Levin School

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 10 February 2026 — “School Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.

School Report

Tēnā koutou e mau manawa rahi ki te kaupapa e aro ake nei, ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa. Mā wai rā e kawe, mā tātau katoa.

We acknowledge the collective effort, responsibility and commitment by all to ensure that the child remains at the heart of the matter.

Every New Zealand state and state integrated school has an ERO review at least once every four years to evaluate what is working well for learners and what needs to be improved.

About the School

Levin School provides education for learners from Years 1 to 6. Of the 272 students currently enrolled, approximately 54% identify as Māori , 29% identify as New Zealand European/ Pākehā and 8% identify as Pacific heritage.

The school’s REACH’ values – Respect/ Whakaute , Excellence/ Hiranga , Attitude/ Waiaro , Cooperation/ Mahinga Tahitanga and Honesty/ Pononga Waiora underpin teaching and learning and school operations. Levin School’s vision is students will be empowered to become actively engaged lifelong learners .

Education Counts provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement, school enrolments and school zones. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

An explanation of the terms and judgements used in this report can be found here: Reporting | Education Review Office

Improvement and progress

This section is about the progress the school has made since the August 2022 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The school focused on implementing deliberate and effective strategies to improve learner outcomes. Staff worked on using student achievement data to refine teaching practices and engage staff in collaborative systematic inquiry to build their capacity.

Findings

The school use a structured process to support reliability and consistency in assessment practice. The implementation process includes formative and summative assessments and monitoring to ensure accurate overall teacher judgments are made. Improvement in reading, writing and mathematics achievement is evident for learners however, further improvement remains a priority. Leadership has put systems and processes in place to ensure staff engage in systematic and collaborative inquiry.

What we know about learner success

This section provides a summary of learner success and wellbeing. The judgments are based on the ERO School Improvement Framework and the evidence provided to ERO during the evaluation.

A large majority of learners enter Levin School significantly behind the expected curriculum level.

How well are learners succeeding? Improvements are required to ensure all learners are engaged, making sufficient progress and achieving well.

What is the quality of teaching and learning? Learners benefit from good quality teaching practice that improves progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. The school is improving teaching and learning.

How well does the school curriculum respond to all learners needs? Learners have sufficient opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is an increasingly consistent focus on supporting learners to gain skills in foundational skills in literacy and mathematics. Learners with complex needs are well supported to achieve their education goals.

How well does school planning and conditions support ongoing improvement? The school is establishing planning and conditions that support improvements in the quality of education for learners.

How well does the school include all learners and promote their engagement and wellbeing? The school reasonably promotes learners’ engagement, wellbeing and inclusion.

How well does the school partner with parents, whānau and its community for the benefit of learners? The school reports usefully and accurately to parents / whānau about their child’s learning, achievement and progress. The school is improving its collection and use of information gathered through community consultation to inform strategic planning and curriculum decisions.

Student Health and Safety The school board is taking reasonable steps to ensure student health and safety.

Achievement in Years 1 to 6

This section is about learner achievement. It outlines how well learners across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level of The New Zealand Curriculum in foundational skills.

Less than a third Less than half Small majority Large majority Most Almost all

0 to 33% 34 to 49% 50 to 64% 65 to 79% 80 to 90% Over 90%

Reading A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are not yet equitable for all groups of learners.

Writing Less than a third of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are not yet equitable for all groups of learners.

Mathematics Less than half of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are not yet equitable for all groups of learners.

Attendance

This section is about school attendance and the progress the school is making towards meeting the Government target of 80% regular attendance.

Less than half of learners attend school regularly.

The school is behind the target of 80% regular attendance.

The school has a suitable plan in place to improve attendance.

Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.

Chronic absence is not yet reducing over time.

Assessment

This section is about how the school assesses learner progress and achievement.

The school is improving its approach and the reliability of its practices to accurately find out about achievement against the curriculum.

Teachers are developing their use of assessment information to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.

Progress

This section is about how well the school supports all learners to make sufficient progress.

The school is developing good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.

The school has to some extent improved achievement and progress for those learners most at risk of not achieving since the previous review.

The school has not extended achievement and progress for learners working at or above curriculum levels since the previous review.

The school is making progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.

Next steps for improvement

This section provides more detail for the school to include in its strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school. It outlines what the school is doing well and identifies actions for improvement.

Areas of strength

Leaders and teachers foster inclusive environments that encourage positive relationships; structured and explicit teaching approaches are used to engage learners.

Systems to support students are well established, demonstrating inclusive practices. Staff work effectively with external expertise to ensure learners’ needs are consistently tracked, monitored, and responded too.

School leaders and staff implement systems to consistently track and monitor student progress and achievement; identifying and setting targets from the data is a next step.

Leaders effectively build relationships with community; local knowledge and partnerships are embedded within a responsive curriculum that is relevant and meaningful for learners.

Key priorities

Improve the progress and achievement of all learners in reading, writing and mathematics, ensuring equity increases for groups of learners.

Engage in professional learning to support teachers to implement the refreshed English and mathematics curriculum and align assessment effectively.

Embed effective teaching practices that improve teaching and learning in reading, writing and mathematics.

Improve regular attendance.

Actions to bring about improvement

Within three months:

leaders develop specific targets for accelerating progress and lifting achievement for learners in reading, writing and mathematics

leaders collect, analyse and report end of year student progress and achievement to the Levin School Board, and evaluate the impact of professional learning on improving student achievement in reading, writing and mathematics

Within six months:

staff engage in professional learning to strengthen teacher capability in the refreshed curriculum and assessment requirements

leaders monitor regular attendance and adjust the attendance plan accordingly

Every six months:

leaders and teachers collect and analyse student progress and achievement information and report to the board and the school community

leaders review and report attendance information to the school Board; adjust the attendance plan to increase regular attendance and reduce chronic absence

Annually:

leaders analyse and report student progress and achievement to the school Board and evaluate the impact of improvement initiatives aimed at improving achievement and reducing disparities

leaders with the school Board evaluate the impact of the attendance plan and set strategic goals to ensure resources are allocated to improve regular attendance.

Expected outcomes

The refreshed English and mathematics curriculum and assessments requirements are implemented effectively.

Increased student achievement and progress and reduced disparity between learner groups.

Increased number of students attending school regularly.

Regulatory and legislative requirements

This section of the report is about how the school meets regulatory and legislative requirements.

Board assurance with regulatory and legislative requirements

This section of the report reviews the school's policies, procedures, documentation, and checks that it meets all regulations, maintains a safe environment, and supports students' wellbeing.

During this review the Board has attested to meeting regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas:

Board administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of health, safety and welfare

Yes

Personnel management

Yes

Recommendation to the Ministry of Education

ERO recommends that the Secretary for Education consider intervention for an action plan as listed in section 171(1) of the Education and Training Act 2020 in order to bring about the following improvements:

increasing regular attendance

improving the progress and achievement of all learners in reading, writing, and mathematics.

The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Report and is due within four years.

Me mahi tahi tonu tātau, kia whai oranga a tātau tamariki Let’s continue to work together for the greater good of all children

Sharon Kelly Director of Schools

10 February 2026

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →