School doors have opened
Only some are back attending school and ECE
Schools are officially open again — but one in six schools don’t expect to see any pupils through their doors this week. Principals’ Federation president Perry Rush says parents have got the message that they should keep children at home in alert level 3 if they possibly can, and many are still worried about the health risks of sending them to school.
Some small schools have also decided not to open because teachers are unavailable due to health concerns or, in one case, not having upto-date first aid certificates.
A Principals’ Federation survey with responses from 620 schools found an average of only 6 per cent of students expected back at school this week, with 16 per cent of schools not expecting any students to turn up.
Ministry of Education deputy secretary Katrina Casey said the ministry’s national data as at 1pm yesterday indicated that only 4 per cent of all school students and 7 per cent of children in early learning services were expected back in their schools and centres this week.
“We are seeing the highest expected attendance rates reported for early learning in Auckland and Taranaki/Whanganui/Manawatu¯ (9 per cent) and the lowest in Tai Tokerau/Northland (2 per cent),” she said.
“In schooling we are seeing the highest expected attendance rates again in Auckland (5 per cent) and in Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast (6 per cent), and the lowest in Bay of Plenty/Waiariki (2 per cent).”
The country’s biggest early learning company, BestStart, said 1830 children attended at 241 of its 260 centres yesterday — 10 per cent of its normal roll of 18,500.
Brothers Korban and Luka van Staden, aged 4 and 3, were two of just five children who turned up at BestStart’s Ngatai Rd centre in Tauranga, also a tenth of the normal roll of 50.
They were placed into one “bubble” with three teachers who will stay with them through alert level 3.
Parents had to drop the children at the front door and were not allowed inside, to minimise the risk of
Covid-19 infection. Spokeswoman Rachel D’Cruz said parents were told of the changes in advance so the new system “went smoothly” and parents and children were “quite relaxed”.
However an Early Childhood Council survey last week found that only 55 per cent of its 1300 services planned to open this week, with 33 per cent to stay closed and 12 per cent unsure.
Ko¯hanga reo spokesman Tahuri Tomoana said only 52 of the
country’s 444 ko¯hanga planned to open this week, for about 7 per cent of the normal numbers of children.
“Over one third of kaiako [teachers] will not be attending due to age or health conditions posing a risk — 83 per cent of kaiako surveyed indicate they are not feeling safe to return to work,” he said.
“Within particular areas there will sufficient staffing to meet [the required teacher/students] ratio. In other areas ko¯hanga will remain
In other areas ko¯hanga will remain closed.
Tahuri Tomoana
closed because they cannot meet ratio.”
Hohepa Campbell of the ru¯nanga representing the country’s 64 kura kaupapa Ma¯ori schools, said “very, very few” children were expected to attend, and most schools “won’t actually be opening or will open only for a few tamariki”.
“When the wha¯nau have met they have all recognised the need to protect and support the vulnerable within the wha¯nau,” he said.
Watson Ohia of another group of 38 kura-a-iwi schools said “very low numbers” of children were expected.
Myles Ferris,¯ofOprincipal ta¯ngarei School in Whanga¯rei, notified parents on Facebook that he had decided not to open the school this week because his teachers had not been able to renew first aid certificates because of the lockdown.
Edendale Primary School in Auckland has told parents it will reopen for attendance next Monday, May 4.
Rush said “a considerable number” of small rural schools would not open this week because of extremely low numbers wanting to attend. But he said the low numbers were consistent proportionately across all income deciles, despite earlier concerns that students might return in bigger numbers at low-decile schools.