Neil Watson: Personal tragedy can impact a child’s education

An education is the best way to escape poverty, to get a better job, and to open the door to a different way of life. Photo / 123RF

OPINION

When families at our school lose a parent, their personal tragedy is compounded by other implications. Often, children in South Auckland who lose their carer are fostered by older siblings on a sparse income who can’t afford to equip them for school.

My college is stepping in to do everything we can to make sure these children can start the 2024 educational year with full school uniforms, complete stationery sets, and new school shoes and bags.

The death of a carer is just one example of some of the multitude of barriers, large and small, faced this year by our families as they strive to support their children to gain a high-quality education and future success.

Some of our school community parents are working long shifts on minimum wages, often on the night shift, they rent their home or they’re in transitional housing with no stable place to live. They’re likely supporting a large immediate and wider family.

Filling up the car so carers can get the kids to school and get to work, getting kids into the right uniform, even having to visit the laundromat because many lack a washing machine – all these are obstacles that make life more challenging.

Our families work hard and want their kids to do well at school. Every way we can support them and alleviate challenges makes it easier for them to ensure good school attendance.

Crucial to many schools across New Zealand are charities that help get our most vulnerable kids the things they need to start school on an equal footing with their peers.

Things like covering the cost of a new uniform and stationery and offering devices to support digital learning. Charities like Share my Super ensure funding is available for critical programmes, focused on helping Kiwi kids to get the best out of their education.

While my school’s determined focus on getting kids into their classrooms means we have fared better than many, this year we will be using every tool available to improve the number of children coming through our gates every morning.

This year is critical, in a unique way.

Schools across New Zealand are preparing for the first year since 2019 where pupils have a good chance of uninterrupted education – the key to their ability to realise their potential in later life.

This year gives educators new hope that we will finally be able to get back on track to have our doors open all year.

I hoped for the same thing last year. Thousands of children across New Zealand, however, were almost immediately kept from their classrooms first by floods, then by the cyclone and finally by ongoing teacher industrial action for rightful pay increases.

Every time school is disrupted, attendance drops off.

My experience coaching rowing internationally and as a long-time principal has taught me that school attendance is like an exercise routine. If you miss going to the gym or a regular run or walk, it gets harder and harder to face picking up the habit again.

We know when children miss school for a week, they fall behind. When they return to school they are more likely to lose confidence and take more days off in a self-perpetuating cycle.

Teachers can see for themselves that kids who turn up regularly to school are happier and have more opportunities to create a better future.

This is backed up by multiple research papers showing lack of engagement with school leads to isolation from positive role-modelling, which can impact on behaviour and mental health. Children who miss school are also more likely to miss out on educational achievements, which impacts on their future employment choices and earning potential.

Put simply, an education is the best way to escape poverty, to get a better job, and to open the door to a different way of life.

Nationally, term three attendance figures from the past five years show regular attendance for all students has dropped to less than half, at just 46 per cent. This compares to 60 per cent before the pandemic affected education from the start of 2020.

Discussing the issue with other principals, it is clear that children who were engaged and motivated before the pandemic found it easier to remain connected with their education.

For any students who had personal, health or school problems, however, the pandemic and ensuing years have made it progressively more difficult to walk through the school gates every day.

As principal of one of New Zealand’s oldest schools with a school community that includes many aspirational families, attendance is, without a doubt, among my top three priorities.

Across New Zealand, everyone must get on board to get it right this year, that we see attendance improvements and that we support children and their families to build good habits.

Minimising disruption to school campuses and doing our best to mitigate any reason for continuing to stay away from school are key to supporting our children to remain engaged with education. Maximising school attendance is the best way to give them the opportunity for a better future for themselves and their families.

· Neil Watson is the Principal at Otahuhu College