Sanson School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 24
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- Main Highway North, Sanson
- Territorial authority
- Manawatu District
- Phone
- 06-3293768
- office@sanson.school.nz
- Website
- http://www.sanson.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Manawatū-Whanganui
What would the day look like?
The practical things this school states on its own website — the hours, the uniform, the term dates, and how children get there. These are the school’s own words, not the Ministry’s record and not ERO’s.
What does the school say about itself?
Quoted, not summarised. Every school describes itself well, so this is here to be read as the school’s own case rather than as a finding — and a school that states nothing simply has no row.
Quoted from this school’s own website, as we read it on 13 August 2026. A web page carries no date of its own, so that is the day we read it — not a statement that any of this is still the case. Each line quotes the words it came from.
- In their words
- Kia Tū, Kia Kaha, Kia Manawanui
- Stand firm, be strong, be our best
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 18
- Māori
- 4
- Pacific
- 1
- Asian
- 4
- MELAA
- 0
- Other
- 0
- International
- 0
Roll by year level and age
Shown as context, not ranked, not compared to any average. As at 30 June 2026, from the same annual return as the roll count above.
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 01 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Year 02 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Year 04 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| Year 05 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Year 06 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Year 07 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Year 08 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 24 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Age 06 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Age 07 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Age 08 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Age 09 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Age 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Age 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Age 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Age 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 24 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
197.3%
| Sanson School | 197.3% |
|---|---|
| Manawatū-Whanganui Region | 45.5% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 544.3% |
| Māori | Too few to report |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | Too few to report |
| European/Pākehā | 0% |
| Total | 197.3% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison stand-down rates data (2024)
Age-standardised suspension rate per 1,000 students — 2024
0%
| Sanson School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Manawatū-Whanganui Region | 6.2% |
| Full Primary | 3.9% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 0% |
| Total | 0% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison suspension rates data (2024)
Age-standardised exclusion rate per 1,000 students — 2024
0%
| Sanson School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Manawatū-Whanganui Region | 2.8% |
| Full Primary | 1.7% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 0% |
| Total | 0% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison exclusion data (2024)
About the school
- Equity Index (EQI)
- 470
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural settlement
- Date opened
- 31 October 1873
The Equity Index is used by the Ministry to allocate equity funding. It describes the socio-economic barriers a school’s students face, not how good the school is. How the Equity Index works
What did ERO find?
The Education Review Office reviews every school and publishes what it finds in full. We quote ERO’s report here, section by section, in ERO’s own words and order, and link to it. We do not summarise a report, pick a line out of one, or turn one into a score. How ERO reviews schools
- Reports ERO holds
- 4
- Last reviewed
- 10 March 2025
- Latest report
- School Evaluation Report
- Report type
- Evaluation report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (10 March 2025)
A board assurance statement is the board’s own account of whether it took all reasonable steps to meet its legal obligations, on the date shown. It is not ERO’s finding. ERO reports separately, in the same report, on any non-compliance it identified during that process.
The same report — the board assurance report of 10 March 2025 — also sets out actions for compliance: the non-compliance ERO identified during that process. This is that section of the report in full, in ERO’s words.
ERO and the board have identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
the board must undertake appropriate measures to confirm the identity of employees. [ Children’s Act 2014 - Safety Checking of Workforce ].
The board has since addressed the areas of non-compliance identified.
What ERO wrote in its latest report
This is ERO’s report of 10 March 2025 — “School Evaluation Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.
School Evaluation 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.
Context
Sanson School is a rural primary school located in the Manawatū region, providing education for learners from Years 1 to 8. The school's vision and values are underpinned by the whakataukī ‘Kia Tū, Kia Kaha, Kia Manawanui – encouraging students to Stand tall, Be strong, and Be your best’. A new principal was appointed at the beginning of 2024.
There are three parts to this report.
Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation.
Part B: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki /bilingual settings.
Part C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.
Expected Improvements and Findings
Since the previous report in December 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate how well the individual learning needs of each student are being met for equitable and excellent outcomes.
The school expected to see:
Continued and extended use of EDUCA to support learning focused partnerships between school learner and whānau providing the foundation for individual learning pathways.
The school is in the early stages of using a range of digital tools to provide learners with different, responsive learning opportunities and to support strengthened communication with whānau /parents.
The use of learning progressions to identify and guide learner next steps.
Learning progressions for reading, writing and mathematics have been developed and aligned to revisions in The New Zealand Curriculum . These will be fully implemented by Term two, 2025.
The embedding of the school’s established te reo Māori learning progressions.
