Mr Driver said the scheme would give students and their families "peace of mind".
"It will be very positive for our students. We're a decile 2 school with a 100 per cent Maori roll, so in terms of government policy, that will definitely reach the targeted audience."
Cost was a big factor in preventing parents from taking their kids to the doctor, so the changes would hopefully encourage them to go whenever it was needed, he said.
Sick children, including some with school sores, were sometimes showing up at school untreated, putting other students at risk. But free doctors' visits would help curb that.
"The fact that you can go free is great. I think it will make a big difference to our families ... it's just that peace of mind. You can just go without having to worry about the cost."
New Zealand Principals' Federation president Philip Harding said out-of-school factors were critically important to a child's education.
"One of [these factors] is their health, and the other one is nutrition and food. To see at least one area ... being tackled by the Budget is a positive sign," he said.
"Schools are a microcosm of breeding bugs and nobody wants to be in a room with sick children."
Children's Commissioner Russell Wills said every winter, poor preschool and primary-aged children with chest and skin infections that had been left too long crowded the children's wards at state hospitals.
"We commonly find that parents didn't take their child to the GP because they couldn't afford it," he said.
"If they'd been able to, that admission could've been prevented."APNZ
