Nonetheless, the school had shown how community wellness and wraparound engagement was key to students being eager to resume learning, Ms Potaka-Ayton said.
“We withdrew from the usual attendance officer service and hired our own kaiarahi, who is in charge of engagement and attendance. The kura funds the role, we determine the way she works and the nature of her mahi, and we monitor and manage it. It is about getting the outcome we need.
“This is one of the reasons why our attendance rates are high.”
The kaiarahi is also a part of the Covid-19 response work.
“When a whānau informs the school they have Covid-19, the kaiarahi registers their name.
“On the first day she calls the family to let them know she will bring them a Chromebook — and box of goodies — for the child to use for the next seven days.
“She collects the education packs from the teachers and drops them on the second day.
“On the sixth day she contacts the family to make sure the child is ready to come back to kura and then on the final day of isolation, she reminds the whānau to bring the Chromebook back.
“When the child is back at school, she checks that the child is transitioning back into the school environment without any issues.
“The role alleviates anxiety some whānau have about coming back to school.”
Ms Potaka-Ayton said another reason for students returning to school was their sports academy, which ran every day from 7am, offering students rugby, netball, soccer and hockey programmes.
“Children don't want to miss out on opportunities, especially the initiatives they love to participate in.”
The kura recently hosted a whānau hui at which they asked the parents why they thought their kids were not attending school regularly.
“Parents gave us genuine reasons. Some said it was hard to get their kids off devices and others said illnesses, tangihanga (funerals) or whānau emergencies.
“We had a small percentage of students who came under a chronically absent bracket who required something more than what we normally provided the rest of the students with.
“Usually some of those kids come from different schools and have had a history of transience. They have moved around due to no fault of their own. There may be a change to their housing situation so they end up with nowhere to live.
“That is a small percentage which we work closely with to help them engage in kura.”
Associate Education Minister Jan Tinetti announced last month that the Government was taking action to turn around years of declining school attendance, with a target of at least 70 percent of children regularly attending class in 2024.
A new school attendance and engagement strategy was rolled out, which set out expectations and targets to turn around years of dropping attendance rates.
Work is also under way to develop new targets for responding to unexplained absences. It will focus on school notifications to whānau on the day of absence and further school action when unjustified absence continues.
“This mahi will build on the $88 million attendance package we announced as part of Budget 2022 that includes $40 million for a regional response fund and further improvements to the attendance service and alternative education,” Ms Tinetti said.
Ms Potaka-Ayton said the Government should provide funding directly to the schools so they could determine how the money would be used to achieve those targets.
“Schools know our students and community best.
“The Government should not look at the issue as something that needs fixing, rather focus on what is already happening in the community and working.”
Ms Potaka-Ayton paid tribute to the commitment of parents in sending their kids to kura.
