School zones, reviews and equity funding

Find out if you live in a school’s zone, how the school is performing and what level of equity funding it gets based on the Equity Index.

How to see a school’s zone

If you live inside the zone for a school, you’re guaranteed a place there. Some schools do not have zones, so you can enrol there no matter where you live.

You can use the ‘Find a school’ tool to search for schools either by your address, the school name, or you can look up all schools in a certain area.

Find your nearest school — Education Counts

Apply to a school outside your zone

You can apply to go to a school that’s outside your zone, but you might not get in.

Enrolment Schemes (school zones) — Ministry of Education

School reviews

The Education Review Office evaluates and reports on the education and care of learners in schools, kura, kohanga reo, puna reo, and early childhood services.

Find review reports — Education Review Office

Equity Index

From , the Equity Index (EQI) replaced the decile system to determine the amount of equity funding a school gets.

The EQI is not a measure of school quality — it’s a way to understand the relationship between social and economic factors and student achievement.

The Equity Index — Ministry of Education

How it works

Each school is given an equity rating from 344 to 569. The Stats NZ Integrated Data Infrastructure is used to work out a school’s Equity Index number.

The EQI determines how much equity funding the school receives in addition to their regular funding — the higher the EQI, the more funding the school receives per student.

Schooling Equity Index — Education Counts

More information about the EQI

Who to contact for more help

If you need more help or have questions about the information or services on this page, contact the following agency.

Utility links and page information

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