GROWTH AND GRADUATE PROFILES
There are often areas of school life that are fundamental to what it means to be part of a school—foundational values—that are important but not
measured as part of curriculum. This is why ImpactEd loves partnering with schools to create growth and graduate profiles. We take these ideas and apply frameworks to develop them into a living, breathing part of the school community.
CHRISTCHURCH GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL
One such school ImpactEd worked with is Christchurch Girls’ High School who had strong foundational values but were looking for a coherent and unified approach to implement these principles. ImpactEd worked alongside Christchurch Girls’ High School to rejuvenate their values, making them practical and significant for students, educators, and the community.
Bringing to life these values involved creating a clear and effective pathway for both personal and academic growth that would be consistently understood and applied.
Gathering data
To meet this challenge, ImpactEd helped gather data from teachers and the wider community that identified the attributes and values of students from Christchurch Girls’ High School. ImpactEd facilitated as the leadership team
distilled this information and categorised it to develop a selection of terms that could be consistently understood and applied. Working together, senior leaders and educators used this data to design a values progression map that all stakeholders could relate to and see themselves within. These progressions were crafted to reflect community priorities and support academic achievement.
The culmination of the project was the development of a Growth Profile (Years 9 and 10) and Graduate Profile (Years 11 to 13), which represented the defining qualities of a student from the school. This profile served as a guide for the personal and academic development of students throughout their secondary education. Acting Deputy Principal Sonja Bailey says, "ImpactEd helped us to develop a living document that not only enriches our kura's curriculum but also serves as a powerful reflective tool for students."
Living the values
With the profiles in place, students, educators, and the community had a touchstone that gave them a strong understanding of the school's values. They now understand the significance of these values and how to embody them through actions and decisions. The school values are not something only understood in leadership, or words with no meaning; they are an integral, vibrant part of the school culture, evident in every facet of learning and life within the secondary school.
MAIREHAU PRIMARY SCHOOL
Despite a strong foundation of school values and Positive Behaviour for Learning, Mairehau Primary School (MPS) lacked a clear, cohesive framework for the implementation of these values.
Our challenge was to breathe life into the values MPS held. School values need to be tangible and relevant for ākonga, kaiako, and the community, so that in everyday school life these values provide a clear path for students to strive toward and achieve personal growth. The MPS curriculum team reflects, “Katie from ImpactEd explored our school values with us and provided a clear framework to help us develop a progression of skills that we wanted to build in our students. Her expertise in teaching and learning was invaluable as were the extra insights from the world of Educational Facilitation. The partnership was refreshing and inspiring for our kura.”
Reflecting what it is to be a Mairehau student
ImpactEd worked with senior leaders and kaiako to map out values progressions that rang true with all stakeholders. We discussed ideas important to the school community and what skills and behaviours would support achievement in learning. The result was a Graduate Profile encompassing and reflecting what it is to be a Mairehau student.
Using the Graduate Profile, ākonga, kaiako, and the community are clear about the school values. They are foundational to every practice at the school. Each member of the school community understands the values and how they look through action and in action. A senior student at MPS describes her understanding and enacting of the values, “Now I am a senior, I understand Aspire and Achieve. I can set goals and I know when I have achieved them. When I was younger I understood Respect a little, but now I know I can show respect to teachers, friends and also people outside our school. I know more now.”
