A group of parents at a Whanganui school have been frustrated after a teacher was allowed to bring her baby into class while she taught their children.
The relief teacher was spending two hours a day in class with her baby, the Whanganui Chronicle reported.
The parents at Kaitoke School were primarily concerned their children's learning would be affected by this, asking for the teacher to be solely focused on their children.
Doctor Sarah Alexander from the Child Forum believes the school made "a very practical choice."
"There's a labour shortage in New Zealand across a lot of sectors including education, it is difficult to recruit teachers, difficult to recruit highly skilled teachers," she told TVNZ 1's Breakfast.
"She was a teacher that was willing to come into work but not leave her baby behind," said Ms Alexander, commenting on the difficulties of finding a baby sitter for a two-hour time period.
"Had the school not offered this as a solution...they may have lost out on this very excellent teacher. The parents therefore would have reason to be more concerned if there was such a situation."
Despite the practicality behind the Whanganui school's decision, one parent said her child's reading level had dropped since this teacher had been bringing her baby in.
"I wonder if the parent spent some time in the classroom to see what was going on," said Ms Alexander.
While reports show that the baby slept mostly, Ms Alexander said the baby actually "provides an opportunity for these five and six-year-olds to be doing things to promote their learning."
"Children today might not have a younger sibling at home to learn social skills and caring skills, it could be a blessing."
The school's acting chairman of the Board of Trustees, Rob Crawley, told the Whanganui Chronicle the child was in a carry pack and slept most of the time.
They have received two complaints that had been addressed, but also got positive feedback.
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