Awhi Attendance Services Update
Newsletter | Term 1, 2026
ASA has been shut down and the Ministry of Education has a new attendance system for case management called CMS.
Schools need a new login and some training before they can make referrals. The Ministry of Education has emailed information to schools about creating a login. You can also access information including quick reference guides on the MOE's Attendance Service Case Management - System Guidance page by clicking here.
What to do if you need help with CMS
Call or email the Education Service Desk for system access or password-related queries.
Freephone: 0800 422 599 (NZ only)
As discussed at the Hui, the Government’s attendance action plan introduces new requirements for school boards around attendance management. For those who were unable to attend, here is a brief overview of what is changing and what schools are expected to have in place.
What school boards need to do:
- Develop and implement an Attendance Management Plan including publishing it online by the start of Term 1 2026.
- Have regard to our attendance guidelines, the Stepped Attendance Response (STAR).
- Periodically review your plan.
What plans need to include:
- Attendance targets for your school.
- Key objectives and any strategic goals related to attendance.
- A statement that the board will investigate and respond (in line with the attendance management plan) and record actions taken in relation to absences.
- A clear process to identify and respond to student absences.
- Strategies, actions or interventions at different attendance thresholds (based on numbers of days absent in a term).
- how you will identify and respond to attendance barriers and underlying causes of absences
- how you will monitor and measure progress in attendance, including any targets set by the board or the government
- how you will review the Attendance Management Plan.
Please also see the Ministry of Education's Attendance Management Plan Resources website page by clicking here, and HVHS Attendance Management Plan example (secondary school/using Kamar) that Denise Johnson mentioned at the recent Hui.
Awhi Attendances Services' Team Leader is Jane Gillingham. She has seven years’ experience working as an Attendance Advisor in the Hutt Valley, initially for a Porirua based iwi and then for the past three years for the Awhi Attendance Service. Jane has degrees in Law and Psychology and worked as a Barrister and Solicitor in Wainuiomata specialising in Family Law. Jane and her husband have been fostering parents for 30 years for Oranga Tamariki and the Open Home Foundation.
Jane has facilitated Parenting Courses and spent many years working with at-risk youth in Lower Hutt. She is a trustee and founder of the Chosen Youth Trust and was the Chairperson of Agape Budget Advice Service for seven years. Jane is a member of Autism NZ and has a wealth of experience with children on the Autistic Spectrum, ADHD and anxiety disorders through fostering and her own four children. She is a member of Fostering New Zealand and regularly attends conferences and training opportunities they offer.
Jane has close relationships with the Teen Parenting Unit, alternative education schools and Te Kura via the children she has fostered who attend these schools. She has attended many Family Group Conferences at Oranga Tamariki and has a good working knowledge of Tikanga Māori and Te Reo. Fostering for so many years has meant that Jane has developed a huge network of local community connections. She is well known by many of the families we receive referrals for.
Phone: jane.awhi@gmail.com
Email: 027 243 6688
Afa Tauaifaiga comes from Upper Hutt. Afa is an experienced attendance advisor with three years experience. Afa is Samoan and relates really well to our Pasifika community. He is well known in that community and in Upper Hutt in general for his role as a boxing coach and mentor for young people. Afa has initiated and led several large charity boxing events, raising a lot of money for local causes. Afa has 26 years’ experience as a senior corrections officer at Rimutaka Prison. Afa’s previous role means he knows a lot of the families on his case load and can quickly establish trust with them. In his role at the prison, Afa developed and led mentoring and counselling groups for men focusing on their mental health and general wellbeing.
Afa has a very gentle manner, and he was lead negotiator between prisoners and management in hostile and dangerous situations at the prison. His de-escalation skills and local knowledge of whānau are a real asset in his role as an Attendance Advisor. Afa also has experience leading cultural competency workshops.
Email: afa.awhi@gmail.com
Phone: 027 243 6777
Billy Weepu comes from Wainuiomata and has a strong network of relationships with whānau, community, social agencies and educational institutions in the wider Lower Hutt and Wellington regions. Billy is famous for his rugby league skills. He has worked in the media industry for over 23 years, and prior to that he was a Youth Tracker for Oranga Tamariki.
