Portobello School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 57
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 30 Harington Point Road, Portobello, Dunedin
- Territorial authority
- Dunedin City
- Phone
- 03-4780605
- office@portobello.school.nz
- Website
- http://portobello.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Dunedin · schools in Otago
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.
- Getting there
- The school bus service is contracted to Otago Road Services. The service starts at Harwood at 8:10 and arrives at school by 8:30. The return service leaves school at 3:10.
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 46
- Māori
- 19
- Pacific
- 2
- Asian
- 3
- MELAA
- 0
- Other
- 1
- 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Year 02 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 11 |
| Year 03 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 9 |
| Year 04 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Year 05 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 11 |
| Year 06 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 9 |
| Year 07 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Year 08 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Total | 18 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 0 | 58 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Age 06 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10 |
| Age 07 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 10 |
| Age 08 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Age 09 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 11 |
| Age 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 |
| Age 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Age 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Age 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 18 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 0 | 58 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
108.9%
| Portobello School | 108.9% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 36.8% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 79.9% |
|---|---|
| Male | 133.1% |
| Māori | 122.1% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 140.2% |
| Total | 108.9% |
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%
| Portobello School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 4.6% |
| 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 | 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%
| Portobello School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 2% |
| 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)
- 450
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Major urban area
- Date opened
- 16 November 1858
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
- 18 March 2024
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (18 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 18 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 57 — 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
53
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 19 February 2020
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 18 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 six months of the Education Review Office and Portobello 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
Located on the Otago peninsula, Portobello School is a semi-rural school for learners from Years 1 to 8. The school’s Kai Tahu cultural narrative recognises the detailed historical relationship between the area, its mana whenua and the kura .
Portobello School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:
maintain and further strengthen schoolwide teaching of writing in order to raise achievement and accelerate progress in writing
develop and implement a schoolwide approach to building learner agency.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Portobello School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the impact of a schoolwide approach to building learner agency to improve progress and achievement in writing.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that, over time:
analysis of writing data has indicated that a focus area for the school is to ensure that all learners are making progress in writing curriculum levels
teacher observations have identified that greater engagement and motivation can be achieved through children developing their learning-to-learn capabilities.
The school expects to see:
growing awareness of next learning steps so that children are empowered to achieve them and make choices in their writing
the development of learner-selected goals that show improvements in writing
learner agency developments in writing transferred into other curriculum areas.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate the impact of a schoolwide approach to building learner agency to improve progress and achievement in writing:
staff know all children across the school and contribute to progressing each individual’s learning
strong community interest and involvement in the school
close connections with local runaka enrich the local curriculum through a long-term bicultural partnership.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
Developing success indicators to show growth in learner agency and to clarify consistent expectations.
Using a range of achievement information to evaluate improvements over time in fluency and confidence in writing as learners progress through the curriculum.
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
18 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
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).