The Terrace School (Alexandra)

 Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 24 months of the Education Review Office and The Terrace School Alexandra 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 

The Terrace School Alexandra is located in Alexandra, Central Otago. The school provides education for students in years 1 – 8. Their mission states: We R.A.I.S.E. caring connected learners, who enrich their place.

The Terrace School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• confident learners, who build and maintain positive relationships in their place/turangawaewae
• learners/ākonga engaging in a rich local curriculum, driven by effective assessment
• learners/ākonga are successful in practising learning behaviours that support their progress.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well assessment information is being used to inform teaching and accelerate progress rates in literacy and mathematics for all learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• the school has identified an aspiration to grow the collective capacity of all staff to make effective use of assessment information across the curriculum
• school leaders and teachers are exploring what makes the most difference to improving outcomes for learners in literacy and mathematics.

The school expects to see improved assessment practices and high-quality analysis accelerating learners’ progress rates in literacy and mathematics.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how well assessment information is being used to inform teaching and accelerate progress rates in literacy and mathematics for all learners.

• school leaders have high expectations for teaching and learning and a strong focus on continuous improvement
• a coherent plan for professional learning to strengthen teachers’ use of assessment information
• a dedicated assessment team of teachers to lead change and deliver professional learning internally.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• growing the collective capacity of teaching staff to make sense of their assessment information and use it to accelerate progress rates in literacy and mathematics
• embedding schoolwide assessment and reporting systems to ensure consistent practice across the school that supports an emphasis on learner progress as well as achievement.

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​ 

10 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