Ladbrooks 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.

About the School

Ladbrooks School is in the Selwyn District, 17 km from Christchurch city. The school provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8 in a semi-rural environment. At the time of this report the roll was 130. European/Pākehā make up 96% of the school population with 12% of learners identifying as Māori. The school supports learners to engage in school contexts through the values of being Ready,Willing and Able to Learn Together.

Part A: Parent Summary

Progress since November 2022 ERO report

Over the last three years the principal, with the support of the board has worked to improve school culture through building relationships and trust with the staff and the community. These efforts have enabled teachers to work in collaborative ways to provide learners with opportunities that foster individual, and collective success. Leaders are taking steps to focus on a consistent approach to assessment and quality teaching across the school which will inform strategic planning and impact positively on equitable and excellent outcomes for learners. While most learners are making expected progress, there are still a few who need to make accelerated progress to meet curriculum standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders and teachers are committed to improve outcomes for these learners through purposeful interventions that are regularly monitored to evaluate learner progress.

How well placed is the school to promote educational success and wellbeing?

Achievement in Years 0 to 8

This table outlines how well students across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.

Attendance

The school is approaching 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 not yet reducing over time. 

Assessment

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

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

Progress

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

The school has not 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 meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets set for 2030. 

An explanation of the terms used in the Parent Summary can be found here: Reporting | Education Review Office

Part B: Findings for the school

This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school.

Areas of Strength

• Learner well-being is supported through caring relationships with teachers.
• Teachers work in teams to discuss learners’ progress and achievements and share relevant information and practices to support learners to experience success.
• Learner feedback is gathered and analysed to inform leaders and teachers about learner engagement across the curriculum.
• Learners express a strong sense of belonging and enjoy the relationships that they have with other learners across the whole school.
• The school has implemented structured literacy and will be ready to implement a structured approach to mathematics in 2026.
• Leaders are strengthening relational trust for effective collaboration and building teacher capability across the school.
• Curriculum design includes five hours a week each of reading, writing and mathematics; learners needing to make accelerated progress these areas are identified in school achievement overview.

Key priorities and actions for improvement 

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• develop and implement consistent school wide assessment practices and tools to better inform planning and strengthen the reliability of school wide data
• set specific improvement goals to target the acceleration of learners at risk of under achievement in the strategic and annual plan
• design and implement clear processes around the analysis of student data that identify the strategies and actions to accelerate or extend progress for identified learners
• improve regular attendance to meet the Government requirement of 80% of students to be present for more than 90% of the term.

The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.

Within six months:

• develop shared, school wide understanding of the purpose of assessment to inform planning and practice
• implement a school wide assessment framework that identifies tools and timings
• leaders to develop coherence across the curriculum to align with the school wide assessment overview
• identify goals and plan actions for students who are not making sufficient progress in reading, writing or mathematics
• leaders and teachers to communicate with and support parents and whānau regarding the importance of regular learner attendance

Every six months:

• school leaders provide evaluative reports on student progress and achievement to the board to inform ongoing strategic planning and resourcing
• track and monitor school wide progress of learners who are at risk of not achieving and document next steps and actions to accelerate progress
• review the impact of the programmes provided for learners who are achieving above the curriculum level and adjust if necessary

Annually:

• devise measurable goals around learners' achievement and progress in reading, writing and maths in strategic and annual plans
• individual learning plans in place and actions listed for students who need to make accelerated progress within the year.
• develop a more specifically integrated school wide curriculum with explicit contexts for each of the curriculum phases
• evaluate the impact of strategies to improve learner engagement and attendance.

Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:

• consistent school wide understanding and implementation of assessment practices to inform planning and strategic decision making
• an assessment timeline that is linked to planned learning across the curriculum
• consistent teaching practice and specific goal setting to improve outcomes for learners especially those at risk of not achieving or who need extension
• distributed leadership to support high quality teaching and assessment practices that have a positive impact on learner progress and achievement
• improved learner engagement and attendance.

Part C: Regulatory and Legislative Requirements

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements

All schools are required to promote student health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.

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

Board Administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Personnel Management

Yes

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
Director of Schools (Acting)

7 May 2025

Education Counts

This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home