Term 2 in person attendance highest since 2016

Provisional school attendance data for Term 2 2026 shows despite high fuel prices in person attendance rates were higher than any Term 2 since 2016, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. 

In Term 2 2026, 64.2% of students attended school regularly. This was a 5.8 per cent increase from 58.4 per cent in Term 2 2025.  A student attends school ‘regularly’ when they are in class for more than 90 per cent of the term.

"When the Government takes attendance seriously, so do students and their families and care givers," Mr Seymour says. 

“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. 

"That's the attitude we've taken to attendance during this difficult period. The results speak for themselves. Under this Government attendance during tough times has skyrocketed.

“In Term 2 2022 regular attendance was at 39.6 per cent. In Term 2 2026 about 199,134 more students attended school regularly. Kiwi students are showing up to school more, and parents are pushing them to attend. Those students and parents should be proud.”

The region with the biggest increase in Term 2 2026 was Bay of Plenty (up 8.0 percentage points to 60.5% in Term 2 2026 from 52.5% in Term 2 2025). This was followed by Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast (up 7.3 percentage points to 64.8% in Term 2 2026 from 57.5% in Term 2 2025) and Tāmaki Herenga Waka (up 7.1 percentage points to 57.8% in Term 2 2026 from 50.7% in Term 2 2025).  

“We’re on a roll, and I expect that to continue. Our attendance initiatives are now in force and have delivered results already. As educators, communities, and families become more familiar with new tools, those results will continue to improve,” Mr Seymour says. 

“For example, 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 might 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.

Budget 2025 also included $140 million of additional funding to improve attendance over the next four years.

“We’ve re-organised the provision of attendance services, awarding new contracts and increasing support for services providing excellent results,” Mr Seymour says.

“In 2024 Ministry of Education and ERO reviews found that the attendance services system wasn’t working. Funding was scattershot, distributed inefficiently, and failing to get results. 

“Now, attendance services are much more effective. They’re better resourced, more accountable, better at effectively managing cases and more data driven. Thanks to this Government’s investment, they can reach twice as many students. 

“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 every student deserves.”

This data is provisional and subject to minor changes. 

The years 2020 and 2021 are not included in comparisons because they're not directly comparable with other years, due to the way that attendance was recorded during Covid-19 lockdowns.

The full provisional data breakdown can be found here: Attendance | Education Counts ...