Parua Bay School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 291
- Enrolment zone
- Yes
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 1396 Whangarei Heads Road, Parua Bay, Whangarei
- Territorial authority
- Whangarei District
- Phone
- 09-4365814
- admin@paruabay.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Whangārei · schools in Northland
Can my child go here?
This school has an enrolment scheme, so a place is not open to every address. How enrolment zones work
Loading zone map…
Zone boundaries shown here are approximate. Ministry of Education data warns these boundaries do not have high spatial precision and can place neighbouring addresses on different sides of a line. This is not a confirmation of enrolment eligibility — always confirm directly with the school. Zone geometry also does not reflect enrolment priority rules (siblings, special character categories, ballots) — it shows the mapped boundary only.
Check if your address is in zone →
Source: Ministry of Education, CC BY 3.0 NZ
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.
What does the school say about itself?
Quoted, not summarised. Every school describes itself well, so this is here to be read as the school’s own case rather than as a finding — and a school that states nothing simply has no row.
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.
- In their words
- The Parua Bay School Vision of:
- NAVIGATING LEARNING TOGETHER
- Our vision, 'Navigating Learning Together,' captures the heart of who we are at Parua Bay School. It reminds us that learning is a shared journey — one that involves students, teachers, whānau, and the wider community working together to move forward.
What is on offer beyond the classroom?
The sports, arts, clubs and groups this school names on its own website. Not a complete list of what any school offers, and not a count — a school that names more here has written more down, which is not the same as doing more.
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.
- On offer
- Cross Country
Term 3 - Cross Country
- Athletics
Term 4 - Athletics
- AIMs games tournaments
AIMs games tournaments are held each year in Tauranga and also allow for the entry of teams in a wide variety of sports.
- Cross Country
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 249
- Māori
- 68
- Pacific
- 9
- Asian
- 9
- MELAA
- 4
- Other
- 3
- 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 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 0 | 47 |
| Year 02 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 34 |
| Year 03 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 27 |
| Year 04 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 40 |
| Year 05 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 0 | 46 |
| Year 06 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 25 |
| Year 07 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 40 |
| Year 08 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 45 |
| Total | 71 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 265 | 0 | 304 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 38 |
| Age 06 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 36 |
| Age 07 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 32 |
| Age 08 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 39 |
| Age 09 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 0 | 47 |
| Age 10 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 27 |
| Age 11 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 39 |
| Age 12 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 39 |
| Age 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Total | 71 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 265 | 0 | 304 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
49.4%
| Parua Bay School | 49.4% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 52% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 39.6% |
|---|---|
| Male | 56.3% |
| Māori | 186.6% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 32.3% |
| Total | 49.4% |
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%
| Parua Bay School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 6.5% |
| 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 | 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%
| Parua Bay School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 2.7% |
| 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 | 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)
- 432
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural settlement
- Date opened
- 31 January 1872
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
- 27 March 2024
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (27 March 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 board assurance report of 27 March 2024 carries no actions-for-compliance section — the section ERO uses when it names non-compliance it identified. That is what this report contains; it is not ERO saying it found none. Other reports ERO holds for this school may say something different.
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 291 — 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 2017
367
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 23 January 2018
November 2014
264
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 15 December 2014
We draw no line between these. Each was counted for its own report, years apart, by a different review team, and a roll moves between reviews for reasons none of these figures record — so the difference between any two of them measures nothing.
What ERO wrote in its latest report
This is ERO’s report of 27 March 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 8 months of the Education Review Office and Parua Bay 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
Context
Parua Bay School is located in Whangārei , Northland. It provides education for students in Years 0 to 8. The school’s vision, 'Navigating Learning Together', speaks to the collaborative and reciprocal nature of learning at Parua Bay School.
Parua Bay School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:
Enable progress, achievement and equitable outcomes for all ākonga (learners).
Strengthen connections with whānau and families.
Develop an inspiring school environment.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Parua Bay School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well ākonga experience a culturally responsive, localised curriculum and how well assessment practices enable accelerated progress, achievement, and equitable learning outcomes for all.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:
ensure that school assessment practices, and teaching and learning improves achievement outcomes
continue to strengthen educational relationships with all whānau and families
enhance cultural identity, mana and outcomes for all ākonga through culturally responsive pedagogy within a localised curriculum.
The school expects to see all ākonga experience a culturally responsive, localised curriculum and assessment practices that continually improves and responds to their culture, language and identity.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how well ākonga experience a localised curriculum and assessment practices that enable accelerated progress and, achievement and equitable outcomes for all.
Ākonga wellbeing is consistently promoted and sustained in a caring, safe and inclusive environment where they are encouraged to take risks in their learning underpinned by the school values.
Schoolwide learning culture that is well established and consistently characterised by respect, inclusion, empathy, and collaboration.
Leadership collaboratively strengthens the culture of relational trust to ensure ongoing organisational capacity building for continuous improvement.
Systematic processes and a range of professional learning opportunities build staff professional capability and collective capacity.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise continuing to:
adapt, document and evaluate the ongoing culturally responsive, localised school curriculum
build staff capability in pedagogical practices within a culturally responsive curriculum supported by appropriate assessment processes.
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
27 March 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
The school is a member of the Te Manawa o Whangārei Kāhui Ako .
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).