Strath Taieri School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 24 months of the Education Review Office and Strath Taieri 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 

​​Strath Taieri School​ is a rural school located in Middlemarch. The school provides education for students in Years 1 – 8. A new Principal has recently been appointed. The school’s mission statement is all students will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to confidently navigate life challenges. 

Strath Taieri School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• all Strath Taieri students will learn in an inclusive, innovative and safe environment to be curious, creative risk takers 
• all Strath Taieri students will be supported in their learning through connections to each other, whānau, the local community, environment and the world. 

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the structured literacy approach is improving reading and writing outcomes for all students, with a particular focus on boys and other students not yet meeting achievement expectations. 

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• leaders have identified an aspiration to develop literacy programmes that are more responsive to the learning needs of all students 
• teachers have been trialling a structured literacy approach from different providers. Trials have shown promising results and leaders are keen to embed a coherent programme across the school. 

The school expects to see:

• teachers developing a shared understanding of literacy progressions throughout the school 
• teachers continuing to reflect and refine their teaching practices in response to learners’ needs and their growing knowledge of structured literacy  
• improved reading and writing outcomes for all students, especially boys and those students not yet meeting achievement expectations. 

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate how effectively the structured literacy approach is improving reading and writing outcomes for all students, with a particular focus on boys and students not yet meeting achievement expectations:

• experienced teachers, who are passionate about teaching and learning and growing their collective capability to respond to the needs of students 
• strong systems for assessing students’ progress and achievement in literacy 
• a proactive Board of Trustees, who fully support the school’s new approach to literacy learning and the new Principal’s aspirations to drive improvement processes from within the school. 

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• professional learning for teaching staff to grow their knowledge of structured literacy and embed high quality and consistent professional practice across the school 
• professional learning for all staff to make effective use of the functionality of the student management system, which will support leaders and teachers to make effective use of students’ progress and achievement information in literacy to improve outcomes for students 
• review curriculum documentation to reflect the structured literacy approach to provide clarity and guidance for teachers and all other stakeholders 
• communicating with the community to ensure the school’s new approach to literacy learning is well understood by whānau, to strengthen and inform their engagement with the learning process and increase support for students’ literacy learning at home. 

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 (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

28 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