Waiau School
Contributing · State
- Year levels
- 1–6
- Total roll
- 30
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 11 Montrose Street, Waiau
- Territorial authority
- Hurunui District
- Phone
- 03-3156027
- office@waiau.school.nz
- Website
- http://waiau.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Canterbury
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
- At Waiau School we have a clear vision for our learners and our school.
- Our school will strive to meet the needs of each learner, with a focus on creating young people who are adaptable, respectful, resilient, responsible, with the ability and courage to make positive changes in their world.
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 30
- Māori
- 8
- 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Year 02 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Year 03 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Year 04 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Year 05 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Year 06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Year 07 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 30 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Age 06 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Age 07 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Age 08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Age 09 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Age 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Age 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 30 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
0%
| Waiau School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 38.3% |
| Contributing | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| 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%
| Waiau School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 3.7% |
| Contributing | 3.5% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| 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%
| Waiau School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 1.7% |
| Contributing | 1.5% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| 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)
- 442
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural settlement
- 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
- 4
- Last reviewed
- 6 December 2024
- Latest report
- School Evaluation Report
- Report type
- Evaluation report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (6 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 same report — the board assurance report of 6 December 2024 — 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 areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
Evidence of referee checks as part of safety checking of workforce [Sections 25 to 27, Children’s Act 2014; Regulations 5 to 8, Children’s (Requirements for Safety Checks of Children’s Workers) Regulations 2015].
The board has since taken steps to address the areas 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 30 — 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.
October 2019
37
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 3 December 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 6 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
Waiau School is located in North Canterbury and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. The school has a strategic focus of being inclusive, progressive, connected and the school values are respect, responsibility and resilience. The school is a member of the Tipu Maia Community of Learning.
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
Outcomes are improving for most learners.
A large majority of learners are achieving at expected curriculum levels in literacy; boys are not yet achieving as well as girls in literacy.
Most learners are achieving at expected curriculum levels in mathematics.
Most learners report they are happy and feel safe at school.
The school is meeting the Ministry of Education’s national target for regular attendance.
Conditions to support learner success
Leaders are developing a culture committed to quality teaching and improved learner outcomes.
Leaders have established useful systems to support teaching staff to reflect on their practice, effectively monitor priority learners and improve outcomes for all learners.
Leaders increasingly use evidence to plan and monitor aspects of the school’s improvement cycle and the effectiveness of strategies to improve learner outcomes.
Leaders build educationally focused relationships with other education providers and community groups to support learner transitions and increase opportunities for learner success.
Leaders and teachers are taking steps to provide a responsive curriculum and consistently high-quality teaching practice.
Teachers participate in purposeful professional learning aligned with the schools’ improvement goals to continue to develop their teaching practices and to improve learner progress and achievement.
The curriculum design increasingly reflects local contexts, builds on learners’ experiences, knowledge and understanding and is beginning to offer more meaningful learning opportunities for learners.
Teachers increasingly use appropriate assessment information to align planning and reporting the progress and achievement of each learner; teachers are establishing ways to adapt their practice to respond to learners’ strengths and needs.
Conditions to support learner success are being established.
Partnerships with the local and wider community are valued and these support meaningful learning opportunities for engaging learners.
The board represents, supports and partners effectively with the community, to develop the school’s strategic direction and is strengthening its practice through professional learning and evaluating its own performance.
Teachers and leaders are beginning to meaningfully recognise te ao Māori through their teaching practice to engage all learners.
Part B: Where to next?
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
continue professional learning in structured literacy to build teacher capability and improve progress and achievement for all learners in reading and writing
review teaching expectations, practices and assessment in mathematics and literacy in response to professional learning and the changes to The New Zealand Curriculum to ensure coherence and consistency for learners across the school
strengthen the capacity of teachers and leaders in evaluation to inform decision making and ensure equitable outcomes for all learners
review and refine strategies to sustain high levels of regular attendance.
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within six months:
teachers participate in professional development in structured literacy and implement teaching practices to improve reading and writing progress and achievement for all learners
share information and promote attendance with whānau to sustain high regular attendance.
Every six months:
leaders and teachers report to the board on reading, writing and mathematics progress and achievement of all learners and respond to the findings
leaders and teachers evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies to accelerate priority learners’ progress and achievement to know what is working well and for who
use the information above to inform decision making and improve outcomes for all learners.
Annually:
review and refine strategies for maintaining high levels of regular attendance
leaders to evaluate the impact of professional learning on teaching practices and learner outcomes and use this to inform decision making
leaders report to the board on the progress and achievement information of all learners and on the effectiveness of strategies to accelerate target learners to inform strategic decision making.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
strengthened consistent teaching and assessment practices in reading, writing and mathematics that support learner progress and achievement
improved and equitable outcomes for all learners in reading, writing and mathematics
sustained high levels of regular attendance
strengthened evaluation capacity for teachers and leaders and informed decision making.
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
6 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 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).