Billy comes from a strong Māori and Pacific cultural background, having been raised and still residing in Wainuiomata. Billy whakapapas to Te Āti Awa, attending Te Aute Māori Boys’ School in the Hawke's Bay, as well as playing Māori representative sport. He has also recently coached the Niue rugby league team and still plays in the New Zealand Parliamentary rugby team.
Billy's knowledge of the attendance-related challenges and strategies has been informed by a personal perspective having had teenage (now adult) tamariki go through local secondary schools.
Billy is a hugely charismatic person, and it would be no exaggeration to say that everyone in Wainuiomata knows and respects Billy. His mana in the community has been a real asset to our team and is a significant advantage when working with whānau and their rangatahi.
Email: billy.awhi@gmail.com
Mobile: 027 456 9200
Terry Stallworth brings decades of community experience to his role as a Truancy Officer in the Hutt Valley. With a background as a youth worker and assistant teacher at Rangatahi Alternative School, Terry has been committed to supporting young people and their whānau. His early intervention work with the Wainuiomata Police J-Team strengthened partnerships between youth, families, and schools.
Terry also served 16 years with Hutt City Council as the Hutt Sports Coordinator, working closely with schools and community groups across the region. A former professional basketball player who arrived in New Zealand in 1993 from Long Beach, California. Terry has dedicated more than 30 years to coaching youth basketball and building positive pathways through sport. As a former Community Board Chair and long-standing community representative, Terry is deeply rooted in the Hutt Valley and is driven by a strong passion for youth development and community wellbeing.
Email: terrys1.awhi@gmail.com
Mobile: 027 241 1827
Dan Harper has two years' experience as an Attendance Advisor. His iwi is Ngāti Raukawa and he has a strong understanding of and commitment to Te Ao Māori. In his twenties Dan was a professional rugby player and since then he has held several roles working with youth. Dan has significant experience in working in an educational setting and with the community.
Dan was the Director of Boarding at Hato Paora College for six years, worked for ten years at an Alternative Education programme and two years working at an Oranga Tamariki residence as a Youth Worker. When Dan was first employed at Awhi Attendance Services, Taita College had a severe attendance problem and no rugby teams. Dan has worked tirelessly to start and coach a rugby team at the college. Most of the team had very low attendance at school when they started coming along to training.
Dan has now established three rugby teams at the college, including a girls’ team. The teams have played away games with Hato Pāora, Te Aute and Kuranui College. Afa helps with first aid and strapping while Mandi (see her staff profile below) helps to manage the teams. Having rugby at the school has made a big difference to the attendance percentages for those involved and has meant some rangatahi have stayed at school instead of dropping out. Dan has become a hugely respected person in the Taita community.
Email: danh.awhi@gmail.com
Mobile: 027 241 1192
Aaron Harris is a new member of the Awhi Attendance Services team and is supporting schools and families within the Hutt Valley. Aaron was raised in Upper Hutt and it feels like his Tūrangawaewae. Aaron cares deeply about the success of our community - especially young people, and went to school here and has been involved in many local groups such as the Silverstream Lions and Rimutaka Gymsports.
After college and a bit of overseas travel, Aaron became an early childhood teacher, studying education through a bicultural lens at Te Rito Maioha, while teaching in a few local preschools and kindergartens. More recently Aaron undertook and completed a carpentry apprenticeship with a small local company, to gain some hands-on knowledge and life skills.
Aaron is now back in the education sector, supporting rangatahi in the community with their ability to access and engage with formal education, helping to create positive opportunities and outcomes for all.
Email: aaron.awhi@gmail.com
Mobile: 027 293 2287
Mandi Lanceley specializes in re-enrolling students at school. She uses MSD (Ministry of Social Development) and Immigration checks to locate unenrolled students.
Mandi grew up in Taita and has lived in Stokes Valley with her partner for the past 29 years. She and her partner have five awesome children aged 14-22 years and as a whānau they have immersed themselves in their local kindergartens, schools and sports clubs. Mandi has carried out various voluntary roles throughout these organisations and as a result has met and been involved with people from diverse cultures.
Mandi has children at two Upper Hutt high schools. She is a very friendly and outgoing person. She quickly establishes rapport and builds trust with families. This enables her to be the bridge between whānau and the school to break down any barriers to re-enrolment.
Email: mandi.awhi@gmail.com
Phone: 027 237 0666
