Principal angry child poverty shows little sign of improving

Owhata Primary School principal and president of the Rotorua Principals' Association, Bob Stiles said he had seen no improvement. Photo / Stephen Parker

The lack of improvement in child poverty in New Zealand over the past seven years is abysmal, says a Rotorua primary school principal.

According to a Unicef report on child poverty published this week, New Zealand's child poverty rates have decreased by less than half a per cent since 2007.

The annual report also stated the percentage of New Zealand families who said they did not have enough money to buy food for themselves had increased from 9 per cent in 2007, to 14 per cent in 2013.

By contrast, the report said Australia reduced its child poverty rate by more than 6 per cent over the same period.

Owhata Primary School principal and president of the Rotorua Principals' Association, Bob Stiles said he had seen no improvement.

"There are more aid agents, such as KidsCan, who help provide children with food and clothing but poverty is a very real issue for many families and has a huge impact on children and their education."

Mr Stiles said child poverty was a complex issue in New Zealand and did not stem from one source. "It is abysmal how little child poverty has improved in the past seven years, however, it is a result of several issues and there is no simple band-aid solution.

"The Government should be looking into making housing more affordable and instating a better living wage so families can provide those basic needs, such as food, for their children."

Mr Stiles said his school had been providing pupils with breakfast for seven years.

"We obviously don't count the number of children who are coming to school with no food but I definitely think the Government needs to continue the breakfast and lunch programmes in schools."

Otonga Rd Primary School principal Linda Woon said she believed working families were struggling more.

"There are families in our school who have had their work hours reduced or have been made redundant and as a result have felt the financial squeeze."

New Zealand Education Institute Te Riu Roa President Judith Nowotarski said the report highlighted the need to be "more proactive in pursuing policies to protect our most vulnerable members of society".

"Reducing child poverty is a big deal to educators.

"We care deeply about the kids we teach and we want them to succeed in education and in life, but poverty casts a long shadow and frequently stops them from reaching their potential."