Tahuna School
Contributing · State
- Year levels
- 1–6
- Total roll
- 74
- Enrolment zone
- Yes
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 43 Tahuna-Ohinewai Road, Tahuna
- Territorial authority
- Matamata-Piako District
- Phone
- 07-8875848
- admin@tahunaschool.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Waikato
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 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
- school swimming
In Term 1 we have school swimming, swimming sports and a duathlon.
- swimming sports
In Term 1 we have school swimming, swimming sports and a duathlon.
- duathlon
In Term 1 we have school swimming, swimming sports and a duathlon.
- netball teams, year 3-4, and year 5-6
Terms 2 & 3 Tahuna School has netball teams, year 3-4, and year 5-6.
- Rugby
Rugby is played through Kereone and Morrinsville Sports.
- Soccer
Soccer is available through the Morrinsville Football Club.
- Interschool cross country’s
Interschool cross country’s are run on the local golf course.
- Hockey is available for years 3-6
Hockey is available for years 3-6 and is played at the Morrinsville Intermediate or Morrinsville College turfed grounds in Term 4.
- Basketball (Miniball)
Basketball (Miniball) is played in term 3 at the Morrinsville Events Centre.
- athletics
Term 4’s main focus is athletics.
- Touch Rugby
Children in year 4 and above have the opportunity to play Touch Rugby in a friendly competition.
- school swimming
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 54
- Māori
- 11
- Pacific
- 5
- Asian
- 12
- MELAA
- 0
- 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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| Year 02 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 14 |
| Year 03 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 12 |
| Year 04 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 14 |
| Year 05 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 19 |
| Year 06 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 |
| Year 07 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Total | 11 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 0 | 80 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| Age 06 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 15 |
| Age 07 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 9 |
| Age 08 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 15 |
| Age 09 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 19 |
| Age 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Age 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Total | 11 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 0 | 80 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
25.1%
| Tahuna School | 25.1% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 53.9% |
| Contributing | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 53.4% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 31.5% |
| Total | 25.1% |
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%
| Tahuna School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 6.6% |
| Contributing | 3.5% |
| 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%
| Tahuna School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 2.4% |
| Contributing | 1.5% |
| 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)
- 459
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural settlement
- Date opened
- 8 February 1905
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
- 9 December 2024
- Latest report
- School Evaluation Report
- Report type
- Evaluation report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (9 December 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 9 December 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 74 — 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
91
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 6 July 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 9 December 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
Tahuna School, situated in a small settlement north of Morrinsville, provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. Since the previous ERO report of 2020, the board appointed a new principal. The school’s vision of ‘ Learning for life’ is underpinned by their rural ‘ICARE’ values.
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
Most learners are engaged, make good progress over time and achieve well.
Most learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics; the school is focused on improving achievement in writing.
Learners express a positive sense of belonging and pride in their school that supports their wellbeing and engagement with learning.
The large majority of students attend school regularly; the school is yet to meet the Ministry of Education’s 2024 target for regular attendance.
Conditions to support learner success
Collaborative leadership promotes an inclusive and orderly learning environment, with an increasingly strategic focus on learners who are at risk of underachievement.
Leadership promotes a positive culture of shared responsibility among board and staff that extends learner wellbeing and achievement outcomes.
The principal actively supports teachers in their professional learning and development, strengthening their capacity to implement the school’s improvement goals.
Leadership and teachers implement and use effective systems for tracking and monitoring student achievement that enables all learners who need more support to achieve expected outcomes.
Learners experience engaging opportunities to learn across The New Zealand Curriculum , with a consistent focus on the development of foundation skills in literacy and mathematics.
Learners benefit from purposeful learning through a meaningful curriculum that provides them with a wide range of opportunities.
Staff know learners well and integrate a range of responsive teaching practices that ensure learners make progress in their learning.
Teachers effectively use schoolwide learning progressions in reading, writing and mathematics that enables learners, their parents and whānau to know and understand progress, achievement and next steps.
Key conditions that support successful education have been strengthened.
The board and leadership take deliberate and well-considered actions that include the implementation of an aligned approach to strategic planning and schoolwide systems and processes.
Teachers and the principal regularly work together to inquire into their practice and evaluate the impact of actions on learner outcomes.
Parents and whānau , as key partners in their child’s learning, take an active role in the life of the school.
Part B: Where to next?
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
continue to refresh the school’s curriculum so that local contexts and te reo Māori and mātauranga Māori continue to be effectively integrated into curriculum planning
further develop and integrate the teaching of structured literacy approaches to raise student achievement, particularly in writing
continue to strengthen initiatives to improve students’ regular attendance.
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within six months:
review the current curriculum in consultation with the school community to ensure it reflects student, teacher, parent and whānau aspirations
review initiatives to improve students’ regular attendance.
Every six months:
monitor progress with implementing the school’s refreshed local curriculum to identify next steps for refinement
continue to provide relevant professional learning opportunities that strengthen teachers’ understanding and use of structured literacy approaches
evaluate the impact of strategies and initiatives on student attendance to inform further actions.
Annually:
review and report to the board on the attendance, progress and achievement of all learners, with a particular focus on writing outcomes
evaluate progress on the implementation of the school’s local curriculum and its impact on teaching and learning programmes within the Aotearoa New Zealand context.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
improved regular student attendance
excellent and equitable achievement outcomes for all learners, particularly in writing
a refreshed local curriculum that reflects the aspirations of the school’s rural community and integrates te reo Māori and mātauranga Māori within learning contexts.
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
9 December 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).