values
• whānau and the community are actively engaged in the life of this unique school while respecting all cultures represented within the school and recognising the special position of Māori culture with New Zealand.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the effectiveness of the continued growth of the school’s localised curriculum that incorporates whānau perspectives.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is: 

• the school has been through a thorough a process with staff and whānau to develop a graduate profile that provides a framework for supporting positive outcomes for all learners
• leaders and staff have worked closely with mana whenua to develop the school’s cultural narrative
• through its own review processes, the board have identified the need to continue to explore varied ways of capturing whānau voice, especially whānau Māori, in developing its curriculum.

The school expects to see whānau aspirations driving goals and programmes that support wellbeing and learning through responsive and collaborative transdisciplinary approaches. 

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to continue to grow its localised curriculum, including whānau perspectives. 

• Well-targeted support for individual learning goals that reflect a transdisciplinary approach for teaching and learning. 
• Purposeful, strategic, and responsive school leadership that prioritises resourcing to benefit teaching and learning.
• Positive whānau relationship supported through ongoing communication and daily interactions to share students learning on a digital platform. 
• A culture shift over time to create a positive, inclusive, and high trust working relationships across the school.
• High expectations for learner success through a holistic student-centred approach, including collaborative relationships with therapists to support transdisciplinary skills and knowledge that enhance targeted learning programmes.
• Closer partnership with mana whenua that support the development of the school’s cultural narrative. 

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise: 

• expanding creative and innovative opportunities for whānau engagement to strengthen partnerships for learning
• increasing staff knowledge and abilities around the framework for collecting and responding to whānau voice and measuring progress against these goals 
• using evidence to inform ongoing strategic planning and direction to adapt to future change and growth.

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

12 April 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 two satellites based at Concord School and one at Bathgate Park School.