Auckland’s Kelston Intermediate School is taking a novel approach to boosting student attendance: purchasing a dedicated van to transport students who face barriers to getting to class. The move highlights a growing concern over chronic absenteeism across the country, even as overall attendance rates show modest improvement.
Attendance Slowly Rising, But Disparities Remain
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Despite a national push, significant gaps persist in school attendance rates among different student populations.
- Provisional data from the Ministry of Education indicates a slight increase in regular student attendance.
- In term 4 of last year, 57.3 percent of students attended school more than 90 percent of the time.
- Attendance rates for Māori and Pasifika students continue to lag behind the national average.
- Kelston Intermediate School is investing in a van to address transportation challenges for chronically absent students.
Provisional figures released by the Ministry of Education show that 57.3 percent of students attended school more than 90 percent of the time in term 4 of last year—a slight increase from 56.4 percent during the same period the previous year. The government aims to reach an 80 percent regular attendance rate by 2030, but the data reveals persistent inequalities.
In term 4 of 2025, only 39.5 percent of Pasifika students and 43 percent of Māori students were considered regularly attending. These rates represent a small increase from 41 percent and 42.5 percent, respectively, in term 4 of the prior year, but a substantial gap remains.
Addressing the Root Causes of Absenteeism
Bert Iosia, principal of Kelston Intermediate School, which serves approximately 420 students—the majority of whom are Pasifika and Māori—explained the school’s decision to invest in a dedicated transport van. The school’s regular attendance rate has hovered around 52 percent in recent years.
“While that wasn’t great,” Iosia said, “the school had managed to have some success with students who were at the chronic end of being absent from school.” The van, scheduled to be operational by the end of the month, will be used to pick up students who have missed 15 or more days of school.
“Where we know the background story and we understand what’s on top of the whānau – it becomes challenging for them to get kids there – this van could be a little bit of a lifeline to pick the kids up and get them through,” Iosia explained.
As president of the NZ Pasifika Principals’ Association, Iosia acknowledged the complexity of addressing lower attendance rates among Māori and Pasifika students. “There’s lots of issues that go on for our whānau that are almost difficult for non-Māori and Pasifika to sort of understand,” he said.
Family Challenges and Student Anxiety
Iosia pointed to the economic hardships faced by many families within the community. “Within our communities, there are just families that are just doing it hard. They may need some of the little ones to sort of help out with baby, new bubba – that’s sort of popped up as well.”
Student anxiety, particularly during the transition to intermediate school and later to high school, also contributes to absenteeism. “Intermediate is quite an interesting space because it’s a two-year period. So transitioning into intermediate can be quite challenging for some of our anxious kids,” Iosia noted. “The movement to high school can be quite daunting. So especially come the end of the year… you can see some of that absence that sort of sits around our children of serious concern.”
Iosia emphasized that improving attendance requires sustained engagement with both students and their families. He expressed optimism about the start of the school year and announced an ambitious goal of achieving a 70 percent regular attendance rate—meaning more than 90 percent attendance—by the end of the year. “My board, and my attendance team, and staff – we’re pretty committed to that.”
