Pongakawa School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 315
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 956 Old Coach Road, Pongakawa
- Territorial authority
- Western Bay of Plenty District
- Phone
- 07-5333731
- office@pongakawa.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Bay of Plenty
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 271
- Māori
- 85
- Pacific
- 7
- Asian
- 17
- MELAA
- 10
- 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 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 43 |
| Year 02 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 43 |
| Year 03 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 35 |
| Year 04 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 0 | 46 |
| Year 05 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 26 |
| Year 06 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 40 | 0 | 44 |
| Year 07 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 44 |
| Year 08 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 27 |
| Total | 82 | 8 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 265 | 0 | 308 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 42 |
| Age 06 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 41 |
| Age 07 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 35 |
| Age 08 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 0 | 49 |
| Age 09 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 27 |
| Age 10 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 39 | 0 | 43 |
| Age 11 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 39 |
| Age 12 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 25 |
| Age 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Total | 82 | 8 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 265 | 0 | 308 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
5.2%
| Pongakawa School | 5.2% |
|---|---|
| Bay of Plenty Region | 37.4% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 11.9% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 24.9% |
| Pacific | 164.1% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 5.9% |
| Total | 5.2% |
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%
| Pongakawa School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Bay of Plenty Region | 3.8% |
| 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%
| Pongakawa School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Bay of Plenty Region | 1.4% |
| 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)
- 448
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural other
- Date opened
- 25 January 1892
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
- 7 August 2023
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (7 August 2023)
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 7 August 2023 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 315 — 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 2018
337
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 18 February 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 7 August 2023 — “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 nine months of the Education Review Office and Pongakawa 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
Pongakawa School, located east of Te Puke in the Western Bay of Plenty District, provides education for students in Years 0 – 8. The school aims to nurture, respect, motivate and challenge all students in a ‘second home’ environment.
Pongakawa School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
to sustain high achievement levels for all students in literacy and mathematics
to continue to value, accept and celebrate all cultures through an inclusive school culture
to continue to expand and embed a responsive, integrated and localised curriculum.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Pongakawa School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which coherent, school-wide internal evaluation systems are supporting ongoing refinements that promote excellent and equitable outcomes for all students.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is the opportunity to:
understand which improvement decisions and initiatives are having the greatest impact on learner outcomes
ensure alignment of the school’s robust planning, evaluation and monitoring systems to new national guidelines.
The school expects to see consistently equitable and excellent outcomes resulting from:
student information and stakeholder voice being gathered and analysed to inform evaluation of improvement initiatives at all levels of the school
evaluation being used consistently to inform ongoing decision making and strategic planning focused on equity and excellence
embedded systems for sustainable, iterative and collaborative evaluation and planning.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to use evaluation to inform improvement:
the systems, structures and capacity to pursue consistently equitable and excellent outcomes for all
an environment where positive and respectful relationships within and beyond the school create a sense of belonging
leadership at all levels of the school that prioritises engaging with and responding to data to improve learner outcomes.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
continuing to use high quality student achievement information and stakeholder voice to inform evaluation and improvement at all levels of the school
aligning strategic planning and evaluation so that evaluation findings continue to inform ongoing improvement in a coherent, iterative and sustainable way
continuing to ensure that evaluation and decision making is focused on equitable and excellent outcomes for all.
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
7 August 2023
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).