Nau mai, haere mai — welcome to Western Heights School
Classes 9am – 2.50pm 09 836 1213 Absences: the HERO app
Western Heights School crest Western Heights School Love to Learn to Lead
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[ photo — whole school on the field, wide, morning light ]
A full primary school in West Auckland

Love to learn.
Learn to lead.

As we love to learn, we learn to lead, so we can lead with love.

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Who · Why · How · What

The four questions behind everything we do at this school.

Ko wai

Love unconditionally

Along with being patient, being present, being fun and expecting the best, it is one of five things we ask of every adult in this school, every day.

He aha

Māhirahira · Curiosity

Curiosity, and tino rangatiratanga, which is agency. We take a play-based approach to learning, because children who choose are children who care.

Pēhea

Kaitiakitanga · Guardianship

Guardianship, and mātauranga, which is learning. We work by appreciative inquiry: we start from what is already working here and build on it.

He aha te mahi

Zero Heroes, enviro and garden

Zero Heroes, our enviro and garden groups, the recyclers, restorative practice and wellbeing. These are the programmes a child joins here.

How learning works here →

The places our tamariki learn

Our learning spaces are built around five kinds of place to learn.

[ photo — children sharing news
in a group ]
The watering holeLearning from each otherWhere we share the news of the day, and every child is both learner and teacher.
[ photo — a child presenting
to the class ]
The mountain topTaking centre stageWhere we stand up to share and celebrate what we have learned.
[ photo — hands-on making
and building ]
The sandpitHands-on and practicalMaking, modelling, trial and error. Learning by trying things.
[ photo — a child reading
on their own ]
The caveTime alone to thinkA quiet place for deep, personal learning, free from distraction.
[ photo — a small group
with their kaiako ]
The campfireLearning through storyWhere a kaiako teaches a small group, and where we discuss and debate.

A school day

Classrooms open at half past eight and learning starts at nine. Juniors head home at 2.40 and everyone else at 2.50.

Parent information
  1. 8.30amClassrooms openChildren come in and get themselves ready for the day.
  2. 9.00amLearning beginsEvery class, every morning.
  3. 10.30amMorning intervalOutside until 11.00.
  4. 12.30pmLunchUntil 1.15, with a lunch ordering scheme alongside.
  5. 2.40pmHome timeJuniors and their siblings at 2.40, the rest of the school at 2.50.

The five values this school stands on

Whanaungatanga at one end, Tūrangawaewae at the other: the people and the land, holding the other three between them. We invite our tamariki to say how these stones connect to their own culture, their own stories and their own values.

Family always

Whanaungatanga

Being a family: living, learning and playing together as one.

Caring always

Manaakitanga

Caring for ourselves, others and our land. Bucket filling, paying it forward, and kindness as the language we all speak.

Our best always

Whakamana

Empowering us as learners and leaders to love learning and to be the best we can be.

The truth always

Pono

Being honest with ourselves and others. Integrity. Doing the right thing, always.

Our home always

Tūrangawaewae

Our standing place: where we belong, and where we stand tall.

Toitū te Marae a Tane-Mahuta
Toitū te Marae a Tangaroa
Toitū te Tangata

If the land is well and the sea is well, the people will thrive.

Five stones at the front of the school

In 2017 we installed our Pōhatu Tūmu, five foundation stones as old as the earth, set into the front of the school. They carry the five values this school is built on. At the start of every year each class comes out, sits among them and hears the story of each one.

  1. WhanaungatangaFamily
  2. ManaakitangaCaring
  3. WhakamanaOur best
  4. PonoTruth
  5. TūrangawaewaeOur home

“We Love to Learn so we can Learn to Lead so we can Lead with Love.”

659TamarikiChildren
73KaimahiStaff
5Pōhatu TūmuFoundation stones
[ photo — tamariki sitting among the five stones ]
Education Review Office · November 2023

What ERO found

ERO, the government's school inspectors, reviewed Western Heights in November 2023.

Read the report ↗

“High capability in school leadership.”

On how the school is led

Tamariki “articulate a strong sense of school belonging and care.”

On what children say about their school
Kia oraTalofa lavaMālō e leleiBula vinakaNamaste你好KumustaBonjourSalaamHolaGuten Tag안녕하세요
Latest · 19 Oct 2026 Have your say on our next strategic plan Ako, aroha, arataki: tell us what matters most for your child over the next two years. Four short questions, and it is anonymous. Read it in the newsletter ↗

News and dates

Stories from the newsletter, notices and the 2026 term dates.

All news and dates

Thinking about Western Heights for your child?

Check your address on the zone map, book a half-hour tour, then send one form.

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