Truancy: The complex reasons so many Kiwi kids aren't in school

New Zealand's massive truancy problem is a complex one that will be difficult to solve, the Government has been told.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins on the weekend unveiled an $88 million package to tackle non-attendance, with about a third of students not regularly showing up.

Parliament's Education and Workforce Committee last month released the findings of its investigation into the matter, with a raft of recommendations based on submissions from the Ministry of Education, the Office of the Children's Commissioner, the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists, principals, students and more.

Many submissions provide raw reading; some are a cry for help from those most affected.

A year 13 student at Riccarton High School said, "New Zealand's mental health system is failing young people. This is particularly visible in Ōtautahi, which has suffered many traumas.

"This failing mental health system means young people are unable to get the help they need, and as a result miss class time."

The student also mentioned period poverty and difficulties getting a diagnosis and treatment for health issues related to menstruation.

"Take a holistic approach to address the issue of declining school attendance," she said. "The factors affecting school attendance are wide-ranging and therefore need complex and nuanced approaches to address them.

"At the centre of that solution should be ākonga (students), otherwise, it will not be successful."

Teacher attitudes and practices were also highlighted as factors that could make school an unwelcoming environment. A 10-year-old submitter said their teacher "makes me not want to go to school. Most days she asks me too many questions all at once very fast in front of everyone and she makes me embarrassed."

Anxiety related to bullying, school work and poor relationships with teachers were also noted as contributing to poor mental health. One submitter said school "is such a toxic environment that it can actually cause mental health problems to develop".

Some submitters said teachers' high workloads, large class sizes and a lack of support for them wasn't helping.

"Teachers are already at break point with the current changes, initiatives and priorities," said the Post Primary Teachers' Association Te Wehengarua (PPTA).

"They don't need to be told to do more."

School start times and flexibility of school hours were also raised by submitters. Some are concerned traditional start times for secondary schools did not take into account teenage sleep patterns (Office of the Children's Commissioner).

Ākonga (student) submitters were more direct: "We are tired in the morning," one said. "I would like us to start later".

The Ministry of Education's report to the select committee was extensive. As an appointed adviser, it pointed to the vast number of examples cited in the submissions.

The ministry’s report said that most students responded to the end of the national lockdown in Term 2 2020 by attending at higher rates than over the same time in 2019. However, student attendance in response to these lockdowns was inequitable.

"The negative impacts of Covid-19 on attendance are heavily concentrated in primary school, especially for years 1 and 2. Covid-19 also appears to be significantly worsening inequities in attendance, particularly in Auckland, for Māori and Pacific ākonga, and in low decile schools," the report said.

The impact of Covid-19 on attendance, the lessons learnt from the response and their future application, and the need to respond and support ākonga as the pandemic continues to affect some ākonga’s access to learning was also raised by submitters.

Auckland’s Manurewa High School principal, Pete Jones, told 1News the impact of Omicron this year has been the most disruptive.

“For the first time we have had cases in schools and the community and the logistics were very difficult.

“Last term we got down to about 35% student attendance because we had so many Covid cases in the community,” he said.

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The report also pointed to submissions identifying societal causes of non-attendance, including housing affordability and transience, family violence, and poverty.

"Societal causes of non-attendance cannot be solved by the education sector alone," the report acknowledged, but said supporting free lunch and period product programmes and school transport assistance are within its scope.

The ministry currently spends roughly $200 million each year on school transport assistance. This assistance almost exclusively goes to rural communities, the report said.

While the Ministry of Education doesn't officially use the word truancy, non-attendance and non-enrolment is at a low point.

In New Zealand, children between the ages of six and 16 legally have to attend school.

Hipkins said on Sunday student attendance has been a "real challenge" for many years, and the pandemic has made it worse.

"We have got to do better."

In 2017, 63% of children went to school regularly - attending term 2 for more than 90% of the time. In 2021 that fell to 59.7%.

Dr Cherie Taylor-Patel, president of the New Zealand Principal's Federation (NZPF), says 67% of students are attending school regularly this year.

"It is complex and there are a lot of different factors that are driving it."

Taylor-Patel says some students have lost confidence interacting with peers amid the Covid-19 pandemic or they are phobic about going back to school.

"Sometimes parents are blocks to children returning to school."

There is also an upward trend in home-schooling applications, many of which are stuck in a backlog waiting for approval. Taylor-Patel says many of them have simply not gone back to school.

As of March 4, 2022, of the 5359 applications to home educate received in 2021 and up to the end of February 2022, 1435 were still to be assessed.

A Ministry of Education spokesperson told 1News all applicants are advised that if their child is aged between six and 16, they continue to be legally required to be enrolled and attending a registered school while their home education application is being processed.

Once a Certificate of exemption has been granted, the child can be unenrolled from their registered school, and parents are then legally responsible for providing, supervising and monitoring their child’s learning programme.

The ministry said in its report that it wants "every single student in New Zealand to attend school every single day. However, we believe achieving a sustained average of at least 70 percent of students attending school regularly by 2024 is an appropriate goal. Seventy-five percent of students attending school regularly by 2026 is also an appropriate objective".

National's education spokesperson Erica Stanford says it's not good enough.

"Truancy and non-attendance is the largest problem we face in our education system today.

"Attendance goes hand-in-hand with achievement and we must prioritise getting students to school if we have any hope of reversing declining achievement and to ensure all kids get a chance in life to be successful.

"We would also set a target for every student to attend at least 90% of available school time and require schools to take actions if attendance falls below that target.

"National would also ensure that the Ministry of Education understands truancy and non-attendance better. We know that not one of the 4000 staff at Ministry of Education is employed specifically to address truancy, that must change."

In its submission to the select committee, the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists said the "research evidence, as well as our members' clinical experience, suggests that intervention should take place as soon as a reduced pattern of attendance is observed (typically, when the child falls below 80% attendance).

"In the current system, difficulties are often not identified or addressed until attendance has fallen significantly."