School staff highly value te reo Māori and are building schoolwide capacity to implement practices to support learners progress in their learning of te reo Māori.
Internal evaluation systems and processes focused on continuous improvement of practice.
A professional growth cycle is in place and supporting staff to reflect on the impact of their teaching on improving learner outcomes and to grow their professional practice.
Other Findings
The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action is that a range of practices, systems and processes for high quality teaching and learning have been put in place to support successful learner outcomes.
Part B: Current State
The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.
Learner Success and Wellbeing
The school is working towards improved and successful achievement outcomes for all learners.
A small majority of learners achieve at expected curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics; addressing inequity for some groups of learners is an area of priority.
Positive and mutually respectful relationships are embedded in classrooms, promoting an evident, positive sense of learner wellbeing.
Most learners regularly attend school; the school is yet to consistently meet the Government’s target for regular attendance.
Conditions to support learner success
Leadership promotes a positive school culture with a clear focus on improved outcomes for all learners.
School leadership is strengthening relational trust and collaboration at all levels of the school community to achieve strategic and improvement goals.
Leadership has developed a cohesive curriculum about what to teach and set clear expectations for high-quality teaching and learning.
Leaders are strengthening relationships with whānau /parents, community groups and other education providers, to provide learners with a broad range of learning experiences and a rich curriculum informed by the mātauranga of local hapū and iwi.
Leaders and teachers are building the capability to be responsive to learner strengths and needs.
Leaders and teachers are improving the ways they collect, analyse and interpret data to better inform teaching and learning.
Leadership is strengthening the culturally responsive practices that support improved learner engagement, progress and cultural connectedness.
The curriculum is beginning to reflect local contexts so that learners can see themselves and their peers in their learning.
The school is strengthening the systems, structures and practices that underpin successful outcomes for learners.
Professional learning for teachers is appropriately targeted and aligned with strategic goals and achievement targets.
Staff increasingly engage in collaborative practices focused on improving practices and outcomes for all learners.
Te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori are in the early stages of being implemented and integrated into the school curriculum and school wide practices.
The board is meeting its statutory obligations; they are yet to undertake professional learning to develop an in depth understanding of their roles and responsibilities.
Part C: Where to next?
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
grow capability in data analysis and evidence-informed practices, so teachers are better able to plan and target teaching and learning to meet the needs of the individual learner and support high levels of engagement and attendance
strengthen staff capability and capacity to consistently use a range of digital tools to provide individualised programmes and to better meet learner needs
strengthen culturally responsive practices, and partnerships with whānau /parents and the wider school community to build a curriculum that meets their aspirations and is responsive to learner strengths and needs
have the board undertake professional learning to develop their understandings and knowledge of governance and stewardship, to effectively govern the school and represent the school community.
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within six months:
build staff capability in data analysis and evidence-informed practices, for better planning and targeted teaching and learning
embed the use of literacy and mathematics progressions so that learners and their whānau /parents know next steps in learning and how to progress their own learning
staff to undertake relevant professional development in the use of digital technologies to support them to provide individual learning pathways that better meet the needs of each learner
school board to undertake training to improve knowledge of their roles and responsibilities and review processes
Every six months:
staff consistently collect and analyse progress and achievement data and adapt learning programmes based on evidence
the board rigorously review and analyse attendance, achievement and wellbeing data, to inform decision making
leaders formally collect learner, whānau /parent, staff and wider community voice to inform school wide practices, curriculum, teaching and learning
Annually:
through the professional growth cycle, leaders and teachers engage in critical discussion about the impact of their practices on improving learner outcomes and adapt practice and programmes accordingly
the school board and staff rigorously analyse and scrutinise schoolwide attendance, achievement, progress and wellbeing data to inform decision making for the next school year
learner, whānau /parent and community voice are collected as part of schoolwide evaluation to inform improvement actions
the school board follows a process of self-evaluation to ensure the effectiveness of its own performance.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
improved attendance and achievement across the school
all learners progressing and achieving at expected levels
teachers consistently planning and teaching to meet the individual needs and pathways of all students
a school curriculum informed by the aspirations of the wider school community
school board providing strong leadership in their governance and stewardship role.
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within three 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 Acting Director of Schools
10 March 2025
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
Read the full report on ero.govt.nz →
All 4 reports ERO holds for this school
ERO reviews a school every few years — around four years between reviews is the usual cycle — so an older date here reflects where a school sits in that cycle, not how it is doing.
Source: Education Review Office, CC BY 4.0.
Roll date: 30 June 2026 (2026).