Waihola District School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 24 months of the Education Review Office and Waihola District 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 

Waihola District School is a small rural primary school, in the Clutha District, for children in years 1 to 8. Children learn together in two multi-level classrooms. The school’s vision for learners is that they will ‘’work collaboratively within a supportive and inclusive community, setting goals, constructing knowledge and striving to be the best they can be’’. The school is currently under the governance of a Ministry of Education appointed commissioner.

The school’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• Student learning – supporting all students to make sufficient rates of progress in the learning of the New Zealand Curriculum and develop skills for communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, character and citizenship
• Student engagement – improving regular attendance and enhancing student voice and agency in classes and throughout the school
• Student wellbeing – strengthening social and emotional learning to further promote student wellbeing
• Professional learning for teachers – particularly in the development and delivery of local curriculum that meets the diverse aspirations and needs of students

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the implementation of responsive curriculum and effective teaching of literacy.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that leaders and teachers are in the process of implementing the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum |Te Mātaiaho and related teaching practices for literacy and numeracy.

The school expects to see:

• teachers develop shared understandings of the new literacy curriculum and effective teaching strategies
• teachers adapting teaching strategies to meet the diverse needs of students
• students being able to talk about their next learning steps and their progress in literacy learning
• students have sufficient opportunities to learn in the breadth of the literacy curriculum
• students making expected rates of progress in literacy learning.

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support it in its goal to improve student progress and achievement in literacy:

• students are well-known and learn together in a positive, inclusive environment
• leaders and teachers use assessment well to know how students are progressing and to plan how to support their next learning steps
• teachers work closely with education specialists to adapt teaching to meet the needs of diverse students.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• professional learning for teachers on the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum and common practice model for teaching literacy
• review of the school’s literacy curriculum
• implementation of tailored teaching interventions for accelerating the learning of students at risk of not achieving at expected levels in literacy
• school-wide and teacher reflection and evaluation of the impact of teaching on students’ literacy learning.

ERO has concerns about

During the evaluation the school principal and board sought Ministry of Education and NZSTA support to address emerging concerns. A breakdown in constructive communication across different levels of the school was impacting on the board’s ability to effectively operate as the governing body of the school and set the policies by which the school is managed and the principal’s ability to act as the board’s chief executive in relation to the control and management of the school.
[Education and Training Act 2020 Sections 125 and 130]

ERO cannot be assured that the school is meeting its legislative and regulatory obligations as the board has not yet attested to the Board Assurance Statement. 

Recommendation 

ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education continues with intervention in order to bring about:

• effective working relationships between the board and school management; and between management and staff
• strengthened governance and leadership for effective policy review and implementation.

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 

22 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