South Auckland S D A School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 8 months of the Education Review Office and South Auckland S D A 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 

South Auckland S.D.A School is in Papatoetoe, South Auckland. It caters for learners in Years 1 to 8. The school vision is to “grow equipped leaders who embrace opportunities making a positive impact for eternity.”

South Auckland S D A School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• establish and deliver Te Mātaiaho, through SASDA’s “Thriving” curriculum ensuring consistency in effective teaching strategies and assessment practices
• engaging our whānau and community in setting and achieving attendance goals to achieve between 90-95% attendance consistently.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well the school’s localised curriculum and assessment practices are impacting on learner outcomes. 

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to: 

• review and strengthen how assessment practices are collected, monitored and used to inform programme planning, teaching and learning, and ongoing evaluation
• address and make use of the academic aspirations of parents and whānau to inform and support this evaluation
• increase equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

The school expects to see:

• improved assessment moderation activities that improve planning processes, teaching and learning and greater consistency across the school
• increased student engagement where learners experience a range of meaningful learning opportunities
• a more localised and culturally informed curriculum that support learners engagement, language, culture and identity.

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to evaluate how well the school’s localised curriculum and assessment practices are impacting on learner outcomes.

• a strong school culture enhanced by its special character values and vision 
• teachers and leaders who have high expectations for themselves and learners
• a caring school community who supports school initiatives at all levels.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise: 

• targeted external and internal professional learning in curriculum development
• an inquiry-learning review of the school’s planning and moderation systems.

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

24 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