Kahutara School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 90
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 990 Kahutara Road, Featherston
- Territorial authority
- South Wairarapa District
- Phone
- 06-3088427
- office@kahutara.school.nz
- Website
- https://kahutara.school.nz/
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Wellington Region
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.
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.
- Uniform
- Required
There is a compulsory uniform that may be purchased through the school.
- Required
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 75
- Māori
- 23
- Pacific
- 7
- Asian
- 3
- MELAA
- 2
- 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 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Year 02 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 12 |
| Year 03 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 13 |
| Year 04 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 14 |
| Year 05 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| Year 06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Year 07 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| Year 08 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
| Total | 16 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 74 | 0 | 82 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Age 06 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 13 |
| Age 07 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 13 |
| Age 08 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 12 |
| Age 09 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 |
| Age 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Age 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| Age 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 |
| Total | 16 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 74 | 0 | 82 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
0%
| Kahutara School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Wellington Region | 24.7% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| European/Pākehā | 0% |
| Total | 0% |
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%
| Kahutara School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Wellington Region | 2.6% |
| 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 | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| 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%
| Kahutara School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Wellington Region | 0.9% |
| 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 | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| 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)
- 456
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural other
- Date opened
- 25 January 1898
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
- 29 July 2024
- Latest report
- School Evaluation Report
- Report type
- Evaluation report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (29 July 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 29 July 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 has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
child protection policies, procedures and guidelines must be known and implemented [Section 18 &19, Children’s Act 2014; Section 15 Oranga Tamariki Act 1989]
regular emergency drills need to be undertaken, documented, and reported to the board [National Civil Defence Emergency Plan Order 2015; Fire Safety, Evacuation Procedures, and Evacuation Schemes Regulations 2018]
Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) policies and procedures must be consistently implemented and risk management planning for any trips must meet requirements [Health and Safety at Work Act 2015; Education Outside the Classroom Guidelines, Ministry of Education]
minutes of board meetings are properly kept, including minutes of meetings that exclude the public (commonly known as ‘in-committee’ minutes) [Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987; Public Records Act 2005].
The board has not yet addressed the areas of non-compliance identified.
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 90 — 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.
February 2018
111
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 2 May 2018
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 29 July 2024 — “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
Kahutara School , located rurally near Featherston, provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school board appointed a new principal at the beginning of 2024.
There are two parts to this report.
Part A: 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 B: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.
Part A: Current State
The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.
Learner Success and Wellbeing
Outcomes for learners at Kahutara School are not yet known.
The school was unable to provide any current, reliable achievement information in reading, writing or mathematics; the new principal has established dependable systems and processes to track and monitor student progress and achievement using a range of appropriate assessment tools and with clear expectations for teacher use.
The Ministry of Education’s target for regular student attendance is met.
Conditions to support learner success
Leadership sets and pursues improvement-focused goals and targets, with a focus on quality teaching and equity and excellence in learner outcomes.
The new principal is taking a considered and deliberate approach to strengthening school practices that ensure all students are given opportunities to learn from a broad curriculum.
Leaders are working to provide a positive environment that is inclusive, supports student wellbeing and ensures teaching and learning enable equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.
Leaders are strengthening relational trust and collaboration with the school community to achieve the strategic vision and improvement goals.
Teachers create collaborative learning environments that support students to be engaged.
Learners experience positive and respectful relationships with teachers in the classroom.
Teachers are developing an understanding of agreed teaching strategies to support the many different needs of learners.
Organisation conditions, policies, systems, processes, and practices are strengthening to drive strategic improvements.
Enhanced relational trust and communication across school staff supports increased levels of collaboration and improvement across many areas of the school.
Led by the principal, the school has clear strategic priorities that focus on developing reliable and useful assessment and reporting, establishing systems to promote positive behaviour and wellbeing, and strengthening the school’s local curriculum.
Parents and whānau have improved opportunities to be involved in their child’s learning.
Part B: Where to next?
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
embed dependable assessment practices to support teaching and learning and inform the school’s ongoing strategic direction
in partnership with the school community, strengthen the school’s curriculum to ensure consistent expectations for teaching and learning reflect local contexts and offer more relevant learning opportunities for students
strengthen the new board’s understanding of their governance roles and responsibilities.
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within three months:
all board members undertake New Zealand School Board Association (NZSBA) training to support understanding of their roles and responsibilities, including the requirement to meet legislative obligations.
Within six months:
engage in community consultation to inform the school’s development of their local curriculum.
Every six months:
analyse learners’ attendance, progress and achievement information to inform their next steps and respond to any differences amongst groups of learners.
Annually:
review and report on the impact of teaching and learning programmes on students’ progress and achievement to know what has been successful and what needs further improvement
ensure strategic planning and annual goals are evidenced by student information and align with the school’s priorities and continue to support positive outcomes for all learners.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
continuous improvement of learner attendance, progress and achievement outcomes by effective use of school data that supports evaluation and informs strategic planning
strong governance by the board that fulfils its legislative requirements and governance obligations
the development of an inclusive and relevant local curriculum that supports learner engagement and success.
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
Shelley Booysen Director of Schools
29 July 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 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).