Otahuhu College

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 9 months of the Education Review Office and Otahuhu College 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 

Otahuhu College is in South Auckland and caters for students in Years 9 to 13. Students reflect the diverse community served by the school. All students belong to the houses of Grey, Hobson, Massey and Seddon which were established in 1932, and are part of the school’s long and established history. 

Otahuhu College’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

• engagement and retention
• academic achievement
• teaching and curriculum development
• our campus: built environment
• a culture of high performance.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well effective teaching practices are embedded consistently throughout the school to improve outcomes for students. 

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is: 

• to promote effective teacher practice as a major determinant of outcomes for students
• to improve student attendance, engagement, retention, academic achievement and planned pathways
• school leaders acknowledge the need to ensure teachers are supported to improve their practice
• student voice indicates a need to improve consistency across the school.

The school expects to see:

• a shared understanding of effective teaching at Otahuhu College across all stakeholders
• teachers consistently using effective teaching strategies and practices in adaptive ways to promote equitable and excellent outcomes
• students experiencing a responsive curriculum which responds to their cultures, languages and identities
• high levels of student participation and success in extra-curricular activities to promote student engagement
• well established school-wide leadership that ensures that teaching capability and capacity are continuously improving 
• community collaborations enrich opportunities for students to become confident, connected and actively involved learners.

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how well effective teaching practices are embedded consistently throughout the school: 

• a positive history of NCEA Level 3 achievement, including University Entrance, for students who remain at school to the end of Year 13
• school leaders have a relentless focus on student achievement through improved attendance, retention and wellbeing
• teachers continue to accelerate learning for students to support achievement at the highest levels possible. 

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• developing a shared understanding of what effective teaching looks like at Otahuhu College, incorporating the agreed observation tool already in use
• working collaboratively with ERO to develop evaluation planning to support the realisation of the expected outcomes. 

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

5 December 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