Legal requirements for school attendance#

Schools#

Schools are required to:

• enrol eligible students
• take all reasonable steps to make sure students attend when the school is open
• keep an attendance record for each enrolled student
• have an absence notification process
• use an approved electronic attendance register and Ministry-approved attendance codes to record attendance.

Parents and legal guardians#

Parents and legal guardians are required to:

• enrol their child at a registered school when they turn 6 years old
• make sure their child (including enrolled 5-year-olds) attends school every day the school is open until they are at least 16 years old.

Failure to do so can result to the school or us taking legal action, including prosecution under Sections 243 and 244 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

Education and Training Act 2020 Public Act 243 Offence relating to failure to enrol – New Zealand Legislation

Education and Training Act 2020 Public Act 244 Offence relating to irregular attendance – New Zealand Legislation

Prosecutions for non-attendance or non-enrolment are a last resort when all other attempts to return a student to enrolment and regular attendance have failed.

Consideration of whether prosecution is an appropriate action will be in accordance with our Prosecution and Warnings Policy.

Student eligibility#

All domestic students between the ages of 5 until the end of the year in which they turn 19 are entitled to free enrolment and education at any state school or charter school. If the student receives Ongoing Resource Scheme (ORS) funding, this entitlement extends until they are 21.

This right includes attending school all hours that the school is open for instruction. Students with special education needs have the same rights to education as other students.

Talking to parents and whānau#

These resources are templates and starters for schools to use and adjust for communicating with parents. They include topics like:

• why attendance is important,
• justified and unjustified absences
• what whānau | families can do
• what support is available.

Attendance and sickness#

Health guidance by Te Whatu Ora │ Health New Zealand is available to help schools and parents to decide if a student is well enough to attend school.

Knowing if a child is well enough to be at school – Te Whatu Ora

Download the attendance quick reference guide#

This guide provides schools with information and resources to assess attendance patterns within their school and put in place appropriate policies and practices to improve student attendance.

Attendance services#

How the attendance service works#

The attendance service works with students who are enrolled in school but have not been attending. Schools can contact the service for help with managing attendance and reducing unjustified absence.

We contract providers across the country to deliver this service.

How to access the attendance service#

You should make a referral to our attendance service application if:

• a student has been absent without an explanation and
• you have not been successful getting them back to school.

Use our attendance service application to make a referral.

How to Log in to ASA – Applications and Online Systems

Referrals go straight to a service provider who will allocate the referral to a kaiawhina | attendance advisor.

Map of attendance services 2024

Training for school leaders and administration staff#

We run an online training session in managing attendance. Email our training services team for an invite to the training:

Email: mailto:[email protected]