Attendance Expectations

In New Zealand, school attendance is governed by the Education Training Amendment Bill (No 2) and aligned with the Ministry of Education’s Stepped Attendance Response (STAR) Framework.

The Government has set a target for 80% of students to be present more than 90% of the time by 2030.

Ōtūmoetai College is committed to ensuring that every student attends school regularly, as consistent attendance is essential for achieving high educational standards.  Regular attendance is defined as attending 90% or more of the time, which equates to no more than one day absent in a fortnight.

Through open communication and collaboration with whānau/caregivers, the College seeks to identify early signs of disengagement and provide appropriate support through in school services and hauora/belonging initiatives to ensure every student is present, engaged, and learning.

It is a legal requirement that children must be enrolled at a registered school and attend regularly unless exempted. Compulsory regular attendance applies to all children aged 6 to 16.

Students are expected to:

● Attend school every day the school is open.
● Arrive to all classes on time and ready to learn.
● Comply with Ōtūmoetai College’s attendance procedures.
● Stay home when they are not medically fit to attend school.
● Seek support from staff when ongoing barriers affect their ability to attend.

Whānau/Caregivers are expected to:

● Ensure their child attends school regularly and punctually.
● Inform the school promptly of any absence or emerging attendance issues, as well as requests for leave.
● Support the shared goal of regular, on time attendance as a foundation for student success and well-being.
● Receive weekly attendance updates via email and have access to the online portal and through twice yearly reports to support monitoring of attendance progress.
● Participate in meetings (hui) or attendance plans as required and work in partnership with the college to address barriers.

Absences must be explained by whanau/caregivers and fall into the following MOE attendance categories: Attendance codes 2026

Monitoring Attendance:

●Whānau/caregivers and students will receive weekly attendance updates via email.
● Whānau/caregivers and students also have access to the online Kamar portal and receive twice yearly reports to help monitor attendance progress.

Ōtūmoetai College will:

● Maintain high expectations for regular attendance and punctuality.
● Ensure that attendance is monitored daily, analysed weekly, and reviewed termly.
● Ensure same-day follow-up of unexplained absences.
● Implement a tiered, STAR-aligned response that provides support early and intensively where needed.
● Work in partnership with whānau to remove barriers to attendance and strengthen student engagement.
● Ensure a schoolwide culture of belonging and connection.
● Set annual attendance goals and evaluate progress against them.
● Ensure that the intervention is equitable, culturally responsive, and grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
● An Attendance Management Plan (AMP) will be implemented, reviewed, and updated annually with explicit regard to STAR guidance, ensuring that all thresholds, actions, and documentation expectations fully align with national requirements.

Attendance Response Tiers (Aligned with STAR)

Ōtūmoetai College uses a tiered, Stepped Attendance Response (STAR) system to provide early support where needed. The actions taken depend on the student’s attendance percentage:

ŌTC STAR Attendance Framework (document links):

ŌTC 2026 Attendance Management plan
Stepped Attendance Response STAR ŌTC
Summary of Attendance Management Plan