Closure of schools 'traumatic'

School closures can be bad for the health, says geographer Robin Kearns.

Speaking at yesterday's Public Health Conference in Christchurch, Dr Kearns said school closures or mergers caused "traumatic interruptions" to individual and family routines and to community services.

"They have a major impact on decisions by workers such as doctors and share-milkers, about whether to move to or stay in an area," he said.

Drawing on interviews with members of a school community in Invercargill, and others of people in six rural communities in Taranaki, Dr Kearns said there were deep anxieties about the sustainability of communities and people's way of life when schools closed.

Something as simple as when children left and got home on the school bus could disrupt farming routines.

"Wider impacts include deep disillusionment with the one-size-fits-all approach to schools, as though money and computers are the only hallmark of a good education," Dr Kearns said.

- NZPA