School stress amid ‘cruel cycle’

Schools are facing greater expectations to educate their pupils amidst a "cruel cycle" of stresses being placed on parents, a Dunedin principal says.

But it is a situation schools accept if it means getting more children into the classroom.

Charitable trust KidsCan has called for an urgent appeal to support vulnerable children returning to school.

A survey of its partner schools found stories of children surviving on instant noodles, siblings sharing uniforms and shoes and pupils missing school so they could work to support their parents.

KidsCan chief executive Julie Chapman said the charity was facing record demand with 77 schools across the country awaiting support — its biggest waiting list since 2018.

"It’s heartbreaking not to be able to support the schools on our wait list," she said.

"Every child deserves to be well fed and clothed so they can just focus on learning, because education is their best chance at getting out of poverty."

Carisbrook School principal Bruce James said household pressures were shifting parental responsibilities on to schools.

Education around gender issues and social media had become an expectation in the curriculum, and schools were struggling to keep up.

"We’ve got to remember we’ve only got the children for five hours a day," he said.

"I think sometimes the parents have to be the parents ... The learning and education starts at home."

The work demands parents faced added pressure and took valuable time away from their families, Mr James said.

Low wages, the price of food and rising rents had created a "cruel cycle for everybody"and he expected these household stresses would continue to build, and they were even tougher for parents to manage during the school holidays.

"It makes it difficult for them to work hard at home to parent the child, and I think we’re expected to do more."

Since the pandemic, he had realised the longer any child stayed at home, the harder it was to get them back into the classroom, Mr James said.

Reducing the barriers to the classroom also alleviated the pressures on parents.

This included free school lunches, provided by the ministry, and a school van that picked up pupils directly from home.

The school’s uniform only included one compulsory item, a top, which could be combined with non-compulsory pants, shorts or skirts.

These things made it easier for all families to cope under pressure and gave them one less thing to worry about, he said.

"Anything that we can put in place that breaks down a barrier for anybody just makes it easier for the kids to be here and be happy."

tim.scott@odt.co.nz