- Hon David Seymour
Term 1 2026 school attendance data shows attendance rates were higher than any Term 1 since 2022, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says.
Data shows that in Term 1 2026, 68.6% of students attended school regularly. This was an increase from 65.9% in Term 1 2025 (a 2.7 percentage point increase). A student attends school 'regularly' when they are in class for more than 90 per cent of the term.
"This data shows attendance rates continue to rise under this Government. We are focussed on fixing what matters, and few things are as important as school attendance," Mr Seymour says.
"In Term 1 2022 regular attendance was at 46.5 per cent. That means that in Term 1 2026 about 176,000 more students attended school regularly than in 2022. Kiwi students are showing up to school more, and parents are pushing them to attend. Those students and parents should be proud.
"When the Government takes attendance seriously, so do schools, parents, and students. It's important we continue to drive the change in attitude towards attendance."
The data indicates that Central and East Auckland region again has the highest regular attendance rate at 75.5%. This was followed by North and West Auckland at 73.5% and Otago/Southland at 72.6%.
"School attendance rates continue to improve year on year, but there is still work to be done. I expect attendance to continue rising as our attendance initiative have only just come into force," Mr Seymour says.
"Every school is now required to have implemented their own attendance management plan (AMP). It means there are escalating responses for declining attendance."
Some examples of how interventions could work are:
- 5 days absent: The school to get in touch with parents/guardians to determine reasons for absence and set expectations.
- 10 days absent: School leadership meets with parents/guardian and the student to identify barriers to attendance and develop plans to address this.
- 15 days absent: Escalating the response to an Attendance Service Provider. If absence escalates beyond this point (or for cases of non-enrolment) prosecution of parents becomes a possibility.
"Frontline attendance services are now also more accountable, better at effectively managing cases, and data-driven in their responses. They have access to a new case management system, better data monitoring, and their contracts will be more closely monitored. Budget 2025 included $140 million of additional funding 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."
Data is provisional and could change slightly. The full data breakdown can be found here: Attendance | Education Counts
