Central Auckland Specialist School
Specialist School · State
- Year levels
- not reported
- Total roll
- 288
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 766 Sandringham Road, Mt Roskill, Auckland
- Territorial authority
- Puketāpapa Local Board Area
- Phone
- 09-6207680
- admin@cass.school.nz
- Website
- http://www.cass.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Auckland
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 69
- Māori
- 52
- Pacific
- 117
- Asian
- 100
- MELAA
- 28
- Other
- 2
- 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 | 8 | 20 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 36 |
| Year 02 | 5 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| Year 03 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 21 |
| Year 04 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Year 05 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 28 |
| Year 06 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Year 07 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 |
| Year 08 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 |
| Year 09 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 15 |
| Year 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| Year 11 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 15 |
| Year 12 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 |
| Year 13+ | 4 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
| Total | 44 | 93 | 81 | 22 | 3 | 59 | 0 | 241 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 22 |
| Age 06 | 3 | 20 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 33 |
| Age 07 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| Age 08 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 |
| Age 09 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 18 |
| Age 10 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
| Age 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| Age 12 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
| Age 13 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 15 |
| Age 14 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| Age 15 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 16 |
| Age 16 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| Age 17 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| Age 18 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Age 19+ | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Total | 44 | 93 | 81 | 22 | 3 | 59 | 0 | 241 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Academic results
Percentage with NCEA level 1 or above — 2025
0%
| Central Auckland Specialist School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Auckland Region | 90.1% |
| Specialist School | 12.7% |
| State: Not integrated | 83.6% |
| New Zealand | 85.2% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | Too few to report |
|---|---|
| Male | Too few to report |
| Māori | Too few to report |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Not applicable |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | Too few to report |
| Total | 0% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison NCEA level 1 data (2023-2025)
Percentage with NCEA level 2 or above — 2025
0%
| Central Auckland Specialist School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Auckland Region | 85.3% |
| Specialist School | 8% |
| State: Not integrated | 75.4% |
| New Zealand | 77.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | Too few to report |
|---|---|
| Male | Too few to report |
| Māori | Too few to report |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Not applicable |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | Too few to report |
| Total | 0% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison NCEA level 2 data (2023-2025)
Percentage with NCEA level 3 or above — 2025
0%
| Central Auckland Specialist School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Auckland Region | 71.7% |
| Specialist School | 1.8% |
| State: Not integrated | 55.2% |
| New Zealand | 59% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | Too few to report |
|---|---|
| Male | Too few to report |
| Māori | Too few to report |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Not applicable |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | Too few to report |
| Total | 0% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison NCEA level 3 data (2023-2025)
Percentage with VP Award — 2025
0%
| Central Auckland Specialist School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Auckland Region | 14.6% |
| Specialist School | 0.7% |
| State: Not integrated | 14.4% |
| New Zealand | 14.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | Too few to report |
|---|---|
| Male | Too few to report |
| Māori | Too few to report |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Not applicable |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | Too few to report |
| Total | 0% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison Vocational Pathway data (2023-2025)
Retention
Percentage staying until at least 17th birthday — 2025
66.7%
| Central Auckland Specialist School | 66.7% |
|---|---|
| Auckland Region | 88.9% |
| Specialist School | 79.1% |
| State: Not integrated | 81.4% |
| New Zealand | 83% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | Too few to report |
|---|---|
| Male | Too few to report |
| Māori | Too few to report |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Not applicable |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | Too few to report |
| Total | 66.7% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison trend data (2023-2025)
— 2024
not reported
| Female | not reported |
|---|---|
| Male | not reported |
| Māori | not reported |
| Pacific | not reported |
| Asian | not reported |
| MELAA | not reported |
| Other | not reported |
| European/Pākehā | not reported |
| Total | not reported |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 1: School leavers enrolled in tertiary education one year after leaving school (2022-2024 leaver cohorts)
— 2023
not reported
| Female | not reported |
|---|---|
| Male | not reported |
| Māori | not reported |
| Pacific | not reported |
| Asian | not reported |
| MELAA | not reported |
| Other | not reported |
| European/Pākehā | not reported |
| Total | not reported |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: School leavers enrolled in tertiary education two years after leaving school (2021-2023 leaver cohorts)
— 2024
not reported
| Female | not reported |
|---|---|
| Male | not reported |
| Māori | not reported |
| Pacific | not reported |
| Asian | not reported |
| MELAA | not reported |
| Other | not reported |
| European/Pākehā | not reported |
| Total | not reported |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 1: School leavers enrolled in tertiary education one year after leaving school (2022-2024 leaver cohorts)
— 2023
not reported
| Female | not reported |
|---|---|
| Male | not reported |
| Māori | not reported |
| Pacific | not reported |
| Asian | not reported |
| MELAA | not reported |
| Other | not reported |
| European/Pākehā | not reported |
| Total | not reported |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: School leavers enrolled in tertiary education two years after leaving school (2021-2023 leaver cohorts)
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
5.4%
| Central Auckland Specialist School | 5.4% |
|---|---|
| Auckland Region | 29.7% |
| Specialist School | 24.1% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 8.2% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 20.5% |
| Total | 5.4% |
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%
| Central Auckland Specialist School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Auckland Region | 3% |
| Specialist School | 3.4% |
| 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%
| Central Auckland Specialist School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Auckland Region | 1.4% |
| Specialist School | 1.8% |
| 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)
- 464
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- Some students taught in a Pacific language
- Urban / rural
- Major urban area
- Date opened
- 27 January 2018
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
- 3
- Last reviewed
- 9 April 2024
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (9 April 2024)
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 9 April 2024 — 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 identified the following area of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
The school undertakes and documents a risk assessment as part of safety checking for staff. [Children’s Act 2014 - Workforce Safety Checking]
This area of non-compliance was promptly addressed by the school.
