Ward School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 55
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- Duncan Street, Ward
- Territorial authority
- Marlborough District
- Phone
- 03-5756837
- office@ward.school.nz
- Website
- http://ward.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Marlborough
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.
- Uniform
- Required
Ward School has a compulsory school uniform.
- Required
- Getting there
- The Board of Trustees contracts Waka Kura to provide a bus service under guidelines set by the Ministry of Education for students who live more than 3.2 km from the school gate. The two bus runs travel down to Parikawa and up to Marfells Beach Road.
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 43
- Māori
- 9
- Pacific
- 2
- 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 |
| Year 02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Year 03 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 |
| Year 04 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Year 05 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 9 |
| Year 06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Year 07 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 10 |
| Year 08 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 56 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 |
| Age 06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Age 07 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| Age 08 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Age 09 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 9 |
| Age 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Age 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 9 |
| Age 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
| Age 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 56 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
53.1%
| Ward School | 53.1% |
|---|---|
| Marlborough Region | 36.2% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 155.6% |
| Māori | 179.2% |
| Pacific | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| Asian | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| Other | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| European/Pākehā | 0% |
| Total | 53.1% |
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%
| Ward School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Marlborough Region | 4% |
| Full Primary | 3.9% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| 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%
| Ward School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Marlborough Region | 1% |
| Full Primary | 1.7% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| 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)
- 437
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural settlement
- Date opened
- 25 January 1906
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
- 3 August 2023
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (3 August 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 3 August 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 55 — 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
42
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 19 December 2017
May 2014
33
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 3 July 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 3 August 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 24 months of the Education Review Office and Ward 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
Ward School is a small, rural, year 1 to 8 school situated in Ward, Marlborough. Their mission is to empower and lead their tamariki to value their learning, identity, whānau , and place. The school vision is Whai Ākoranga | Leading our learning.
Ward School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
Hauora - positive social, emotional, mental and physical wellbeing for all learners
to strengthen curriculum and iwi connections by building positive relationships in school and with the local and wider community
through reflective inquiry, teaching, and leadership creating equity and excellence for all learners.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Ward School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effective the literacy programme is in providing positive outcomes for all students within a culturally responsive school environment.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
the school has identified a need to improve equity and excellence for some groups of students in literacy
current strategic priorities include improving outcomes in literacy and improving culturally responsive practices.
The school expects to see:
improved outcomes in literacy for all students
increasing capability of teachers to develop differentiated programmes of learning to meet the diverse needs of students
strengthening of teacher capability in culturally responsive practices.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate how effective the literacy programme is in providing positive outcomes for all students within a culturally responsive school environment.
A supportive community that works with teachers and leaders to strengthen educationally powerful relationships.
Teachers who set high expectations for learners and are focused on strengthening their practice in order to improve equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
continuing to build teacher capability to develop and deliver high quality teaching and learning programmes in literacy that will improve equitable and excellent outcomes for students
building teacher capabilities and competencies in Mātauranga Māori and te reo Māori to improve 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
3 August 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).