Pattern of absences ‘baked in’
‘‘There’s going to be a whole generation of kids who are quite used to not attending things.’’ Simon Laube Early Childhood Council chief executive
Concerning absence rates at early childhood centres this winter is stoking fears of ‘‘baking in a pattern of non-attendance’’, among a host of issues hitting the sector.
While much of the focus of late has been on chronic absenteeism among school students, nonattendance is also affecting the country’s youngest as parents and caregivers battle the continuing onslaught of Covid-19 and nasty slew of winter illnesses.
The cost of living crisis is also putting the squeeze on bank balances, meaning many are keeping their children home rather than pay childcare fees to centres that are privately run, but mandated by the Government.
The latest Ministry of Education national snapshot showed attendance hovering around 55% in what was the second week of the school holidays, including one day when just 50.9% of children attended (59,430) – among the lowest seen during the pandemic.
On Friday, July 22, 142 early learning services were open, but reported no attendance.
Early Childhood Council chief executive Simon Laube said like early learners, ECE teachers were also staying home due to sickness, forcing centre managers to scramble for relief cover, which was difficult to come by and often resulted in centres having to close.
‘‘You’re baking in a pattern of non-attendance. Schools are complaining about their attendance issues, but there’s going to be a whole generation of kids who are quite used to not attending things, which is just going to work its way through,’’ he said. Wha¯nau Manaaki Kindergartens represents 102 centres across the central and lower North Island.
Since Omicron’s emergence in the community, chief operating officer Amy Weightman said on average two or three children and one staff member were absent from each centre at any given time due to Covid-19.
She believed parents were right to be cautious in keeping children home, considering under 5s couldn’t be vaccinated against Covid and its symptoms were ‘‘almost indistinguishable from any other winter illness’’.
Aside from health reasons, people were working from home in greater numbers meaning parents were able to care for their children, rather than send them to early learning services, Weightman said.
The benefits of early learning participation were extolled in a report published by the Ministry last October.
It claimed children who attended an early learning service generally had better developed social and emotional skills before starting school. They also performed better at maths, reading, communication, and logical problem-solving in their primary school and adolescent years.
Children from vulnerable communities and low socio-economic backgrounds also experienced significant benefit from ECE attendance. While participation among Ma¯ ori and Pasifika 3-year-olds had increased between 2017 to 2020, it fell in 2021 due to the pandemic.