Last updated October 2026
Poukawa School is a state, co-educational full primary school for Years 1 to 8 at 107 Poukawa Road, Hastings. It opened in 1921 and had 97 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes parts of Pakipaki, Poukawa and Raukawa; the zone map below shows the full boundary. The school’s site describes a rural full primary school about 15 minutes south of Hastings with five classes, a hall, swimming pool and hard court, a learning focus on hauora and wellbeing, and a kapa haka programme in which all students learn waiata and haka.
Students play netball, canoe polo and hockey and enter local tournaments, and families can join the school’s own bus scheme, which picks up in Hastings, Havelock North, Te Hauke and Pakipaki in return for a donation.
At a glance
- Principal
- Lisa Allen
- Address
- 107 Poukawa Road, Hastings
- Phone
- 06 874 8880
Home zone
Parts of these suburbs: Pakipaki, Poukawa and Raukawa: check your street.
Zone boundaries are set by the school’s enrolment scheme and can change. Confirm your address with the school before you rely on it.
Who goes here
Share of the 97 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
MELAA: Middle Eastern, Latin American and African.
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a School Report from May 2025. ERO found good quality teaching that improves progress in reading, writing and mathematics, good support for learners with complex and differing needs, and a school that successfully promotes engagement, wellbeing and inclusion in a family-like setting.
Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level in reading and a large majority in writing and mathematics, with results equitable in reading and becoming more equitable in writing and maths.
The curriculum draws on the local area, with particular weight on science and the environment. The school is behind the national 80% target for regular attendance and did not yet have a suitable plan to improve it, although attendance is rising and chronic absence is falling. ERO also said the board must make sure the school is a physically and emotionally safe place to learn.
ERO’s next steps are for the school to work with whānau, students and staff on a plan to improve attendance, embed structured teaching of reading, writing and mathematics consistently in every class, review its assessment so the data is reliable and shows progress for every group, and regularly check that school practices follow its own policies, including its health and safety and personnel policies.
ERO also found the school had not been recording identity, background and referee checks when appointing staff; the board has since addressed this.
Read the ERO reports for Poukawa School
Enrolling
Students who live in the home zone have the right to enrol, and proof of residence is needed. Out-of-zone places are offered under the school’s enrolment scheme, by ballot when there are more applicants than places.
The school asks out-of-zone families to contact it and visit first; an enrolment committee considers each application and keeps a waiting list for when places come up.
All families are asked to phone the school before applying, then complete the online enrolment form linked from the enrolment page. New entrants need a birth certificate and vaccination certificate, and four-year-olds can come to transition mornings in the weeks before they start.
Schools nearby
Where students go next
Based on home zones around the school’s own address. Families can apply to any school, and your own address decides which zones you are in.
In Poukawa
Poukawa School is in Poukawa. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Poukawa guide →Questions parents ask
Is Poukawa School zoned?
It has a home zone covering parts of Pakipaki, Poukawa and Raukawa.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 8.
How many students go there?
97 at 1 Sep 2026.
Does it ask for donations?
No. It is in the donation scheme, so it only asks for donations for school camps.
What is its Equity Index?
476. The Ministry of Education’s Equity Index estimates the socio-economic barriers a school’s students face, from 344 (fewest) to 569 (most). It is used to share out funding, not as a measure of quality.
Updated automatically when the Ministry publishes new data.
Spotted something incorrect on this page? Let us know.
Sources and data notes 1
- School facts: School details and roll: Ministry of Education school directory, 23 Oct 2026 (CC BY 4.0). Home zone: Ministry of Education enrolment zones (CC BY 4.0). NCEA results, roll history and stand-downs: Education Counts, school leavers 2023 to 2025, stand-downs 2025, rolls 2021 to 2025 (CC BY 4.0).