The third of a five-part series looking at our neediest children. Education reporter Elizabeth Binning reports on how we are coping with transience.
Finlayson Park's transience rate has nearly halved since it started working alongside other primaries nearby on a "staying in one school is cool" campaign.
The campaign targeted thousands of parents throughout Manurewa - highlighting the impact frequently moving school can have on a child and their ability to learn and make friends.
Finlayson Park principal Shirley Maihi said many parents thought it would not make any difference if their child moved from school to school.
But teachers were seeing the negative results on a daily basis.
One boy, who had been in nine schools by his third year of school, is still struggling to catch up, despite being on a special programme for his maths and reading.
"We are seeing a little bit of improvement but there are still big gaps. He's been here about a year but ... he will never make up some of those gaps he missed when he was 5, 6 and 7."
Transience is a major problem in many low-decile areas, especially Manurewa.
In 2003, Finlayson Park's turnover rate was 88 per cent, but by 2007 it had dropped to half that.
Mrs Maihi believes part of the reason for the drop is parents recognising the high level of support available - from school counsellors and social workers to a nurse, all of whom help to deal with the issues many of the students face.
"We spend a lot of our own money on these different kinds of support programmes and I think that has helped to a degree to lessen some of the transience."
Another reason was the local schools working together on the problem as part of the Manurewa Enhancement Project - a Ministry of Education-funded programme involving 32 schools. Under it, the schools aligned programmes, assessment methods and ways of reporting transience and truancy so they were all consistent.
They also produced a pamphlet for parents about the importance of keeping children at the same school and what to do if they did have to move.
"After the last three years of giving out these brochures, we get parents coming in and saying, 'I know I shouldn't be moving my child'."
Mrs Maihi believes the ministry should embark on a "one school is cool" campaign nationwide to get transience rates down everywhere.
"Do it across all of New Zealand so all parents get the message, 'Why is it not good to shift house, why is it important 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds go to school every day and what it can do to your child if you don't do these things?'
"I think the ministry is the only place that could do it nationally."
SEEKING ANSWERS
Saturday: Alternative education.
Teens in Third World schooling
When the mainstream model doesn't fit
A far better alternative to dropping out
Monday: Truancy and dropouts.
School dropout levels fall over past 10 years
Tuesday: Issues of transience.
Message sinking in: switching schools bad for kids
Absenteeism often cry for help
Transient students struggle to catch up
Wednesday: Who kicks kids out?
Second chance works well for student
Expulsion seen as tool of last resort
Aorere strives to improve record
Thursday: What can be done?
Help for those who fall through cracks
Trust moves in well before students get out of control
Schools can't do it all on their own
