KEY POINTS:
A West Auckland action plan to be unveiled today will try to cut the number of truants by targeting the families of 5- and 6-year-olds.
Preschools will be called on to help spread the message about the importance of going to school, said the manager of the Waitakere City Improving School Attendance Programme, Margaret Campbell.
It is the latest phase for the programme, which aims to turn around the rise in the city's truancy figures between 2004 and 2006.
Among initiatives the programme introduced last year was a "generic school pass" to make it easier for shopping mall security staff, police and community services to check student passes and provide consistency throughout the city.
"The single most important achievement in a child's life is to attend school regularly," said Ms Campbell.
"Studies show that regardless of any qualifications gained, the single fact of attending school every day hugely affects the outcomes for that child."
The Zero Tolerance to Truancy Action Plan will be launched at Waitakere City Council today.
The plan's five main areas of focus are communication, hard data collection, the compilation of a resource manual, enhancement of "truant-free" shopping areas and ensuring all 5- and 6-year-olds go to school.
Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey said the project was positive for the city.
"I am proud the Waitakere community has stepped up to take the high ground on this issue, which has far- reaching consequences," he said.
"I am sure we will see a vast improvement in our attendance rates within a year as a result of this initiative and that will have many benefits, not just for our young people but for our community as a whole."
The initiative involves a large number of groups, including the police and Waitemata District Health Board and West Auckland Family Services.
The Waitakere City Improving School Attendance Programme is partly funded by the Ministry of Education.
The ministry's student support national manager, Jim Greening, said the ministry supported the development of community-led, local programmes to tackle truancy and the causes of it.
He said the ministry contracted about 90 district truancy services throughout NZ to help schools.
Mr Greening said the new plan in West Auckland to try to ensure 5- and 6-year-olds enrolled in school made sense, as attendance patterns were established early in life.
"Every day counts when it comes to attendance," he said. "We know that the more students truant, the more likely they are to continue truanting."
