Chronic school absences have reached ‘crisis levels’, ERO says

This year, 80,000 children were chronically absent in the second term. File photo.
Photograph: UnSplash / Taylor Flowe

The Education Review Office says the underfunded attendance system needs a significant overhaul as chronic absenteeism reaches crisis point.

In a report released Wednesday, the office said 80,000 children were chronically absent in the second semester of this year, the worst of the four school terms for overall attendance.

This meant that one in 10 students missed more than 30 percent of class time that semester; This was twice the figure 10 years ago.

More than half of absent students blamed their mental health, and more than a quarter blamed their physical health, the report said.

“When you have multiple physical and mental health issues, it’s hard for people who haven’t experienced them to really understand,” one student told the report’s authors.

“I was bullied and threatened at school and the school did not respond in a way to keep me safe so I had no choice but to drop out,” another said.

Students from low-income areas are six times more likely to be chronically absent than other students, the report said.

He noted that 22 schools accounted for 10 percent of chronically absent students, and five schools had chronic absenteeism rates above 50 percent.

The report said the attendance system was underfunded and ineffective, and schools were too slow to report truants to attendance services, making it difficult to get children back to school.

“Schools have tools in place to identify situations where students are chronically absent, but they often wait too long to intervene. “Only 43 per cent of parents and whānau with a child who is chronically absent have spoken to school staff about their child’s attendance. Leaders in one in five schools (18 per cent) only refer students after they have been absent for more than 21 consecutive days. Just over two-thirds of Attendance Service staff report that schools never or only sometimes refer students at the right time (about half of schools do not do this, the report said). It was stated that referrals were made to their services.

He said schools and attendance services were not established to enforce attendance.

“Just over half of school leaders (54 per cent) and just over three-fifths (62 per cent) of Attendance Service staff do not think there are good options for enforcing attendance and holding people accountable. Schools trying to bring cases found the process complicated and costly,” the report said. .

Engagement service staff were described as passionate about their work but their organizations were underfunded.

“I find that schools and other providers often do not understand what our role is and often expect much more from us than we can realistically do. Whānau also have unrealistic expectations. Many believe that we are trained professionals (we have worked etc) and that we will find the magic solution and /or we will come every day to force their children to go to school on their behalf,” a staff member told the review.

The report notes that when chronically absent students return to school, their schools often do not do enough to ensure their successful reintegration.

An inclusion service staff member told the report that the education system should “provide quality educational options for students for whom mainstream school is not the best option, and, where appropriate, differentiated educational options for neurodiverse and disabled students.”

The report stated that the educational and life outcomes of chronically absent students are worse than other students.

Half of 20-year-olds who were chronically absent from school age did not have NCEA level two, and almost half of 25-year-olds are on benefits.

“We need an effective end-to-end system and supports to reduce chronic absenteeism. Our current system to address chronic absenteeism cannot deliver. We need to transform the system by building stronger functionality (what happens) and refactoring the model (how happens),” the report said.

He called for a number of changes, including tougher measures for schools.

“Increased use of enforcement measures with parents and whānau, including more consistent prosecutions, wider organizations using attendance obligations more actively, and learning from other countries’ models (including those that link qualification attainment to minimum attendance),” it recommended.

Parents and guardians could be fined up to $30 for each day their child is absent from or enrolled in school, up to $300 for a first offense, and up to $3,000 for subsequent offenses.

The report also recommended more funding for attendance services and schools, and more support for struggling families and students.

The report said 18 per cent of Māori students and 17 per cent of Pacific students were chronically absent in the second term, compared to eight per cent of Pākehā students and six per cent of Asian students.

Deputy Education Minister David Seymour said in a statement that the report was further evidence of the truancy crisis.

“Chronic absenteeism has doubled since 2015. This report reinforces the need for action to ensure this generation reaches their full potential.”

He said that from the beginning of the 2026 school year, it will be mandatory for all schools to have an attendance management plan based on the Graduated Attendance Response (STAR) system.

“The Ministry will work with schools, the Attendance Service, non-governmental organizations and other government agencies to facilitate this. The Ministry will also provide best practice templates for attendance plans and toolkits to deal with absent students depending on the reasons for their absence.”

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