All Kiwi children need our vote

INSPIRING: TV pundit Nigel Latta appreciated the holistic approach in Kiwi schools.

The Tick 4 Kids campaign upped the ante this week with debates featuring politicians from all major parties discussing what children need.

The timing coincided with Nigel Latta's examination in his new TV series looking at major social issues in New Zealand - this time, back to school.

Latta profiled many examples of success, showed the different approaches to learning, including use of technology, plus questioned the dominance of national standards. He also pushed back on the idea that a school's decile rating means anything about a school's performance.

It reminded me of a letter I've come across on social media that's gone viral. It's from a teacher at Barrowford Primary School in Britain to her students when sending out their test results, reminding them: "The scores you get tell you something, but not everything. Enjoy your results but remember there are many ways of being smart."

To paraphrase, it said: "These tests do not assess all of what it is that makes each of you special and unique. The people who create these tests do not know each of you. They do not know if you speak two languages, play an instrument, that your friends count on you or you take care of your little brother after school, that you know how to tell a great story or are trustworthy, kind or thoughtful and that you try every day to be your very best."

Latta also found Kiwi teachers and principals embodying this holistic approach to raising good young people.

He was impressed by the children at Point England School, not letting themselves be limited by coming from low-income homes. It was inspiring stuff.

In my son's second week of school, he took part in the school play. All the kids were involved and it was impressive and well put together. I was an incredibly proud mum seeing him on stage.

Our primary school is at the other end of the decile spectrum to Point England but it's not the decile rating that make these outstanding schools, it's the people - the families and the teachers.

The school performance was evidence of the support of families and the commitment of our teachers - they do so much more than teach our kids from 9am to 3pm. And their patience, especially with the young ones, is quite outstanding, particularly when you recognise that teachers have their own families to be patient with when they get home, which must be a challenging during the tiring school production week.

One of the fridge magnets I picked up from Skip has an off-to-school checklist - "a good sleep, good food, a hug and a smile, encouraging words". I try to do that every morning with my boy, but for our international neighbours in Gaza, just surviving is the top of their list.

You don't have to be a mum to be heartbroken with the deaths of children in Gaza - more than 400 in the past month. Each ceasefire seems unnecessarily short and then it's followed by more reports of deaths, including those bombed while sheltering in United Nations schools.

To say the politics of this region are complex is an understatement, but regardless of the complexity, the loss of young and vulnerable lives is an absolute outrage.

While I've been shocked at the images of destruction and death from Gaza, sadly it's not the only place. Children are dying in other conflicts right now - Syria, Iraq and Nigeria to name three more.

We have much to be grateful for in New Zealand, and we should regularly acknowledge those who make a difference, like our teachers, day in and day out. But we should not stop striving to reduce inequality for our children - they all deserve a chance to thrive.

There are political solutions that can better support all Kiwi kids - check out www.tick4kids.org.nz for an independent toolkit to assess the parties' policies before you vote this election.

Nicola Young is a former Department of Conservation manager who now works for global consultancy AECOM. Educated at Wanganui Girls' College, she has a science degree and is the mother of two boys.