‘We’ve failed to help them’: Schools struggle to stem tide of students leaving mainstream education

Friday, 3 July 2026

Pūmanawa Alternative Education students students William Guy, 14, left, and Flynn, 15.

A Canterbury principal says schools are “drowning” in learning support and behavioural issues and this is contributing to the flow of students out of mainstream education.

“Every school is saying we've not got enough by a long way,” Darfield High School principal Andy England said.

The number of 12 to 18 year olds leaving mainstream education has nearly doubled in the past decade, rising from less than 8000 to almost 15,000, a recent Education Review Office (ERO) report found.

That means about 5% of all students are in a range of alternative education settings, with the biggest growth areas in Te Kura, the national distance education provider and home schooling.

Darfield High School principal Andy England says principals are concerned about the increase in students leaving mainstream school.

The report’s number one recommendation to reverse the trend was to “continue to strengthen attendance, learning and behaviour supports” in mainstream schools.

England said there were few alternative education options for younger children, which meant students arrived at high school with unaddressed challenging behaviour and learning needs.

“There’s a whole pile of kids coming through whose behaviours are way out of whack with what mainstream society would tolerate.”

In Christchurch, referrals for alternative education from 17 high schools to five alternative education providers are managed collectively, with just 120 funded places between them.

Pūmanawa Alternative Education youth worker and team lead Jessie McLean says students at the provider struggled to cope with mainstream school and needed more support.

The report found the quality of education at alternative education providers was “limited”, with four in five leaving without any NCEA qualifications, however students’ wellbeing and attendance improved, particularly in face-to-face settings.

Pūmanawa Alternative Education youth worker and team lead Jessie McLean said a majority of young people at the central Christchurch provider were neurodiverse and had struggled with the social aspect of school, with many having experienced bullying.

She and two youth workers were focussed on meeting basic needs, including providing food, to get “small wins” for students as stepping stones to education.

“It's the fact that they can get up at 8am every day, that's a win that they didn't have before….and that stuff doesn't get valued as much as the tangible stuff like getting NCEA level one, like getting a job.”

She was pleased the ERO report recognised the “critical role” of alternative education for some students, and that the higher, complex needs of students in these settings required appropriate funding.

Alternative education expert Lloyd Martin said he expected the number of students leaving mainstream education to increase under the Government’s educational reforms.

Minister of Education Erica Stanford was abandoning students who were struggling, he said.

Those students who were not doing well on NCEA were going to do even worse taking exams, he said.

“So it's effectively jettisoned the kids who are not achieving.”

“I think we’ve failed to help them.”

England said he and other principals were concerned disengaged students were being placed in Te Kura by the Ministry of Education without adequate support because it “ticked a box”.

Alternative education expert Dr Lloyd Martin says he thinks more students will leave mainstream education under the Goverment’s education reforms.

The ERO report said the biggest area of growth was in Te Kura enrolments, including students not enrolled in school, who have been excluded or expelled, and with psychological or psychosocial challenges.

Fulltime enrolments in Te Kura have increased from fewer than 1500 students in 2016, to more than 6000 in 2024.

“If you have a student who’s disengaged from a classroom, it’s highly unlikely that they're going to be engaged in Te Kura….so Te Kura are charged with having this remote connection to all these kids who are not well,” England said.

A spokesperson for Te Kura said the provider “works closely with the Ministry of Education, whānau and other agencies to support these learners to remain connected to education, rebuild engagement and continue progressing towards their learning goals”.

Home-schooling New Zealand spokesperson Cynthia Hancox said there was a wide variety of reasons people chose to home-school their children, but dissatisfaction with mainstream schooling was common.

“I get people coming to me all the time who go, ‘I need to get my kid out of school, what are my options?’.”

Minister of Education Erica Stanford said early intervention was needed.

“This is why we need light touch assessments in primary school, so that parents and schools can see what supports a child’s needs as early as possible.”

She said future decisions on funding for alternative education “would need to be subject to budget decisions”.

“The Ministry of Education will consider EROs findings and provide advice on the next steps in the context of the overall education reform.”