Welcome to
Attendance West
Te Ako Manaaki – Addressing barriers to education for our ākonga.
About Us
Attendance West aims to remove or minimise the barriers to education that our most at-risk and vulnerable young people experience.
We are a service focused on attendance.
We are part of Ministry of Education and governed by a selection of Principals in the West Auckland area.
Attendance West does not intend to eliminate or override existing attendance systems but rather collaborate and support successful attendance systems to create better outcomes for these students.
For legal purposes, a referral via ASA needs to be received before we can start working with the student and their whānau.
Our Core Principles
Our core principles are based on the Te Ako Manaaki Framework to create a collaborative practice that improves outcomes for young people. Read more about the Te Ako Manaaki Framework here.
Young person at the centre
Guiding question: Are we doing what is best for this young person and the outcomes we want for them?
Solution-focused
Guiding question: How can we find a solution here – each of us and together? (Having no solution is unacceptable)
Valuing relationships
Guiding question: Are we respectful and or adding value to this relationship? Are we being inclusive and open in our relationship management?
Inclusiveness & Collaboration
Guiding question: Are we enabling effective participation of all those that can contribute to positive outcomes for the young people we are focused on?
Support & Strengthen
Guiding question: How can we contribute what we are expert at? How can we use what we already have? What gaps do we need to fill collectively?
Our Criteria
- Age: 6 – 16 years old.
- Unjustified Absences (UA): Student has been absent for more than three consecutive days without a valid reason.
- Intermittent or Patterned Absences: Student is often absent or consistently missing school at certain times of the day.
- School Efforts Exhausted: School has taken all reasonable steps to address attendance concerns, and additional support is needed.
- Non-Enrolled (NEN): Student is not currently enrolled in any school.
The Te Ako Manaaki Framework
The Te Ako Manaaki Framework aims to create a collaborative practice that improves outcomes for young people.
This approach is based on the Te Ako Manaaki model, developed by Janette Searle. Te Ako Manaaki is a research-based framework designed to support effective cross-sector collaboration and collaborative practice, with a focus on achieving social and well-being outcomes in communities. The model provides a structured approach for organizations working together to drive positive, long-term change.
We use the framework to:
- Address barriers to education for 6 to 16-year-olds
- Avoid students being excluded from education, and bring together the supports and services needed to keep them engaged in learning
- Address attendance issues for students, and help link them to the supports and services they need to improve their attendance and engagement in learning
- Improve the way schools, government agencies, and community organisations work together to improve outcomes for young people in their community.