School changes hurt kids

Children in Porirua are twice as likely to change schools two or more times within six months than the national average.

The rate among Maori children in the city is four times the national average, and the rate among Pasifika about 21⁄2-times, according to a report prepared for Porirua City Council.

Schools blame the high rate of ‘‘transience’’ on several factors, including relocation by Housing New Zealand, parents moving for work, or children being moved between relatives because they might be difficult to manage.

Ragne Maxwell, the principal of Porirua College, where a majority of the pupils are Maori or Pasifika, said most behavioural issues that the school dealt with came from transient students.

‘‘We don’t have the chance to build relationships up with them. They’re unsettled.’’

The rate of school transience is detailed in Status Report: Children And Young People In Porirua 2017, which looked at the number of students who changed school twice or more between March and November 2015.

Among Maori, the rate was 21 per 1000 students, more than four times the overall national rate of five. The Pasifika rate was 12.

New Zealand Principals’ Federation national president Whetu Cormick said transient children could struggle to form relationships or support networks, and to progress through the learning curriculum.

‘‘They can be at the end of the tail of under-achievement.’’

About 35 per cent of students between years 9 and 11 who moved school twice or more achieved NCEA level 2, he said. That compared with 82 per cent of students who had not moved.

Maxwell said last year, 40 per cent of Porirua College students who completed year 11 had not been there since the start of year 9.

‘‘We have huge success with the kids who are consistently with us ... that’s the same for other schools. It’s a conversation we’ve been having across the Porirua basin.’’

Secondary schools in the area were increasingly sharing information on students, because a lot of transience happened locally or in the wider Wellington region.

Staff needed to know if transient students had issues with anger management or needed drug counselling, or whether social workers were involved. ‘‘We need to know this so we’re not coming in blind.’’

The report will be used to inform Porirua City Council’s 2018 to 2028 Long-Term Plan, which was accepted at a committee meeting last week.

It also showed that in 2013 about a quarter of Porirua’s children lived in overcrowded homes – assessed as those needing at least one extra bedroom to accommodate all of the residents – compared with 16 per cent nationally.

Porirua Mayor Mike Tana said this first annual report would provide a baseline from which the council could determine priorities for change and measure progress.

‘‘It’s definitely our role to ensure the right services are going to the right people, and if government services or contractors have a role to play in Porirua to provide the services that we focus them on the right parts ... guide them to the right children, at the right age, for the right things.’’

The report, which collated a wide range of indicators for people up to 24, also highlighted the positive aspects of living in Porirua, including a good rate of infant immunisation, quality early childhood education, and a drop in Youth Court appearances.

Overall, it found young people enjoyed their quality of life, and considered Porirua a great place to live.