Last updated: July 2026

Overview

This page provides information on students who have an active non-enrolment case with an attendance service provider. A non-enrolled student is a child of compulsory school age (6–16 years) who is not currently enrolled at a registered school in New Zealand and whose last day of attendance is more than 20 schools days in the past. Attendance services work with schools, whānau and communities to identify these learners and support their engagement and re-engagement in education.

There are 61 attendance service providers operating across 84 catchments nationally, with some providers delivering services across multiple catchments. Providers commenced delivery under the new attendance service contracts on 1 January 2026. All case management activity and reporting is undertaken through the Attendance Services Case Management System (ASCMS), which provides a national view of non-enrolment cases and student engagement with attendance services.

The data on this page provides a snapshot of active non-enrolment cases managed by attendance service providers, including student demographics, attendance history, case duration, and trends in case activity over time. As at 6 July 2026, there were 6,210 active non-enrolment cases. Most cases were in active case management, with a smaller proportion in transition towards case closure. The median case duration was 65 business days.

Note: An active case does not always indicate that a student is currently unenrolled. Many active cases are in transition, where a student has re-enrolled and is being monitored by an attendance service provider before the case is closed. Other transition cases may involve students moving to Te Kura, progressing through an Early Leaving Exemption process, or being supported into another education or learning pathway such as home schooling or tertiary provision.

Key messages

• There were 6,210 active non-enrolment cases as at 6 July 2026.
• Most active cases related to students aged 13–15 years, with 15-year-olds representing the largest age group.
• Around 71% of learners in active cases had not attended school during the current term.
• Nearly one-third of learners had not attended school for more than 4 terms.
• Māori learners are over-represented among active non-enrolment cases when compared with their proportion of the school population. Ethnicity is reported using total response ethnicity.
• Referrals increased substantially during 2026, indicating growing demand for attendance services support.

Active non-enrolment cases

This spreadsheet provides information on active non-enrolment cases managed by attendance services, including student demographics, attendance history, case duration and case activity trends.

Definitions and data dimensions

Definition

A non-enrolled student is a child of compulsory school age (6–16 years) who is not currently enrolled at a registered school in New Zealand and whose last day of attendance is more than 20 school days in the past.

Data source

Data is sourced from the Attendance Services Case Management System (ASCMS) and reflects active non-enrolment cases at the reporting date.

Ethnicity

Ethnicity is reported using total response ethnicity, meaning students may be counted in more than one ethnic group and ethnicity totals may exceed the total number of students.

Age

Age-based reporting excludes 5-year-olds and 16-year-olds, as these children are not legally required to be enrolled in school.

Privacy

To protect student privacy, counts less than 5 are suppressed.

Attendance information

Term 2 attendance figures are based on provisional attendance data available as at 6 July 2026 and may change when final attendance data is finalised.

Reporting period

This publication covers active cases reported between 1 January 2026 and 5 July 2026, with data generated on 6 July 2026.