The roll ERO recorded, and when
ERO writes a roll into each report it publishes: a count taken for that report, on the day shown, by the review team that was there. The Ministry of Education’s current roll for this school is 288 — the figure at the top of this page, and the one to use for how big the school is now. These are a different measurement by a different body, so they will rarely agree, and a difference between them is not a change in the school.
November 2019
140
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 19 December 2019
This is one count taken for one report. It says what the roll was on that day, and nothing about how the roll has moved.
What ERO wrote in its latest report
This is ERO’s report of 9 April 2024 — “Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.
Background
This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and Central Auckland Specialist School working in Te Ara Huarau , an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz
This report is part of a nationally coordinated evaluation of 27-day specialist schools during the second half of 2023. This included the development of day specialist school evaluation indicators by ERO with significant input from principals, staff and the Special Education Principals’ Association of New Zealand (SEPAnz).
Context
Central Auckland Specialist School is in Three Kings, Auckland. It provides education for students with intellectual disabilities, many of whom may also have physical, sensory or behaviour disabilities. Students are aged between the ages of five to 21 years old and are funded through the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS). The school has a base school and 10 satellite sites located in local host schools.
The school employs a specialist therapy team that includes speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists who support the learning and wellbeing of students. The school also operates a large specialist teacher outreach service that supports ORS funded students enrolled in 33 schools in the Central Auckland area as well as providing fundholder services for a local primary school.
In 2023, Central Auckland Specialist School opened Manulele o le Lumanai , a Samoan bilingual satellite class providing specialist education within a bilingual context where students can grow and express what it means to be Samoan. This is the first bilingual unit in a specialist school in New Zealand.
The school continues to navigate and manage roll growth pressures along with the employment and property demands associated with this.
The schools vision statement is ‘Inspiring Engagement, Realising Potential’ which is realised through its ‘ Mahi Tahi ’ approach to personalised curriculum. Mahi Tahi enables students to successfully access the New Zealand Curriculum , and documents progress and achievement within authentic and meaningful contexts.
Central Auckland Specialist School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for students are:
curriculum: develop and deliver a responsive curriculum through effective pedagogy
capacity: grow our people, places, systems and structures to meet the projected growth of the school
connection: strengthen our connections with whānau , host school, community agencies, services and each other.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Central Auckland Specialist School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively all staff use teaching and learning pedagogies to strengthen student engagement to increase equity and excellence.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:
continue to use evidence-based teaching pedagogies that move beyond differentiation to personalisation of learning using a strengths-based approach
further strengthen schoolwide capability and capacity in the use of internal evaluation to sustain effective teaching and learning practices.
The school expects to see all students:
realise their aspirations through their realising the school graduate profile
increase their voice and choice in their own learning.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how effectively all staff use teaching and learning pedagogies to strengthen student engagement to ensure equity and excellence.
A positive and purposeful school culture that celebrates students’ cultures and promotes wellbeing and sense of belonging.
Highly effective and well-established leadership which establishes a strategic direction and schoolwide systems and processes that effectively lead a culture for school improvement.
A schoolwide commitment for all staff to collaboratively develop best pedagogical practices to ensure the progress, achievement and learning outcomes for all students.
An adaptive school curriculum that is innovative, creative and strengthened as it responds to individual students and supports highly personalised learning pathways.
Strong, positive and trusting relationships underpin partnerships within the school and between whānau , host schools and the wider community.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
continuing to strengthen teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and evidence-based teaching practices
developing and embedding a shared language of engagement for learning for students and staff
strengthening evaluative processes and capabilities to ensure systematic, coherent and connected evaluation practices for ongoing school improvement and learner success.
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years. Shelley Booysen Director of Schools
9 April 2024
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 3 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).