Getting kids back in class The MoE’s move to improve school attendance

By Natasha Parrant

Poor school attendance is not unheard of since Aotearoa’s government has been trying to tackle this issue for a while, but it has recently decided to fund $74 million over three to five years to improve school attendance.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) is providing a School Attendance Turnaround Package to kura and schools to support students/ ākonga, so they can become interested in learning again, as posted on the MoE website on February 21, 2023. This extra support by the government aims to support the goals established through the Attendance and Engagement Strategy.

The latest package hopes to improve school attendance among ākonga who are often absent, not in education, employment, or training.

The package has:

• $37.6 million of funding over five years for 82 new attendance manager positions who will work with schools to ensure students no longer skip school here and there or don’t attend at all

• $28.4 million of funding over five years to expand space and acknowledge the Attendance Service price pressures

• $7.73 million of funding over three years to improve a regulated structure for gathering and examining attendance statistics.

The funding will aim to get young people back into the classroom with more attendance managers in schools and additional support for the Attendance Service, Education Minister Jan Tinetti said.

“We know how important it is for young people to be at school and learning, so the government is putting every effort into making sure they are. We are going back to basics on attendance.

“This $74 million package puts resources on the ground to support schools and students and make a difference to attendance rates this year. It will also make sure we have better data that is less likely to be misconstrued and helps us to focus our efforts in the right place.”

The attendance managers will work with parents and schools, including students who have low or decreasing attendance rates to ensure they are going to attend school regularly unless they are unwell.

“This is a complex issue that will require the whole community, including parents, to fix but the government is committed to doing everything it can to turn attendance and engagement in school around.”

There are various reasons why students do not attend school, which is why the government wants to continue to improve initiatives to eliminate these challenges that are affecting students’ education.

“These measures will ensure young people are attending, want to be at school and are on the right path.”