Executive Summary

The RRF provided resources to support ākonga who are disengaged or at risk of disengaging from education. By funding initiatives to address barriers to attendance and engagement the RRF aimed to increase engagement and/or improve attendance for targeted students and in particular, priority students: ākonga Māori, Pacific learners and students with learning support needs.

The evaluation of the Regional Response Fund was undertaken during 2024 as an internal Ministry project, led by the Attendance and Engagement, and Evaluation and Research teams. In scope for this evaluation were RRF funded projects completed in Year 1 (2022-2023), and in Y2 (2023-2024) up until the end of April 2024.

The evaluation aimed to assess implementation processes supporting the effectiveness of the RRF, assess the performance of the RRF, and highlight opportunities to strengthen the effectiveness and impact of the RRF. The report presents results from three key evaluation questions:

1. How effectively is the RRF implementation supporting the RRF aims?
2. How valuable have RRF results been so far, for whom, and in what ways?
3. In what ways might the RRF be strengthened for effectiveness in the future?

The report documents five barriers to attendance and engagement which highlights the complexity of the issue. In addition, five approaches to addressing these barriers were evidenced through the various RRF initiatives undertaken across the country.

Survey feedback highlights the value of starting with relationship-building and engagement to re-engage students and work towards getting them back to school. Trust is built when ākonga and whānau feel heard, seen, and understood by schools. When trust is built, students and families feel safe to seek support from their school and community partners to address the complex barriers they experience.

The report presents a range of factors that work to support and improve attendance and engagement, and further articulates factors that hinder progress. Overall performance of the RRF is assessed against performance criteria applied to two of the key evaluation questions, followed by grading rubrics for level of performance and strength of evidence.

Since writing this report, changes to the attendance and engagement work programme have been occurring at rapid pace. The Regional Response Fund is now discontinued.