Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
Background
This Profile Report was written within nine months of the Education Review Office and Whakatane High 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
Whakatane High School is located in the city of Whakatāne in the Eastern Bay of Plenty and provides education for students in Years 9 to 13. The school appointed a first-time principal who began at the start of 2020.
Whakatane High School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
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to ensure that quality teaching and leadership are making the biggest difference to learners
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to strengthen powerful partnerships: students with their whānau at the centre
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to develop a relevant and connected curriculum: learning that is relevant to the interests and aspirations of young people.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Whakatane High School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the school is strengthening responsive teaching and inquiry practices to achieve equitable outcomes. The school has identified that more needs to be done to ensure parity and excellence for Māori learners.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
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the significant difference it will make for a large number of learners
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the opportunity to understand which teaching practices are working to ensure success for all, with a particular focus on Māori learners
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the opportunity to strengthen schoolwide internal inquiry and review systems and to align these to the school’s strategic direction.
The school expects to see more equitable and excellent outcomes resulting from:
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consistent inquiry and review practices that are focused on equity and that support teachers to refine their teaching practices in response to student voice
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a shared understanding of effective, responsive teaching and leadership practices at Whakatane High School
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increased staff capability to support improved achievement outcomes through teaching practices that respond to students’ needs, identities, languages and cultures.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to improve outcomes for Māori learners:
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positive relationships between teachers and students that support student wellbeing
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understanding amongst middle and senior leaders of the responsive teaching strategies and practices that promote equity
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leadership with the capacity to model evaluation, inquiry and knowledge-building systems to improve learner outcomes.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
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co-constructing and implementing teaching and leadership strategies and practices that respond to the needs, cultures, languages and identities of students for equity
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engaging teachers in systematic, collaborative inquiry processes and challenging professional learning opportunities that build their capacity to improve learner outcomes.
ERO’s role will be to support the school to plan and implement evaluation alongside its improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
19 July 2022
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.
This school has a teen parent unit – Rangiatea.