Students leaving school to support their family after lockdown - principal

Western Bay of Plenty Principals Association president Suzanne Billington. Photo / NZME

Some Bay students are leaving school early to find work so they can help their families recover from the financial fallout of the latest lockdown.

And some parents are choosing to keep their children at home as several schools report Covid-19 cases in their communities.

Otūmoetai College principal Russell Gordon said between five and 10 students found jobs after August's lockdown to help financially support their families.

They had not come back to school since but some planned to return next year.

"They have gone into paid employment and that is to support their family in this time of need," he said.

"The fact that these kids are willing to step up and fill a void just shows the character they have. That will keep them in good stead as they continue moving forward."

The school had made contact with these students to ensure their choices would not have a "negative long-term impact".

"When you look at that across the whole number of our roll it is insignificant but each of those children is a person, they matter.

Otūmoetai College principal Russell Gordon. Photo / Supplied

"The reason I do the job that I do is that I want students to have the most fulfilling life they can but there are times when the options are reduced. I think in the short term for some of these kids it is a matter of needs must."

He said the school's day-to-day attendance rate this year was "relatively the same" compared to previous years.

Gordon reiterated the importance of building resilience in young people to help support mental health during the pandemic.

"We need to teach our kids ... the world is not predictable.

"What we need to spend more time doing is building that resilience so we have got that internal fortitude so we can stand up to these events that are outside our control and simply control how we choose to respond to them."

Tauranga Boys' College principal Robert Mangan said senior students had left early this year to start working.

Some had gained their NCEA qualification early then moved into employment which was a "pragmatic approach" due to job availability.

"With the employment status as strong as it is there are jobs out there."

Mangan said right now the attendance in the junior school was "down" with some parents choosing to keep their sons at home.

Tauranga Boys' College principal Robert Mangan. Photo / NZME

"As Covid-19 was appearing in schools around Tauranga Moana, there was increased anxiety," he said.

"Parents are choosing to keep their sons at home in an environment where they are not risking the same level of exposure to Covid-19."

He said Covid-19 "certainly had an impact" on the mental wellbeing of students with the school counsellors experiencing increased demand.

"The uncertainty that Covid-19 has placed on society has been pretty challenging.

"For young people to be coping with that, along with other issues such as climate change which is pretty significant in their world, it has really sort of rocked them."

He reiterated the importance of giving the student and parent community "certainty confidence" they could get through "whatever situations" come their way.

"Trying to give them confidence there is a future, we just have to navigate our way through what is a particularly challenging time.

"This is the crisis of our generation, and we have got to work our way through that."

Western Bay of Plenty Principals Association president Suzanne Billington said families had responded to the community cases in Tauranga differently.

She said when cases first appeared in the community some made the call to keep their children home from school.

"Some students have now returned to school, some families have chosen to explore homeschooling, some have chosen to have children off school until the end of this year.

"When schools have Covid cases, parents are more likely to keep children home for a period of time."

She said at a primary level this was "mainly parent choice".

And Billington, who was the principal at Tauriko School, said there had "definitely" been a rise in the need to support students since the beginning of last year.

This involved helping them transition back to school after lockdowns, supporting them to develop "wellbeing strategies" they could use if they felt worried or overwhelmed and linking struggling families with agencies, she said.

"Staff in schools are watching students closely to pick up any tamariki and their whānau who may need support. Schools are making decisions and providing support innovatively on a daily basis to check wellbeing, nurture, support and awhi our families."

She said it was important to provide a routine for students that was as "normal as possible" and schools were trying to continue with as many events as possible.

Schools are trying to continue with as many events as possible despite the need for these events to happen slightly differently.

Mount Maunganui College's Alastair Sinton said there had only been "minor impacts" to student attendance before and after lockdowns.

Since cases were discovered in the community there had been a couple of days with larger numbers than usual absent, he said.

"These days were always connected to the announcement of a case in another local school."