Before Covid, in 2019, a Term 2 Attendance Survey showed 58 per cent of students attended school regularly. The fall has been across every decile, year level, ethnicity and region. It's not just older secondary school students, it's across primary and intermediate schools too. Even early childhood centres are seeing a problem.
Of course, it's not as though Covid has had no effect on absenteeism, but the long-term data shows we can't just shift the blame and expect attendance to come back on its own.
Absenteeism impacts wellbeing
The long-term impact of not getting on top of our increasing lack of interest in being at school will impact today's learners. It's not only their academic attainment and opportunities in life, but their mental health and wellbeing.
The Government's own studies show regular attendance is a good predictor of wellbeing. The Ministry found 15-year-old students skipping a greater number of days than in the previous fortnight, and predicted worse average outcomes relating to schoolwork-related anxiety, sense of belonging, bullying, racism and motivation. It's not surprising to hear regular commentary about escalating anxiety and teachers increasingly managing behavioural issues.
Sadly, we're seeing an increasing number of young people distressed.
Children and young people were taken to hospital after self-harming more than 5600 times in the year to September 2021. Up 10 per cent on the previous year, 30 per cent in five years. Self-harm is a coping mechanism indicating young people in distress.
Otago University's longitudinal study found childhood anxious behaviours related to social isolation and sadness appear to carry risk for developing an anxiety disorder in later life.
Again, another trend for our young people that is going the wrong way.
Attendance and attainment correlate
Attendance is strongly linked to attainment for school students. With attendance rates in steady decline, we can't avoid a decline in achievement.
Recent research shows that each additional half-day absence from school predicts a consistent reduction in the number of NCEA credits a student subsequently attains. And that's the same whether that is the student moving from 100 per cent to 99 per cent attendance or moving from 71 per cent to 70 per cent attendance. Students who are absent even 5-10 per cent of the time (still considered "regular" attendance) obtain fewer NCEA credits than those with slightly higher attendance. There is no "safe" level of non-attendance.
Since the late-2000s, the performance of New Zealand students in international standardised tests measuring numeracy, literacy, and science performance has been slowly but steadily declining.
Over the past decade, the proportion of children not reaching the minimum reading benchmark has increased from 14 per cent to 19 per cent. But let's not say it's just at the lower end. The proportion of students achieving at the highest levels in reading has also decreased significantly.
Unicef found only 64 per cent of 15-year-olds in New Zealand are achieving above the most basic level of reading. It means nearly 40 per cent are struggling to read and write.
In 2021, 21 per cent of school leavers in our lower decile schools finished their school education without achieving NCEA Level One.
Let's tend to the trouble
We've tried fines for parents. We've tried privatisation of truancy services. What's left? Perhaps it's worth a consolidated, collaborative approach to engaging students and whānau.
Schools have been asking for truancy services to be more interconnected with their school communities and whānau. Understanding the dynamics and pressures these families face can help uncover relevant solutions. Things like free lunches, sponsorship, or support for uniforms and technology can make a difference.
We also need to look at what will keep today's young people engaged. As technology has accelerated, lessons and resources have largely stagnated. What worked in education 20 years ago doesn't work now.
John O'Connell is the Chief Executive of The Life Education Trust.
The Life Education Trust is New Zealand's largest health education provider in schools. It is currently running Nurturing Healthy Minds, a series of online teacher-focused workshops designed to equip teachers with practical skills to support students with anxiety in the classroom.
