David Seymour Calls for Action on School Attendance Crisis Bold Steps

"The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future," said Mr. Seymour.

Associate Education Minister David Seymour is urging students and families to prioritize school attendance in 2025, as part of a larger strategy to tackle New Zealand’s ongoing truancy crisis and enhance educational outcomes.

"The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future," said Mr. Seymour.

The Government has set an ambitious goal: by 2030, 80% of students should be attending more than 90% of school days each term. To achieve this, incremental improvements are necessary. For 2025, the target is to ensure attendance rates each term surpass those of the same term in 2024.

Recent statistics illustrate the challenge:

• In Term 1 of 2024, 61.7% of students attended school regularly.
• In Term 2, this dropped to 53.2%.
• By Term 3, it fell further to 51.3%. Figures for Term 4 will be finalized and published soon.

Innovations in Attendance Reporting

To support these goals, schools will now report daily attendance data. This replaces the former system of termly updates and will be made publicly accessible through a new, interactive attendance dashboard developed by the Ministry of Education.

The improved dashboard aims to provide faster insights into attendance patterns, enabling schools and the Government to respond quickly to concerning trends. While most schools began daily reporting this year, a small number of kura will transition to the system in mid-2025.

"This richer set of data will help us understand patterns in attendance and why some students aren’t attending. It will also ensure we can measure the effectiveness of interventions," Mr. Seymour said.

Addressing Key Attendance Challenges

Mr. Seymour highlighted Fridays as a persistent weak spot, with attendance regularly lower than other days. "I encourage parents to think of the long-term impact of letting students skip Fridays, both in missed education and in setting good habits for future employment," he added.

To ease the administrative burden on schools, the Government has reduced the number of attendance codes used to track student presence from 26 to 15. This streamlining ensures accurate data collection while maintaining a focus on education.

Call to Action for Parents and Communities

"We all need to get behind schools so they can keep a strong focus on teaching and help as many students as possible to become regular attenders," urged Mr. Seymour. He emphasized that failing to address truancy could have long-term societal consequences, creating generations of individuals less prepared for work and life.

Support and Collaboration for Change

The Government is working closely with schools, communities, and families to tackle the issue collaboratively. By creating awareness and implementing data-driven solutions, New Zealand aims to turn the tide on attendance challenges and secure a brighter future for its students.

"With more information about attendance, we will improve educational outcomes for New Zealand children. We’re making this information publicly available and putting an emphasis on getting to school," said Mr. Seymour.