Hon David Seymour
Associate Minister of Education

Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that the Education Review Office’s (ERO) timely report on chronic school absence released today is further evidence of a truancy crisis.

“Chronic absence has doubled since 2015. This report reinforces that action is needed to ensure this generation reaches its full potential,” says Associate Minister of Education David Seymour.

“Following the announcement of the Stepped Attendance Response (STAR) system I have been travelling across New Zealand holding hui with frontline people engaged in school attendance, such as school leaders and attendance officers.

“The insights have been valuable, and I’m convinced that we’re on the right track to make school attendance a priority and to turn around the current state of affairs.

“It will be mandatory for all schools to have an attendance management plan based on STAR from the beginning of the 2026 school year. The Ministry will work with schools, the Attendance Service, non-government agencies and other government agencies to streamline this. The Ministry will also provide best practice templates for attendance plans and toolkits for dealing with absent students, depending on the reasons for absence.

“The ERO report states that there is a lack of understanding of the implications of truancy, interventions are occurring too late and only once non-attendance is firmly embedded, and that there is inadequate information sharing between agencies which puts strain on attendance services.

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“The Government is addressing these issues. We’ve started a nationwide conversation on truancy. We’re setting frameworks for timely interventions from schools, and I’ve directed the Ministry of Education, with the active co-operation of the Ministry for Social Development, Oranga Tamariki, Police, Kainga Ora, and Te Puni Kōkiri to develop robust information sharing agreements so that staff can share appropriate information once a student has been identified as needing support.

“The report also states that schools have had difficulties with the prosecution process. I have directed the Ministry to take a more active role in the prosecution. I reserve the right to look at an infringement scheme in the future if this approach doesn’t work.

“The Ministry of Education has also been internally reviewing the effectiveness of its support for the Attendance Service.

“Almost every aspect of someone's adult life will be defined by the education they receive as a child. If we want better social outcomes, we can’t keep ignoring the truancy crisis. This Government has set itself bold targets to address attendance, and it’s a bold approach that is needed for the future.”

ERO’s report is published on https://ero.govt.nz/

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