More students in Northland schools are experiencing material hardship, as shown through an increased waiting list for help from the charity KidsCan. Photo / 123rf
More students in Northland schools are experiencing material hardship, as shown through an increased waiting list for help from the charity KidsCan. Photo / 123rf
Families grappling with the cost of food, petrol, rent and power are relying on charities and school-led initiatives to meet the needs of their children.
Principals have said the cost of living acts as a barrier to school and programmes such as charitable trust KidsCan have the power to improve attendance.
KidsCan currently has six Northland schools and 22 ECE centres on its waiting list for help as the poverty line shifts and middle-income families feel the financial bite.
The charity has launched an urgent appeal after being inundated with requests for support countrywide.
Hikurangi School principal Jodi Edwards said it was important that students were given every opportunity to achieve academically by providing as much as possible otherwise he would expect to see attendance dip.
“I think it’s because we are catering for everything they need without charging.”
Edwards was appreciative of the help provided by KidsCan such as food and shoes, as well as the lunch in schools programme.
“It’s been a success story,” he said.
Whangārei Girls' High School is not included in the lunch in schools programme which would benefit many students.
Whangārei Girls’ High School is one of the schools on the waiting list for help from KidsCan, and deputy principal Katrina Sylva said not being part of the school lunch programme was adding to stress for families.
The school runs a breakfast club which has seen a marked uptake in the last year.
She believed that was partly down to more visibility of the programme within the school community.
Last year the school also employed two kaimanaaki (support people) whose backgrounds are in youth and social work.
The role was created to aid in student attendance but Sylva said the school is also addressing barriers to attendance and ensuring a wraparound service for students.
The cost of living was hitting people in different ways, she said.
This included students not attending because whānau dependent on laundromats can’t afford to get their uniforms washed.
A missed bus may mean a missed day at school for those with no fuel in their cars, she said.
“If you are budgeted to the max and you haven’t got any given room in your budget, even quite small price increases can have an impact.”
Kaiwaka School principal Sharlene McCormick said their breakfast club has been a popular initiative for students.
Parents’ wages weren’t keeping up with the cost of living and a lack of rentals available in the area, leading to families travelling further to attend.
She’d heard of instances where parents were having to work multiple jobs to make ends meet.
“It’s overall hard out there for our whanāu, they’re reliant on there being support available,” McCormick said.
“We do as much as we can to support our children to look after their well-being.
If you’ve got stressed families it’s difficult to thrive.”
Mangōnui School principal Dave Sedcole said those who weren’t previously struggling are now finding it hard to get their children to school.
“It’s really tough for our whānau, you see it on a daily basis.”
He said the idea that prices were going down was not being felt in his rohe (region) and he instead has people unable to afford food, petrol and utilities.
Sedcole credited parents who were “so resilient and so tough” and determined to make sure their children were attending school.
