Help our kids, begs principal
A Dunedin principal has written a heartfelt letter to four Government ministers out of ‘‘hopelessness’’, saying her school can offer little help to children living in desperate circumstances.
Dunedin North Intermediate principal Heidi Hayward’s open letter to Anne Tolley, Paula Bennett, Nikki Kaye and Hekia Parata prompted immediate instructions last night for Child, Youth and Family (CYF) to look into issue.
Hayward expressed ‘‘deep concern’’ about some children attending the school. ‘‘There was a time when I took solace in the belief that while I could not educate some of the at-risk children, I could at least provide comfort, safety and security for them five days a week,’’ Hayward wrote. ‘‘More and more I feel that this is no longer possible and it is truly heartbreaking to be able to offer so little support, let alone an education, to these children.’’
A fifth of the school’s roll, 49 students, were identified by the Ministry of Education as ‘‘at risk’’, for which $4549 a year was granted – or $93 per child.
‘‘When compared with the cost of keeping an adult incarcerated, it beggars belief that we are willing to spend $100,000 per annum, but we are not willing to spend the same in intervention to ensure we don’t need to,’’ Hayward wrote.
Education Minister Parata said next year $12.3 million would be targeted at students in long-term benefit-dependent households who are most at risk of under-achievement.
‘‘Dunedin North Intermediate is a decile 7 school, which means it has a lower proportion of students from low socio-economic communities than most other schools.
‘‘However, the school is still receiving a share of the targeted funding to help those students who are at risk of under-achievement,’’ she said.
Hayward said a student recently told staff drug-dealing was a regular occurrence at home and they no longer felt safe.
Another child had a parent with serious mental health issues who fell asleep drunk in the evenings. While they were asleep, a bong was passed around the living room used for smoking drugs.
‘‘These parents love their children, I have no doubt about this, but they do not have the capacity to parent, nor the support to manage,’’ Hayward wrote.
‘‘Consequently these children are becoming more and more interested in gangs and I can understand this given that they have so little support from the adults in their lives. I write this letter knowing that, in time, at least one of these children will come before the court and will cost the country hundreds of thousands of dollars in . . . prison costs . . .’’
Urgent action was required to curb the current trends, Hayward wrote, including the reinstatement of alternative schools with lower adult-to-child ratios, and making foster parenting a viable career.
Social Development Minister Tolley said she had asked CYF to look into the issues immediately. ‘‘As for funding, the recent Budget made an extra $347m available to the care system.
‘‘We know things need to change which is why I am leading an overhaul of the care and protection system, following an independent review, which will see the new Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki begin operating next year,’’ Tolley said.
The new organisation would work with families earlier to prevent children needing to go into care. ‘‘And if they do need to be taken out of their family, we need to get them into a safe, loving and stable home as soon as possible.
‘‘We will also support these young people transition into adulthood like any responsible parent would do,’’ Tolley said.
‘‘The overhaul also involves attracting high-quality foster carers alongside increasing the financial and operational support for these people who open their lives and homes to look after our most vulnerable young people.’’
Hayward also encouraged the reopening of residential children’s homes catering for at-risk and high-needs students, better funding for social workers and health nurses and further funding for teacher aides to make it a viable career.
‘‘I understand that it will be too late for the children I am writing to you about . . .’’