![\"Kaiapoi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4JTFKJQ_Hur1082LDRkaiapoi2_JPG.jpeg\")
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\nKaiapoi High School principal Jason Reid says New Zealand needs to realise that school attendance is important.
\nPhoto: LDR \/ David Hill\n<\/p>\n
A Canterbury principal says the nation needs to lift its game on school attendance.<\/p>\n
Kaiapoi High School principal Jason Reid said 51 percent of their students met the Ministry of Education’s regular attendance standards – being at school 90 percent of the time.<\/p>\n
Reid said 73 percent of students were at school 80 percent of the time, which is considered irregular attendance.<\/p>\n
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“We need people to realise that attending school is important. Eighty percent is actually poor attendance, as it means you are effectively away one day per week.<\/p>\n
“You wouldn’t accept that (80 percent attendance) as an employer, so we need to ensure they are getting into good habits now.<\/p>\n
“It’s something we need to be pushing as a nation. It shouldn’t be that hard for the majority to be attending 90 percent or above.”<\/p>\n
But Reid said “a sizeable chunk” of absences were due to sickness, with the highest levels of sickness recorded in term three.<\/p>\n
“Last year there were a lot of bugs going round, so it definitely had an impact.<\/p>\n
“But we do need to watch out for it, because if you miss a week of school, you miss 25 hours of learning and it’s very hard to come back from.”<\/p>\n
There were some incidents of children being taken out of school for family holidays or for birthdays, he said.<\/p>\n
“There are some parents who are vigilant in making sure they are in contact with teachers to ensure the impact on learning is minimised.<\/p>\n
“But it will still have an impact and it is not just the academic impact, it’s leadership, sport, socialising with their peers – all of these things are impacted.”<\/p>\n
Schools are required to record and submit student attendance every day for public reporting.<\/p>\n