Niki Penny: Socioeconomic factors are a proven cause of absenteeism

Opinion

OPINION

Another government, another hot take on how to tackle school absenteeism. Since being given the responsibility for school attendance as associate education minister, David Seymour is championing the use of fines and prosecution as the most effective way.

Christopher Luxon believes telling parents to “wake up and talk to your kids and get them to school” is what has been missing.

Both methods exemplify a trend towards not only misunderstanding the complex factors behind school absenteeism, but to applying punitive measures that make things worse.

Of course, it’s easier - and politically convenient - to lay blame at the door of irresponsible parenting.

This one-dimensional view doesn’t require any understanding of the social and economic factors which affect a child’s access (or lack of access) to education.

In reality, the factors are almost always human. They’re almost always economic. They can almost always be fixed by addressing a glaring lack of resources.

When I started at Te Kōmanawa Rowley School, the attendance rate was 40 per cent and the school was at risk of closing.

‘Meet the Teacher’ nights had turnouts of three whānau. It now has an 83 percent attendance rate and ‘Meet the Teacher’ nights have been replaced by community hangi attended by 400 people.

How was this turned around? Not by blaming anyone, but by identifying the barriers getting kids to school.

Te Kōmanawa Rowley School is a low-decile school in southwest Christchurch surrounded by higher decile schools. As the city gets redeveloped, communities get displaced and transport options change and become more limited.

Each day a school van collects 20-30 children who have limited transport options. Teachers will collect children on their commute if whānau ask them to.

Adequate transport of course requires funding, and it’s no secret that schools are desperately underfunded.

Lack of uniform was another significant barrier. Some families couldn’t afford uniforms. For many children and whānau, a lack of uniform feels like a lack of dignity.

Now, thanks to uniform sponsorship at the school, all students are given a new uniform upon starting. Pride was a barrier to attending school, and that has been restored.

Thirdly, access to the Healthy School Lunches programme was crucial in helping kids stay in school – especially in hard economic times. We often send leftovers home to whānau.

At the time of writing this, kids have breakfast, fruit and lunch at Te Kōmanawa Rowley. This also incentivises kids to eat healthy options which was previously unaffordable to some. There is a proven correlation between food security and learning.

The problem with fines is that they will push many families further into poverty. This could actually increase school absenteeism and exacerbate gaps between families and schools that sorely need closing.

Te Kōmanawa Rowley and the local community took a partnership approach to closing the gap between families and schools, having an open dialogue so we could understand the barriers to attending.

In turn, this created a connection between school and whānau which had previously been lacking. The ‘it takes a village...’ approach to children’s educational wellbeing, school, whānau and communities meant we achieved what we all wanted; to get children into school.

School staff worked with the community and whānau to rebuild trust, and this partnership initiative has broken boundaries.

As an educator, it affirms to me that success comes from working alongside, not against, our whānau.

Fines and prosecutions may appear to be concrete and decisive political responses, but they are not evidence of a policy that values children.

The policy devalues the connection between home and school. Widening the gap between school and family will create a mistrust of government agencies, including schools.

Tackling absenteeism needs a meaningful and sustainable approach at two levels.

First, at a local level. Attendance at Te Kōmanawa Rowley turned around because schools, family, and communities worked together to get kids to where they need to be; the classroom.

Initiatives need to share the community’s language and culture, show respect to whānau, and empower schools, family and communities to work together to find localised solutions their schools need.

Second, at government level. Socioeconomic factors are a proven cause of absenteeism, and inflicting fiscal punishment makes no sense when many of these same whānau are already struggling.

Whānau can have the best intentions in the world for their children’s education, but that’s not enough in the face of economic barriers.

Long-term approaches need empathy, problem-solving, and, most importantly, a commitment from the Government to remove economic hardships facing families and fund schools properly to tackle the real drivers of truancy.

· Niki Penny is Deputy Principal at Te Kōmanawa Rowley School