Waitahuna School
Contributing · State
- Year levels
- 1–6
- Total roll
- 6
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 18 Sunderland Street, Waitahuna
- Territorial authority
- Clutha District
- Phone
- 03-4859875
- waitahunaschool@xtra.co.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Otago
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 6
- Māori
- 1
- 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Year 05 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Year 06 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Age 06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Age 07 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Age 09 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Age 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
0%
| Waitahuna School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 36.8% |
| Contributing | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| Asian | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| 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%
| Waitahuna School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 4.6% |
| Contributing | 3.5% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| Asian | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| 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%
| Waitahuna School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 2% |
| Contributing | 1.5% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| Asian | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| 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)
- 490
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural other
- Date opened
- 25 January 1873
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
- 2
- Last reviewed
- 13 May 2025
- Latest report
- School Report
- Report type
- Review report
- Board assurance
- not reported
What this report states about the school
As stated in ERO’s report of 13 May 2025 — not necessarily the position now. Each line quotes the sentence it came from.
- Year levels
- Years 1 to 6
provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6
- Years 1 to 6
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 6 — 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
25
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 16 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 13 May 2025 — “School Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.
School 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.
About the School
Waitahuna is a small rural contributing school that provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. The school’s vision is for students to be successful, and confident life-long learners. This is underpinned by the philosophy ‘e tu kahikatea‘ , which the school defines as ‘standing together and supporting each other’. The school roll is currently 4 students.
How well placed is the school to promote educational success and wellbeing?
How well are learners succeeding? Success and progress for all learners is increasing.
What is the quality of teaching and learning? Learners benefit from high quality teaching practice that improves progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
How well does the school curriculum respond to all learners needs? Learners have sufficient opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is an increasingly consistent focus on supporting learners to gain skills in literacy and mathematics. Learners with complex needs are well supported to achieve their education goals.
How well does school planning and conditions support ongoing improvement? School planning and conditions to support ongoing improvement to the quality of education for learners are well established.
How well does the school include all learners and promote their engagement and wellbeing? The school successfully promotes learners’ engagement, wellbeing and inclusion.
How well does the school partner with parents, whānau and its community for the benefit of learners? The school reports usefully and accurately to parents / whānau about their child’s learning, achievement and progress. The school is improving its collection and use of information gathered through community consultation to inform strategic planning and curriculum decisions.
Student Health and Safety The school board is taking reasonable steps to ensure student health and safety.
Achievement in Years 0 to 8
This table outlines how well students across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.
Foundation Skills
Reading A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners.
Writing A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners.
Mathematics Almost all learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners.
Attendance
The school is at the target of 80% regular attendance.
The school has a suitable plan in place to improve attendance.
Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.
Assessment
The school uses an appropriate approach and reliable practices to find out about achievement against the curriculum.
Assessment information is used well to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.
Progress
The school is developing good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.
The school has significantly improved achievement and progress for those learners most at risk of not achieving since the previous review.
The school has significantly extended achievement and progress for learners working at or above curriculum levels since the previous review.
The school is making progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau targets for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.
Part B: Findings for the school
This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school.
Areas of Strength
The school has maintained consistent levels of achievement over time. Teachers know their learners’ well and intentionally plan teaching and learning that responds to learners’ strengths and needs.
The school is using a structured approach to literacy to support learner progress and achievement, and the school is well placed to implement structured mathematics practices.
Leadership is continually reviewing and improving processes to strengthen teaching practices and delivery of the school's curriculum.
An environmentally based curriculum increasingly reflects local contexts and provides a wide range of activities within the school environment, so learners see themselves in their learning.
Key priorities and actions for improvement
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
plan for appropriate professional learning to help leaders and staff implement and understand changes to The New Zealand Curriculum
further develop assessment practices across the school to support students’ knowledge of their own learning and next steps
strengthen and develop the school’s environmentally based local curriculum
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Every six months:
review and revise strategic planning to reflect any changes to identified priorities for learning
analyse and monitor learner progress, achievement and attendance information to inform next steps in teaching and learning
embed teaching and learning practices that improve achievement outcomes for learners by building on their strengths, needs and interests
Annually:
use learner progress and achievement data and evidence from a range of sources to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to improve learning, sustain attendance rates and engagement, and report the outcomes to the board to inform strategic decision making
report to the board on the effectiveness of the school's implementation of the refreshed curriculum and identified next steps for ongoing improvement
gather feedback to evaluate the impact of strategies used to strengthen engagement and learning partnerships with parents, whānau and the wider community.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
sustained excellent progress and achievement outcomes for all learners
changes in curriculum and assessment implemented in a timely, effective manner
sustained levels of regular attendance
Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements
All schools are required to promote student health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
During this review the Board has attested to some regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas:
Board Administration
Yes
Curriculum
Yes
Management of Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Personnel Management
Yes
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 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
Sharon Kelly Acting Director of Schools
13 May 2025
Education Counts
This 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 2 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).