Waitati School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 53
- Enrolment zone
- Yes
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- Mount Cargill Road, Waitati
- Territorial authority
- Dunedin City
- Phone
- 03-4822888
- office@waitati.school.nz
- Website
- http://www.waitati.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Dunedin · schools in Otago
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
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 44
- Māori
- 17
- Pacific
- 3
- Asian
- 3
- 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 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Year 02 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Year 03 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
| Year 04 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Year 05 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 13 |
| Year 06 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Year 07 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Year 08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 52 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Age 06 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Age 07 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| Age 08 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Age 09 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 13 |
| Age 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Age 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Age 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 52 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
0%
| Waitati School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 36.8% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| 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%
| Waitati School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 4.6% |
| Full Primary | 3.9% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| 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%
| Waitati School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 2% |
| Full Primary | 1.7% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| 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)
- 421
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural other
- Date opened
- 25 January 1864
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
- 13 June 2023
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (13 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 board assurance report of 13 June 2023 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 53 — 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.
December 2018
76
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 5 March 2019
July 2014
57
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 1 September 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 13 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 15 months of the Education Review Office and Waitati 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
Waitati School is situated in the seaside township of Waitati on the East Otago coast. The school provides education for year 1-8 students. A new principal was appointed in July 2020. The school’s mission is to ‘Light the Mind, Fire the Heart, Engage the Whānau ’.
Waitati School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:
embed the Wellbeing Framework throughout the school at all levels
ensure every ākonga gains sound foundation skills, including language, literacy and numeracy
meaningfully incorporate te reo Māori and tikanga Māori into the everyday life of the place of learning.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Waitati School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well the schoolwide wellbeing approach is engaging students and improving learning outcomes for all. There is a particular emphasis on how this is supporting the literacy program.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
that the staff recognise the importance of supporting their diverse learners
to improve engagement and achievement in learning by teaching skills in social and emotional resilience (wellbeing)
the school want to support children with additional needs to experience success in literacy.
The school expects to see:
a growing confidence in students’ ability to self-manage
an increased emphasis on students setting and understanding their own learning goals
an evaluation of the impact of leaders, teachers and learning assistants on enhancing students’ learning, progress, and achievement in literacy.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to measure the effectiveness of the wellbeing approach:
an ongoing focus on the local environment and authentic learning experiences that strengthen a responsive, localised curriculum
staff that have strong relationships with whānau /families and individual learners which promotes identification of specific needs
an increasingly collaborative teaching team that work together to support equity and excellence for all students.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
gathering information on the impact of their wellbeing approach and in the long term assess if this has made a difference to student learning and achievement
continue to create and embed a literacy programme tailored to the needs of Waitati school incorporating a structured literacy approach.
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
13 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).