Levin East 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 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 East School, Horowhenua, provides education to students in Years 1 to 6. Of the 423 students, 63% identify as New Zealand European|Pākehā, 51% as Māori and 18% as having Pacific heritage.

The school’s vision To be switched on learners – anytime, anywhere, together is underpinned by the school values of Respect|Whakaute; Creativity|Auahatanga; Courage|Manawanui; Collaboration|Kotahitanga; Excellence|Tararuatanga; Resilience|Manahau

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 October 2022 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The school expected to see teachers implementing the iLearn philosophy and teaching poutama (expectations) to improve students’ engagement and strengthen equitable learner outcomes.

Findings 

Students’ engagement has been improved by the iLearn philosophy and mindset poutama. 2025 reporting shows improvement in maths and literacy mindset (engagement). 

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 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.

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 students 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 not yet 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 not yet using an appropriate approach or reliable 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.

A large number of students are on the learning support register and require extra support to access the curriculum.

The school has 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 for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.

Support 

During the course of this review ERO had concerns about assessment practices and the implementation of the new curriculum, and has made recommendations for support and/or intervention to the Secretary / Ministry of Education.

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

• Leadership promotes a relationship focused culture. They involve whānau and iwi in decision making in the school, using multiple sources of feedback to inform strategic direction.
• Students clearly understand classroom routines; these routines promote a good pace of learning and student confidence. Classroom planning shows that teachers know their learners well and are focused on accelerating their learning.
• Students requiring additional support with their learning are provided with effective, targeted assistance to access the school curriculum and experience success. Additional resourcing and appropriate support is in place for staff working with these learners to support their success.
• A range of initiatives are in place to promote collaborative relationships with whānau and to work together to promote positive outcomes for students.

Key priorities

• Implement a robust school-wide assessment schedule, aligned to Government expectations, to accurately monitor and track progress and achievement.
• Fully implement the required structured literacy in Years 0-3, and the updated English and Mathematics curriculum content school wide.
• Increase regular attendance, working towards the Government’s target. 

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within three months:

• leaders to implement a robust school-wide assessment schedule that aligns with new curriculum and assessment expectations and provides reliable information for reporting, and teaching and learning purposes
• leaders to ensure the curriculum requirements for structured literacy are fully implemented in Years 0 to 3

Within six months:

• leaders and teachers implement curriculum changes in literacy and mathematics

Every six months:

• leaders and teachers embed and monitor schoolwide assessment practices to ensure they continue to align to national expectations and school priorities
• board and leaders analyse achievement information to know the impact of teaching and learning to inform next steps for learners and resourcing decisions
• leaders review the school’s attendance strategy to identify effective initiatives and plan actions for improvement for the next six months 

Annually:

• leaders analyse schoolwide achievement in literacy and mathematics; use this data to report to the Board and to strategically plan actions to improve the achievement and learning outcomes of all learners 
• leaders evaluate the effectiveness of the attendance plan initiatives and develop a plan for the following year.

Expected outcomes

• Improved achievement outcomes and accelerated progress in literacy and mathematics.
• Improved regular attendance.

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 has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

• the school must ensure that child protection policies, procedures and guidelines are known and implemented [Section 18 and 19, Children’s Act 2014; Section 15 Oranga Tamariki Act 1989] 

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

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:

• school wide assessment 
• implementation of structured literacy and the new English and Mathematics curriculum.

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

21 May 2026