Truancy
Traffic lights alone won't stop truancy
Government fixes for truancy need to look at why kids aren't coming to school, rather than just shaming schools for their numbers. Audio
Higher school attendance in term 4 last year than 2022
Attendance looks to be on rise in recent Ministry of Health figures, but as Lauren Crimp reports, Associate Education Minister David Seymour isn't smiling yet. Audio
Do people think it's okay for students to skip school to avoid peak season prices?
Do you think it's okay for students to skip a few days school to avoid peak season prices? Visual journalist Marika Khabazi asked people on the streets of Auckland. Audio
Parent endorsed truancy a problem - Dunedin principal
Fresh truancy figures show a slight improvement in school attendance in the fourth term last year, however, but is still 12.5% lower than 2019 attendance figures. Otago Boys High School rector Richard… Audio
What could the govt do to get young people into the classroom?
The government is zeroing in on school attendance and is signaling a crackdown on parents to help get kids to school regularly. Pretoria Gordon went to ask people what the government could do to get… Audio
The Week in Detail: Busted roads, overflowing lakes and car-free cities
The Detail podcast brings you the issues behind the news every weekday. Here's what we covered this week. Audio
'Set up to fail': The alternative education problem
These programmes are the last resort for kids who can't cope in mainstream schools – but barely any leave with NCEA qualifications. Audio
School counts cost of coaxing kids back to class after Covid-19
Fed up with students not turning up, an Auckland college has hired attendance navigators and taken out radio ads to try get kids into the classroom.
New PPTA numbers show 60,000 students are missing… Video, Audio
Community leaders fear lockdown's long-term impact on families
The lengthy Auckland lockdown is making it even harder to address truancy - with growing concern some children will disappear from education entirely.
School principals have told Checkpoint as few as… Video, Audio
A 'truancy crisis': 60,000 students chronically absent
Ministry of Education figures show more than 60,000 students are classified as chronically absent, missing at least three days of school every fortnight. Almost 40 percent of pupils are not going to… Audio
What do our truancy figures say about us?
The Education Ministry's released its annual attendance survey, this is looking at term 2 in 2018 ... It found more than a THIRD of children failed to attend school regularly - that's defined as… Audio
Principal tries to put fear of God into kids about wagging
The principal of Hamilton's Fraser High School had a bit of a revolt on her hands this morning with some students reacting to a dire warning she delivered about the folly of truancy. Virginia Crawford… Audio
Rising school truancy prompts calls for better service
School principals are calling for a review of the service for tackling truancy, saying some areas there get almost no service at all.
Principals want review of truancy services
Only 67 percent of children regularly attended school in term two last year, down from 70 percent in 2015. Principals want a review of attendance services charged with getting the worst offenders back… Audio
Getting truants out of bed and off to school
Kathryn Ryan talks to Kawerau's secret weapon, Mereana Rua (aka Nanny Dolz). She is the straight shooting local truancy officer who gets teenagers out of bed, bundles them into her car and drives them… Audio
Schools frustrated at growing level of 'middle class truancy'
'Middle class truancy' - it's the reason for 10 percent of the unjustified absences from school. And high school principals are becoming frustrated. We talk to the president of the Secondary… Audio
Creating a new school culture in Kawerau
The closure of both Kawerau College and Kawerau Intermediate resulted in the birth of Tarawera High School catering for students from year 7 to 13. The old high school was notorious, low achievement… Audio, Gallery
Truancy figures worsen
Truancy from schools has reached its highest point in a decade. Audio
Truancy groups blame poverty and social media
The organisations charged with getting the country's truants back in the classroom have been struggling with high case-loads, difficult families, uncooperative schools - and the power of Facebook. Audio
Insight, Sunday 14 June: Truancy
Andrew McRae explores what's being done to combat the problem of truancy. Audio