A recent Education Review Office (ERO) report shows chronic school absences in high schools have doubled in the last decade and one in 10 students were chronically absent in term two of this year.
Over half of the students who are chronically absent identified mental health as a reason for missing school, the report shows.
In comparison, 27% of chronically absent students identified physical health as a reason for absence.
Code M is the attendance code teachers put next to a student’s name if they are absent because of illness or medical reasons, which can include mental health.
Former high school student Cameron Paratene said combining those reasons makes the code far too vague and he believes it is primarily used for physical health related absences.
He wants to see a new attendance code created for mental health related absences so schools have more accurate information for why students are absent and can help them accordingly.
But the Ministry of Education and the Secondary Principals’ Association say a new code is not required.
Chronic absence and mental health
A student is labelled “chronically absent” if they miss more than 30% of school per term, which boils down to missing more than three days per fortnight.
The ERO report found over half of chronically absent students do not achieve NCEA Level 2, have higher rates of offending, are more likely to be victims of crime and are more likely to live in social and emergency housing as adults.
It also found mental health needs can be a barrier to school attendance.
Cameron Paratene (Rongowhakaata) experienced mental health issues throughout his time at high school.
“I was diagnosed with anxiety, and it often led to me getting overwhelmed in the mornings, causing me to be late for school on multiple occasions, particularly in Year 13 when I was a head student,” the 19-year-old said.
“I would have anxiety attacks and break down some mornings when it became really bad.”
He said creating a separate code for mental health related absences might help students feel heard and acknowledged and it would push for mental health to be addressed more.
Paratene said he thinks this solution will help resolve unexplained absences, reduce the association between truancy and mental health absences and give statistical insight into how much mental health contributes to absences.
He also thinks introducing a mental health code from primary school upwards will help schools get on top of students’ mental health issues before they potentially escalate.
ERO said: “When barriers are identified by schools, parents, attendance services, and other agencies, it is important that targeted support is applied to help address these barriers.”
To tackle absences caused by mental health, ERO’s report recommends schools should address bullying and social isolation so students can feel safe and connected.
It also suggests schools should provide access to school-based counselling services.
Updating attendance codes
As of November 2024, there are 26 attendance codes that are currently used by schools across New Zealand.
While there is only one code for ill health related absences, there are specific codes for when a student is visiting a family member who is on an overseas military or diplomatic posting, attending a health camp, attending a teen parent unit or is involved in Justice Court proceedings.
By term one of 2025, the Ministry of Education (MoE) will introduce a new version of these attendance codes which will bring the total number down to 15 but will not introduce any new codes.
MoE operations and integration leader Sean Teddy said “the refreshed codes will support schools to improve the application and consistency of attendance data.
“Schools involved in the attendance codes review have asked that the guidance be improved to make more explicit that code M is used to record absence due to health reasons including mental health. The Ministry is currently undertaking this work.”
Teddy said code M is one of the codes MoE uses to monitor indicative trends and patterns.
He said attendance data helps the Ministry understand why students are absent but other information, including student voices, should also be used to best understand the causes.
ERO said there needs to be a clear system for attendance codes that both parents and schools understand.
“When schools and the Ministry of Education collect quality data on attendance, it can really help to address barriers to attendance.”
Mental health absences could be marked as ‘unjustified’
While schools should mark students absent for mental health reasons with the code M, which is a justified absence, Teddy said principals have discretion under section 45 of the Education Act to determine if an absence is justified or unjustified.
“Current guidance supports schools to make decisions about how they record absences due to mental health reasons.”
That means students could be marked as truant for mental health related absences.
According to MoE’s guidance for using attendance codes, if “mental health days” are taken, schools may determine whether the absence is due to a mental health reason or whether there are other reasons behind it.
The same is not said about days taken off for physical health reasons.
The guidance also said schools should consider how they support students who return to school after a mental health absence.
“Schools should specify what reasons for absence are justified in their attendance policies and communicate this with students and their families,” he said.
Teddy said they have the right to ask for their information to be corrected if they believe it is inaccurate under principle seven of the Privacy Act.
Issues with making a mental health attendance code
President of the Secondary Principals’ Association and principal of Papatoetoe High School Vaughan Couillault said creating a mental health code “de-privatises a health situation too much”.
Codes are simple and generic for a reason, he said.
Couillault points to code I as an example, which stands for “internal appointment” and could be anything from a meeting with a dean to an appointment with the school counsellor.
Because the type of meeting is not specified, it protects students’ whose parents might not like the idea of them getting counselling.
The more codes you have, the greater chance you have of things being misinterpreted, he said.
Couillault said he asked student leaders at his high school what they thought of a mental health attendance code and they told him it wouldn’t work for everyone and might cause more problems by putting health information in a database accessible to all staff.
Couillault said code M is sufficient to cover mental health absences but that it can only be used if a student can supply a parent or health practioner’s note backing that up.
“Simply saying, ‘I’m having a bad day and I want to stay in bed’ — as a teenager, that’s not a justified absence.”
In his experience, there aren’t many students that are forthcoming enough with mental health issues to disclose it on an attendance register, he said.
The addition of a new code would not be an administrative burden but it has potential to impact students’ well being poorly, Couillault said.
While Paratene believes a mental health code would help schools gather data on how many students are impacted by poor mental health, Couillault said schools have enough clarity from their current codes, in-school counsellors and nurses.