Whareorino School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 8
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 8 Waikawau Beach Road, Awakino, North Taranaki
- Territorial authority
- Waitomo District
- Phone
- 06-752 9850
- admin@whareorino.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Waikato
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
- Our Vision
- Stand tall, Grow Strong and Reach High
- Our Values
- Relationships: Being ready, willing and able to learn from and with others, as well as on your own.
- Resilience: Being ready and able to ‘lock onto learning’, even when learning is hard or others are distracting you.
- Reflection: Being able to think deeply about your learning, progress and achievement and to set and work on learning goals.
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 5
- Māori
- 5
- 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 02 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Year 08 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 06 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Age 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
0%
| Whareorino School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 53.9% |
| Full Primary | 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 | 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%
| Whareorino School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 6.6% |
| 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%
| Whareorino School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 2.4% |
| 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)
- 525
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural other
- 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
- 3
- Last reviewed
- 16 September 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 16 September 2025 — not necessarily the position now. Each line quotes the sentence it came from.
- Year levels
- Years 1 to 8
providing education for students in Years 1 to 8
- Years 1 to 8
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 8 — 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.
February 2017
10
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 10 April 2017
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 September 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.
Every New Zealand state and state integrated school has an ERO review at least once every four years to evaluate what is working well for learners and what needs to be improved.
About the School
Whareorino School is a very small, remote, rural school providing education for students in Years 1 to 8. At the time of this ERO review the roll was three learners. The school is staffed by a teaching principal, two part-time release teachers and a teacher aide who is also the school administrator.
The school’s vision for students to ‘stand tall, grow strong, reach high’ is underpinned by the values of ‘relationships, resilience and reflection ’.
Education Counts provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement, school enrolments and school zones. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
An explanation of the terms and judgements used in this report can be found here: Reporting | Education Review Office
What we know about learner success
This section provides a summary of learner success and wellbeing. The judgments are based on the ERO School Improvement Framework and the evidence provided to ERO during the evaluation.
How well are learners succeeding? Success and progress for all learners is increasing.
What is the quality of teaching and learning? Learners benefit from excellent 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 rich opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is a 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 high quality education for learners are driving excellent school performance.
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 section is about learner achievement. It outlines how well learners across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level of The New Zealand Curriculum in foundational skills.
Less than a third Less than half Small majority Large majority Most Almost all
0 to 33% 34 to 49% 50 to 65% 65 to 79% 80 to 90% Over 90%
Reading A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners.
Writing A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners.
Mathematics A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners.
Attendance
This section is about school attendance and the progress the school is making towards meeting the Government target of 80% regular attendance.
The school is behind 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
This section is about how the school assesses learner progress and achievement.
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
This section is about how well the school supports all learners to make sufficient progress.
The school has good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.
The school has to some extent improved achievement and progress for those learners most at risk of not achieving since the previous review.
The school has to some extent 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 for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.
Next steps for improvement
This section provides more detail for the school to include in its strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school. It outlines what the school is doing well and identifies actions for improvement.
Areas of Strength
Relational trust and collaboration are evident at every level of the school community; the wellbeing of learners is a priority and underpins the effective conditions for learning.
Leaders use coherent evaluative systems to monitor improved conditions; clear communication and reporting builds collective capacity so that everyone can participate fully in decision making.
Experienced teachers collectively plan and deliver well-paced and rich learning opportunities that respond quickly to the strengths and needs of each learner; teachers know their learners well and learners are fully engaged in all aspects of their learning.
The school has implemented a suitable attendance plan, and recent information shows that attendance has improved; the school now exceeds government targets.
Key priorities
Strengthen leadership and teaching and continue to work together to support every student’s needs.
Build staff skills and knowledge to implement the new curriculum requirements.
Fully embed the requirements of the new English and Mathematics curriculum.
Ensure assessment approaches are clear, well understood and used to inform teaching and learning.
Clarify school systems and processes so that they are well understood, useful and lead to continued good practice.
Regularly review the school’s attendance plan and keep attendance rates high.
Actions to bring about improvement
Within six months:
teachers participate in appropriate professional learning to build their capacity to fully implement new curriculum requirements in English and Mathematics
leaders review the use of assessment tools so that progress and achievement information is useful for everyone to understand and use
Every six months:
leaders will sustain the practice of collecting, analysing and reporting achievement, progress, attendance, wellbeing and engagement information to the Board
Annually:
leaders and the Board will evaluate key systems, policy and processes for effectiveness, including the school’s attendance plan
the Board will report clearly to the community on students' achievement, progress, acceleration, attendance, wellbeing and engagement and identify improvement priorities.
Expected outcomes
Sustained and improved attendance.
Improvement in achievement, progress and wellbeing made by all learners.
Clear systems and processes that effectively support classroom teaching and learning, are easy to understand and can support a larger school roll.
Regulatory and Legislative Requirements
This section of the report is about how the school meets regulatory and legislative requirements.
Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements
This section of the report reviews the school's policies, procedures, documentation, and checks that it meets all regulations, maintains a safe environment, and supports students' wellbeing.
During this review the Board has attested to meeting regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas:
Board Administration
Yes
Curriculum
Yes
Management of Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Personnel Management
Yes
The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Report and is due within 4 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 Director of Schools
16 September 2025
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).