Last updated November 2026
Rotorua Specialist School – Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua is a state, co-educational specialist school at 36 Kea Street, Selwyn Heights, Rotorua. It opened in 1963 and had 110 students on its roll at 1 October 2026.
Its website says it teaches students aged 5 to 21 with intellectual or physical disabilities, with a team of teachers, teacher aides and therapists, and runs satellite classes with host schools to support inclusion. Its Ngāti Whakaue education plan brings local history, te reo Māori, waiata, art and marae experiences into learning in ways that suit its students.
At a glance
- Principal
- Lorraine Northey
- Address
- 36 Kea Street, Selwyn Heights, Rotorua
- Phone
- 07 347 6717
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a Te Ara Huarau School Profile Report from April 2024, part of a national review of day specialist schools.
ERO noted that every student is ORS-funded and has a personalised learning programme, with specialists and therapists working alongside families and staff, and that the school runs satellite classes in local schools and a transition class preparing young adults for life after school.
The school was managing roll growth and the staffing and property demands that come with it. ERO and the school agreed to evaluate how well its curriculum initiatives meet each student’s needs and extend their learning.
Strengths ERO pointed to include whānau input shaping an adaptable curriculum, systems that respond to the whole needs of learners and their families, and shared leadership that looks for new ways to improve outcomes.
The school’s priorities are to review its strategic goals and link them more closely to its annual plan, to keep improving the curriculum and teaching and their effect on students, and to refine how the curriculum responds to what whānau want for their tamariki and rangatahi.
Read the ERO reports for Rotorua Specialist School – Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua
Enrolling
The school does not use a zone or ballot. Its website says every student must have Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding, and families can contact the school directly or be introduced through the Ministry of Education’s special education team.
After a first meeting to talk about the student and a possible place, whānau fill in the enrolment forms, staff visit the student at their current school or preschool, and the family visits the proposed class before transition visits begin.
Within the first month the school sets up a one-page summary of the student’s individual education plan and a therapist completes an initial screening.
Schools nearby
In Selwyn Heights Rotorua
Rotorua Specialist School - Te Kura Pūkenga o Rotorua is in Selwyn Heights Rotorua. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
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Questions parents ask
What years does it teach?
All ages.
How many students go there?
110 at 1 Oct 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?
523. 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, 11 Nov 2026 (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).