Last updated October 2026
Riverdale School is a state, co-educational primary school for Years 1 to 6 at 324 Stout Street, Gisborne. It opened in 1958 and had 159 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. Its site describes three parts to the school: mainstream classes, the Rua Reo bilingual unit and Pāoa, a special needs unit. The school also runs a morning and afternoon van service, with places offered from a waiting list.
At a glance
- Principal
- Julie McLaughlin
- Address
- 324 Stout Street, Gisborne
- Phone
- 06 868 5468
Home zone
No home zone: any student can apply to enrol. If more students apply than there are places, the school decides how places are offered.
Who goes here
Share of the 159 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 Te Ara Huarau School Profile Report from August 2023. This kind of report sets out what ERO and the school will evaluate together, here how well trauma-informed practice meets each learner’s wellbeing and learning needs and lifts achievement.
Leaders told ERO that trauma in many students’ lives was affecting their ability to engage, and the school hopes to see students better able to self-regulate, improved progress for those most at risk, and fewer stand-downs for extreme behaviour.
ERO noted the school’s unit for students with high and complex needs, staff who are committed to strengthening their practice for a wide range of learners, a culture that celebrates every student’s success, and deliberate work to involve parents and whānau.
Next, the school plans professional learning to build teachers’ skills in trauma-informed practice, a shared understanding among all staff of how trauma affects learners with high and complex needs, ongoing work with whānau so they can support their children’s learning and wellbeing, and continued tracking of attendance and behaviour data for trends.
Read the ERO reports for Riverdale School (Gisborne)
Enrolling
The school has no enrolment zone, so any student can apply. Its enrolment page has the enrolment form and information about its transition to school programme for new entrants.
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 Riverdale Gisborne
Riverdale School (Gisborne) is in Riverdale Gisborne. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Riverdale Gisborne guide →Questions parents ask
Is Riverdale School (Gisborne) zoned?
No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 6.
How many students go there?
159 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?
552. 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, 29 Oct 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).