Leabank School

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 stage 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

Leabank School has a roll of 384 learners from Years 1 to 6. 68% identify as being of Pacific Island descent, 39% identify as Māori, 15% identify as Asian, and 11% identify as Pākehā | New Zealand European. 

The school’s vision is to Learning for Life. The school aims to develop children’s values, confidence and capabilities to lead successful and satisfying lives, and become lifelong learners.

A new Presiding Member was appointed to the School Board in 2024, and a new principal was appointed in Term 1 2025. 

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

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. 

Achievement in Years 0 to 8

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. 

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 is developing a suitable plan to improve attendance.
• Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.
• Chronic absence is 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 should improve 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 to some extent 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 and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau targets and is likely to meet them by 2030.

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

• Learners have a strong sense of belonging and are proud of their school. Classrooms are settled and learners know the routines and what is expected of them.
• Structured literacy and mathematics programmes are currently being introduced. Teachers are focused on supporting all learners to gain sound foundation skills in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Learners with additional learning needs and/or abilities are identified, tracked and provided with appropriate support. Teachers target a small group of learners at risk of not achieving and these learners are now making good progress.
• The newly appointed principal has set high expectations for school improvement and is setting goals focused on improving achievement and attendance.

Key priorities 

• Grow professional collaboration and quality of teaching practice to improve progress and achievement.
• Ensure that teaching and learning programmes are meaningful, challenging and provide opportunities for learners to actively engage in their learning.
• Develop systematic approaches to school improvement informed by high quality evidence and evaluation.
• Monitor and plan for improved attendance. 

Actions to bring about improvement

Within three months:

• leaders undertake professional learning focused on evidence-based quality approaches and the understanding and use of achievement information
• leaders and teachers draft and implement curriculum guidelines that incorporate structured approaches and the local context
• leaders engage with community groups to develop and implement a plan to improve attendance

Within six months:

• leaders and teachers observe one another and provide feedback to develop a shared understand of effective practice focused on accelerating progress and achievement
• leaders review and seek feedback from teachers and learners about teaching and learning programmes

Every six months: 

• leaders collect and analyse engagement and achievement data for all learners and groups of students to ensure that revised practices are leading to accelerated progress and achievement
• leaders report on student attendance to the Board, review the attendance plan, identify effective initiatives and plan actions for improvement for the next six months

Annually:

• leaders evaluate the quality of teaching and learning programmes including teacher, learner and whānau feedback and achievement and engagement data to report to the School Board
• the School Board and leaders review engagement and achievement data to inform future improvement goals
• leaders report on student attendance to the Board, evaluate the effectiveness of the attendance initiatives and develop a plan for the following year.

Expected outcomes:

• Improved quality of teaching and learning leading to accelerated progress and raised achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Meaningful and challenging teaching and learning programmes that engage learners and provide opportunities for learners to set goals.
• Strong organisational systems, processes and practices inform improvement.
• Most students attend 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

Actions for Compliance 

ERO and the board have identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

• Education Outside the Classroom – the board should ensure that planned excursions fully plan for and manage risks.
  [Education Outside the Classroom Guidelines, Health and Safety at Work Act 2015]
• Emergency Management – the board should ensure that there is an emergency plan to ensure regular emergency procedures are in place. 
  [National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan Order 2015]
• First Aid – the board should ensure that there are sufficient staff trained in first aid to ensure a safe environment. 
  [Health and Safety at Work Act 2015]
• Safety Checking of Workforce: the board should consider available information to assess and ensure that a thorough risk assessment is carried out for all staff appointed to positions. 
  [Children’s Act 2014] 

The board has since addressed the areas of non-compliance identified.

Recommendation to the Ministry of Education

ERO will initiate conversations with the Ministry of Education about support. ERO recommendation to the Ministry of Education will be outlined in the confirmed report to bring about the following improvements: 

ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education provide tailored support for:

• curriculum implementation
• use of data and assessment systems and processes.

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

17 September 2025