Totara School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and Totara 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 

Totara School is situated in North Otago and provides education for students in Years 1 – 8.

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

• create learners earners who achieve their full potential regardless of gender or ethnicity

• grow a positive and inclusive environment that promotes wellness and resilience for students and staff

• engage with the community, inspiring them to be partners; working together for the benefit of all students

• gather and grow a quality team of educators and leaders who have the skills, passion and dedication to help make a difference for our students and their whānau.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which all learners experience success in a curriculum that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• leaders are developing a curriculum that better reflects Aotearoa New Zealand’s bi-cultural heritage

• teachers are undertaking professional learning programmes to strengthen their cultural capabilities.

The school expects to see:

• students experiencing their learning through a culturally rich, local curriculum that is responsive to learners’ languages and identities

• meaningful engagement with whānau, iwi community to strengthen partnerships, inform the school’s curriculum plans and support rich and authentic outcomes for all learners.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate the extent to which all learners experience success in a curriculum that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi:

• excellent and equitable learning outcomes for students in literacy and mathematics

• an inclusive and welcoming environment that strengthens learning outcomes for diverse learners

• a teaching team which actively seeks opportunities to grow their culturally responsive teaching practices.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• collaborating with whānau, iwi and community to develop a curriculum plan for te ao Māori, which identifies te reo and tikanga progressions through the school and provides clear guidelines for teachers

• professional learning for staff to continue to strengthen their confidence and capability in tikanga and te reo Māori.

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

31 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