Key Findings

• Prevalence of disability increases with age, from 8% of students of primary school age in 2017 to 15% of intermediate or secondary school age.
• Prior participation rates in early childhood education are identical between disabled and non-disabled students.
• Disabled students are between 1.5 and 3 times more likely than their non-disabled peers to be stood-down, suspended and frequently move schools.
• There are only minor differences in attendance rates between disabled and non-disabled students, and most differences are medical-related.
• About a quarter of younger disabled students and 40% of older disabled students report that it is difficult for them to play or make friends.
• Disabled students are substantially more likely to receive Ministry-funded learning support than non-disabled students, but there are indications (from Ministry data and from parent reports) that many disabled students continue to have unmet needs.
• Some groups of disabled students (such as those with non-cognitive mobility impairments) attain NCEA at rates on par with non-disabled students.
• But as a group, disabled students are half as likely to attain NCEA Level 3 as non-disabled students, and more than twice as likely to attain no qualification at school.