Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua
Specialist School · State
- Year levels
- not reported
- Total roll
- 113
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 36 Kea Street, Selwyn Heights, Rotorua
- Territorial authority
- Rotorua District
- Phone
- 07-3476717
- office@rss.ac.nz
- Website
- http://www.keastreet.ac.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Rotorua · 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
- 39
- Māori
- 77
- Pacific
- 11
- Asian
- 10
- MELAA
- 1
- 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 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| Year 02 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 14 |
| Year 03 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Year 04 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Year 05 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10 |
| Year 06 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 13 |
| Year 07 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| Year 08 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Year 09 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Year 11 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Year 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Year 13+ | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 |
| Total | 64 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 102 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Age 06 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 11 |
| Age 07 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Age 08 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| Age 09 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 |
| Age 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| Age 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Age 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 12 |
| Age 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Age 14 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Age 15 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Age 16 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Age 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Age 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Age 19+ | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Total | 64 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 102 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Academic results
Percentage with NCEA level 1 or above — 2025
Too few to report
| Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua | Too few to report |
|---|---|
| Bay of Plenty Region | 87.3% |
| 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 | Not applicable |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Not applicable |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | Too few to report |
| Total | Too few to report |
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
Too few to report
| Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua | Too few to report |
|---|---|
| Bay of Plenty Region | 78.1% |
| 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 | Not applicable |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Not applicable |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | Too few to report |
| Total | Too few to report |
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
Too few to report
| Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua | Too few to report |
|---|---|
| Bay of Plenty Region | 56.5% |
| 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 | Not applicable |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Not applicable |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | Too few to report |
| Total | Too few to report |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison NCEA level 3 data (2023-2025)
Percentage with VP Award — 2025
Too few to report
| Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua | Too few to report |
|---|---|
| Bay of Plenty Region | 18.1% |
| 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 | Not applicable |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Not applicable |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | Too few to report |
| Total | Too few to report |
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
Too few to report
| Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua | Too few to report |
|---|---|
| Bay of Plenty Region | 77.3% |
| 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 | Not applicable |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Not applicable |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | Too few to report |
| Total | Too few to report |
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
0%
| Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua | 0% |
|---|---|
| Bay of Plenty Region | 37.4% |
| Specialist School | 24.1% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
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 stand-down rates data (2024)
Age-standardised suspension rate per 1,000 students — 2024
0%
| Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua | 0% |
|---|---|
| Bay of Plenty Region | 3.8% |
| 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%
| Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua | 0% |
|---|---|
| Bay of Plenty 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)
- 523
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Large urban area
- Date opened
- 31 January 1963
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
- 8 April 2024
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (8 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 board assurance report of 8 April 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 113 — 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.
September 2018
89
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 6 November 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 8 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 Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua 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
Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua delivers a holistic education for students aged five to twenty-one years who have a range of special educational learning needs, intellectual and physical disabilities. The students are from the wider Rotorua area.
All students enrolled are funded through the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS). A team of specialists and therapists provide transdisciplinary support for students in consultation with families, whānau and staff. Each student has a personalised learning programme.
Beyond the base school there are 10 satellite classes hosted by seven local schools. A transition class is located in the base school and focuses on post-school preparation for 18 to 21-year-olds.
The school continues to navigate and manage roll growth pressures along with the employment and property demands associated with this.
The school’s mission is: Together we care, learn, and excel, Ki a tatou, Ka ako, Ka piki ake . The student mission statement is: ‘See us, hear us, know us, empower us - Titiro mai, Whakarongo Mai, Korero mai, Whakakaha i a mātou. ’
This is supported by and enacted through the school values: Respect - Whakamana , Independence - Whakatipuranga , Community - Hapori , Empowerment- Kairangi .
Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua ’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
learning and teaching - students at Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua are able to be the best they can be
culture - the school is a place of excellence in the field of special education.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua ’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which curriculum initiatives are responsive to the specific needs of students and extending learning outcomes.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
the school is implementing a range of evidence-based curriculum initiatives and needs to know the impact on learner outcomes.
The school expects to see students having access to a broad and culturally responsive curriculum that enhances their individual learning pathway.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate the extent to which curriculum initiatives are responsive to the specific needs of students and extending learning outcomes.
Whānau input regularly contributes to an adaptative curriculum where students achieve their individual goals.
Systems and processes that are responsive to the holistic needs of learners and their whānau .
Leadership creates conditions for innovative solutions to sustain improved outcomes for learners.
Class curriculum is specifically adapted to respond to the unique profiles identified by whānau and each learner’s views in each class.
Leadership is distributed and actively works to be responsive to create conditions for improving outcomes for learners.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
reviewing the school’s strategic goals and strengthening how these link to the annual implementation plan and supporting actions to further improve the curriculum, teaching, learning and its impact on student outcomes
further refining how the school curriculum is responding to whānau aspirations for tamariki and rangatahi .
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
8 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).