Waitohu School
Contributing · State
- Year levels
- 1–6
- Total roll
- 233
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 21 Waitohu Valley Road, Ōtaki
- Territorial authority
- Kapiti Coast District
- Phone
- 06-3648272
- office@waitohu.school.nz
- Website
- http://www.waitohu.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Wellington Region
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.
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.
- Getting there
- Public bus stop outside the school on Te Manuao Road; students catch the Metlink 290 bus route to and from school, paying by Snapper card
We have a public bus stop outside the school on Te Manuao Road. Students can catch a public bus, both to and from school. Payment is by Snapper card. For more information go to [www.metlink.org.nz/service/290/timetable](https://www.metlink.org.nz/service/290/timetable) to check the 290 bus route.
- Public bus stop outside the school on Te Manuao Road; students catch the Metlink 290 bus route to and from school, paying by Snapper card
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 186
- Māori
- 114
- Pacific
- 25
- Asian
- 14
- MELAA
- 5
- Other
- 1
- 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 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 50 |
| Year 02 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 34 |
| Year 03 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 37 |
| Year 04 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 33 |
| Year 05 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 55 |
| Year 06 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 39 |
| Year 07 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 123 | 31 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 194 | 0 | 250 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 30 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 49 |
| Age 06 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 33 |
| Age 07 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 38 |
| Age 08 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 35 |
| Age 09 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 54 |
| Age 10 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 39 |
| Age 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 123 | 31 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 194 | 0 | 250 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
0%
| Waitohu School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Wellington Region | 24.7% |
| Contributing | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
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 stand-down rates data (2024)
Age-standardised suspension rate per 1,000 students — 2024
0%
| Waitohu School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Wellington Region | 2.6% |
| 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%
| Waitohu School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Wellington Region | 0.9% |
| 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)
- 486
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Small urban area
- Date opened
- 31 January 1963
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
- 4 December 2024
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (4 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 4 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:
provide five hours a week of teaching and learning focused on supporting progress and achievement in mathematics in a typical school week [ Foundation Curriculum Policy Statements and National Curriculum Statements, Section 90 of the Education and Training Act 2020 (2023 Amendment)]
has documents showing that suitable human resource management practices are implemented. [Section 599 and section 600 of the Education and Training Act 2020]
The board has addressed 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 233 — 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 2017
295
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 6 April 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 16 March 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 12 months of the Education Review Office and Waitohu 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
Waitohu School is located in Ōtaki and caters for students from Year 0 to 6.
Waitohu School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are a schoolwide emphasis on:
valuing and nurturing individuals to be themselves
in all things there are many forms of best, as individuals and as a community of learners they always strive to be their best.
Waitohu School ’s strategic and annual plans are available at the school on request.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured approach to early literacy learning.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
that senior leaders have identified that some students in the senior school, where after a range of literacy interventions, were not meeting age appropriate expectations
to build schoolwide literacy success from Year 1 that is sustained as learners progress through the school, using a previously trialled approach that successfully improved outcomes for older learners
staff are keen to know the value of the structured literacy foundation in reading as ākonga progress up through the school over the next few years
The school expects to see:
less need for reading interventions in later school years through the development of strong literacy foundations
improved and sustained literacy outcomes for all learners.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to strengthen literacy foundations.
a stable, experienced staff team who are ongoing learners.
a highly collaborative staff culture
effective, assessment practices which underpins reflective teaching practice
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
the development of a sustainable structured literacy teaching practices effectively equipping early learners for ongoing success.
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.
Kathy Lye Acting Director Review and Improvement (Southern) Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
16 March 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 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).