Totara North School
Contributing · State
- Year levels
- 1–6
- Total roll
- 19
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 32 Totara School Road, Totara North
- Territorial authority
- Far North District
- Phone
- 09-4051852
- office@totaranorth.school.nz
- Website
- http://totaranorth.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Northland
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
- In addition our community has identified the following 6 values as highly important:
- Confidence
- Aroha (compassion, love, empathy)
- Manākitanga (respect, caring & kindness)
- Self-motivation
- Responsibility
- Honesty
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 15
- Māori
- 15
- Pacific
- 0
- Asian
- 0
- 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 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| Year 02 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Year 03 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Year 04 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| Year 06 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 22 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| Age 06 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Age 07 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Age 08 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| Age 09 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Age 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 22 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
0%
| Totara North School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 52% |
| Contributing | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| 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%
| Totara North School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 6.5% |
| Contributing | 3.5% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| 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%
| Totara North School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 2.7% |
| Contributing | 1.5% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| 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)
- 487
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural other
- Date opened
- 25 January 1862
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
- 1 June 2023
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (1 June 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 same report — the board assurance report of 1 June 2023 — also sets out actions for compliance: the non-compliance ERO identified during that process. This is that section of the report in full, in ERO’s words.
ERO has identified the following area of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
adopt a statement on the delivery of the health curriculum, at least once in every two years, after consultation with the school community.
[s 91 Education and Training Act 2020]
The board has since addressed the area of non-compliance identified.
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 19 — 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.
June 2017
24
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 14 September 2017
February 2014
24
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 14 April 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 1 June 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 eight months of the Education Review Office and Totara North 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
Totara North School is situated beside the Whangaroa Harbour, north of Kaeo and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school’s mission statement is ‘ He tūrangawaewae, He tūrangawaewae, mō te mātauranga – A place to stand, A place to grow’ . This mission statement is underpinned by six core values of ‘ Manaakitanga, Aroha , Self-Motivation, Responsibility, Honesty and Confidence’ .
Totara North School’s strategic priority for improving outcomes for learners is to ‘i nspire a passion for learning through a high-quality localised curriculum and the environment’ .
This priority involves the initiatives of:
developing a teaching and learning localised curriculum that is innovative, responsive to student needs and the changing world
utilising the outdoor environment to connect with the localised curriculum
growing relationships with local iwi .
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Totara North School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well the school conditions support the development and implementation of the localised curriculum to enable excellent and equitable outcomes for all learners.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:
develop a shared understanding among students, staff, whānau and the wider community of the school's localised curriculum
enable learners to achieve a strong sense of belonging, identity and connection to their local environment
ensure all learners experience positive learning outcomes.
The school expects to see learners experience a rich and broad localised curriculum that continually responds to their identities, cultures and languages. Teaching practice will consistently support the development and implementation of the localised curriculum, including te ao Māori and te reo Māori me ōna tikanga . The school will strengthen relationships with parents, whānau and the wider community to enrich opportunities for all learners.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to develop and implement a localised curriculum that enables excellent and equitable outcomes for all learners:
learners experience a learning climate that fosters whanaungatanga and promotes their engagement and wellbeing
the school’s practices and actions value diversity and inclusion and ensure that all learners enjoy success in their own right
the school has a strong connection to their local environment that enables learners and staff to participate and contribute to the wider community.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
developing a shared understanding of the localised curriculum among students, staff, whānau and the wider community to strengthen reciprocal relationships
implementing the localised curriculum throughout teaching and learning to enable learners to achieve a strong sense of belonging and identity
ensuring consistent quality teaching practice across the school to promote excellent and equitable outcomes for all learners.
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
1 June 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 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).