Associate Education Minister, David Seymour, has welcomed the Education Review Office’s (ERO) report on school attendance, which has shown an uptick in parent and student attitudes.
The report is based on a survey of 14,600 students, parents, teachers and school leaders. It follows a similar survey in 2022, giving comparable data.
“School attendance matters for the future of this country, and we are fixing it. When the Government takes education seriously, so do parents, students, and schools,” Mr Seymour said.
“The data shows rising attendance every term this Government has been in power.”
In Term 2 2025, 58.4% of students attended school regularly, compared to 39.6% in Term 2 of 2022. ERO’s report released today identifies the three main reasons for this.
“The first reason is the actions of schools and school leaders. 93% of teachers and leaders report setting clear expectations with students and parents around attendance. The report found that when these expectations were clear about why school attendance is important, they were more effective,” said Mr Seymour.
The Minister said many schools have also already implemented their own attendance management plan, aligned with the Stepped Attendance Response (STAR). It will be mandatory for all schools to have theirs in place by Term 1 of 2026.
“When schools take attendance seriously, so do students. Three-quarters of students now think daily attendance is important, compared to two-thirds in 2022. More students also think education is important for their future. The number of students who say they never want to miss school has almost doubled, from 15% in 2022 to 28% now.”
“Parents place a higher value on their children attending school than three years ago. Parents are 10 percentage points less likely to be comfortable with their child missing more than a week or more of school.
“As our attendance action plan continues to roll out, I expect attitudes and attendance rates to continue to improve.
“At the start of next year frontline attendance services will be more accountable, better at effectively managing cases, and data-driven in their responses. To achieve this, they will soon have access to a new case management system and better data monitoring, and their contracts will be more closely monitored.”
Budget 2025 included $140 million of additional funding package to improve attendance over the next four years.
“Attending school is the first step towards achieving positive educational outcomes. Positive educational outcomes lead to better health, higher incomes, better job stability and greater participation within communities. These are opportunities that every student deserves.”
Te Whakarōpūtanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa – The New Zealand School Boards Association (NZSBA) has described the report as a positive reflection of the care and commitment schools across Aotearoa are showing young people.
NZSBA President, Meredith Kennett said it was encouraging to see both attendance rates returning to pre-COVID levels and a clear positive shift in how students view being at school.
“Getting attendance back to where it was before COVID is no small achievement,” Ms Kennett said.
“Schools and boards have worked incredibly hard to rebuild routines, reconnect families, and remind students that being at school every day really does matter.”
Ms Kennett said it was particularly pleasing to see how strongly students now value attendance.
“What a fantastic result that eight out of 10 students now believe going to school every day is important,” she said.
“Even more encouraging is that nearly 30% of students say they never want to miss school. I remember maybe one or two of my own classmates feeling that way – but definitely not 30%.”
Ms Kennett said the improvement was a direct reflection of the care that schools and boards show their students, in ways that go well beyond the classroom.
“In some schools, that care looks like providing practical support – helping with uniforms, food or transport,” she said.
“In others, it’s about setting clear expectations and goals that motivate students to attend. But across all schools, the biggest driver is the same: students feeling connected to their school and community.”
Read Back to class – How are attitudes to attendance changing (Summary Report).pdf
