Alcohol-related stand-downs in New Zealand schools have increased over the past year, according to new figures obtained by 1News.
The Ministry of Education data also shows hundreds of students were disciplined for drugs and weapons.
There were 452 alcohol-related stand-downs recorded nationally between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026 - up from 402 the previous year.
Drug-related incidents remained the largest substance category overall, resulting in:
- 872 stand-downs
- 211 suspensions
- 39 exclusions
- 13 expulsions
Meanwhile, weapons-related incidents resulted in 374 stand-downs and 92 suspensions.
The figures were obtained through an Official Information Act request.
Under New Zealand’s education system, a stand-down temporarily removes a student from school for up to five days. A suspension requires a school board to decide whether the student can return, while exclusions and expulsions permanently remove students from a school.
Educators and child wellbeing advocates say the numbers point to broader pressures facing young people beyond the classroom.
'Tip of the iceberg'
“This is sort of the tip of the iceberg,” said Acting President of the PPTA Te Wehengarua, Chris Abercrombie.
“There’s often a lot of stuff that we don’t see in those stats.”
Abercrombie said teachers were dealing with alcohol, drugs and violence “every single day”, and warned schools were increasingly being asked to respond to wider social problems.
“We know our society is under pressure,” he said. “Schools basically reflect what happens in their community.”
The Ministry of Education said stand-downs, suspensions and expulsions were being used as a “last resort”, and that schools were responding appropriately when serious incidents occurred.
Deputy Secretary of Education Services Geoff Short said the figures for alcohol and drugs had remained “reasonably consistent” over the past two decades overall, although he noted physical assault between students remained the largest stand-down category nationally.
“The use of stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions and expulsions is really only done as a last resort,” Short said.
“Most classroom teachers, most school leaders have really good proactive plans in place to support positive student behaviour.”
The Ministry also said older students were more likely to feature in alcohol and drug-related incidents, but no major regional shifts had emerged nationally.
Auckland Grammar headmaster Tim O’Connor said schools were seeing young people exposed to far more online than previous generations.
“They are being exposed to things that we wouldn’t normally see as a teenager 20, 30, 40 years ago,” he said.
“What that is doing is just breaking some social cohesion.”
'Check their phones'
O’Connor said parents needed to remain actively involved in their children’s online lives.
“Be prepared to check their phones,” he said. “This is part of a trusting environment where actually I care for you and so in caring for you I’m taking responsibility.”
Children’s Commissioner Claire Achmad said the figures reflected “complex issues” affecting children and young people across the country.
“We know, for example, many children are facing poverty, mental health needs, housing needs, food needs,” she said.
“We know that for some children and young people, they don’t feel safe in their schools.”
Achmad warned against responding with purely punitive approaches, saying schools needed to focus on inclusion, wellbeing and understanding the realities young people were facing.
New Zealand has one of the highest reported bullying rates in the OECD, according to the Mental Health Foundation.
The ministry’s wider national stand-down and suspension data also shows physical assault and continual disobedience remain among the most common behavioural categories in schools.
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