Concerns raised around children missing school as students return to classrooms from today

February 1, 2021

Irregular attendance is another concern with both issues heightened by the pandemic.

Concerns have been raised around children missing school as students from across the country begin returning to classrooms this week.

While the busy morning routine before school is a familiar one, after a six-week break, the Harris family is feeling a bit rusty.

“Last year was definitely a strange year in terms of not having teachers for very long and everything was a bit strange,” mum Kate Harris said.

Harris is hoping for a much smoother ride as she sends her children off, with schools opening any time between now and next Monday.

“It's always exciting to have the children back after one or two weeks of winding back into the year,” Paremata School principal Bryce Coleman added.

However, there’s concerns over the children who are not coming to school, with some students missing more than 10 weeks of classes last year.

Principals say irregular attendance often points to a problem at home, and Covid-19 is exacerbating it by causing anxiety and creating financial hardship for families.

The New Zealand Principals’ Federation’s Perry Rush says it has since “raised some questions about the challenges that families are confronting at the moment”.

“We know that many families may have moved over summer seeking employment so there’s a really important job for us to be tracking young people as they return,” he said.

While attendance rates were low over the second and third terms last year, it picked up in the last term.

However, the Ministry of Education’s Katrina Casey says attendance rates “remains a very big challenge”.

“We need to get the messaging across to all our parents and caregivers and all our whānau that every day matters in a child’s life.”

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