'There are many who need support': Schools not able to handle rise in hardship

A teacher from a school on Auckland's Waiheke Island say they are simply not equipped to handle rising hardship.

The charity KidsCan, which supports schools with food and clothing, has seen a rise in schools needing support, particularly those in middle-income areas.

Catherine* is a primary school teacher who works and lives on the touristic Waiheke Island and said the region was far from wealthy.

"I think people have this belief that Waiheke [Island] is where the rich people live, and it's not quite true.

"It's not an accurate reflection of the community that we've got here; there are many who need support."

The school where she teaches on Waiheke Island has more than 200 students and was considered decile 6 in the past system used by the Ministry of Education.

But Catherine said the reality on the ground was much different.

"I think our equity index is out of whack, it's not quite a true reflection of what life is actually like in the region.

"Many kids arrive at school barefoot or just in shorts and a T-shirt in the winter. They're cold and hungry; their families are struggling, and budget services are inundated with people needing help."

The school was one of 98 on a waitlist to receive support from KidsCan.

The charity said the list was the longest it has ever been in its 19-year history.

Chief executive Julie Chapman said there was an influx of schools in medium-income areas seeking support.

"A lot of those children are in schools that traditionally would have been classed as higher decile schools before the new equity index came in.

"What teachers are telling us is that poverty can be more hidden. Parents are more ashamed to say that they need help, especially if they've just been getting by in the past, and schools are saying they really do see children trying to hide the fact they don't have food."

Chapman said the charity was launching an appeal for more donations to help assist the schools waiting for support.

"The cost-of-living crisis is impacting everybody in New Zealand, but for the schools and students we support already, it's impacting them the most.

"We're seeing lower donations because, of course, not everybody can afford to donate. It's sort of this catch-22 of more need and less money for donations."

Ministry of Education leader of operations and integration Sean Teddy said each year, the equity index was reviewed to reflect the changing needs of learners in each school.

"While most students will face challenges and obstacles at some point during their time at school, a higher equity index number indicates that a school has students facing more or greater socio-economic barriers."

The equity index provided a much more nuanced way of understanding socioeconomic disadvantage as it related to educational achievement, Teddy said.

"This means that we are better able to target resources to where they are most needed across New Zealand.

"This equity index model provides a relative measure of barriers that students at the school face and is responsive to changes in socioeconomic indicators such as parent income and benefits status."

Chief Children's Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad said child poverty in medium-income areas was one of the many effects of the cost-of-living crisis.

"Anecdotally, we definitely are seeing that more people are moving into situations of deprivation and insecurity in terms of their household income.

"We know that [it] has a flow-on effect for children, and so we need to be trying to get ahead of this trend."

Child poverty reduction targets

Latest official child poverty data shows approximately 143,000 children experienced material hardship in the 2022/23 financial year.

In 2021, the government set targets of reducing the number of children experiencing material hardship from 13.3 percent down to 9 percent by 2023/24.

The government's new target for 2026/27 was 11 percent.

The child poverty report released alongside the Budget in May said the changes reflected "at least in part, the impact of high inflation on the cost of living, which has made it harder for families to afford the basics in the year to June 2023".

Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston rejected criticisms of lowering the targets.

In July, she told Morning Report the government "wanted to … set a target not just based on the last target, but based on where we are today".

Achmad said the decision was disappointing.

"It does show a lower ambition on ending and reducing child poverty.

"We've still got this goal of halving child poverty by 2028, and political parties agreed pre-election that they were committed to that goal."

Helping middle-income families - Minister

Through a statement, Upston said the government was fully committed to reducing child poverty.

"Which is why we have set a target to reduce the number of children experiencing material hardship from the current measure of 12.5 percent down to 11 percent in three years' time, which would lift 17,000 kids out of poverty."

She said despite being ambitious, the new targets reflected the reality of the economic situation the country was in.

The ministry was tackling poverty and helping middle-income families with tax relief, welfare reform, and education improvements, the minister said.

"Our FamilyBoost payment, which reimburses early childhood education fees up to $150 a fortnight, and our increases to the In-Work Tax Credit for working families are also designed to ease costs for families that are struggling to make ends meet."

Upston believed part of the child poverty problem in the country stemmed from a lack of action to address those dependent on welfare.

"The number of children growing up in benefit-dependent homes increased by about 45,000 between September 2017 and 2023 and now sits at more than 222,000.

"Lifting our children out of hardship by getting their parents and caregivers off welfare and into work will be a particular focus of mine."

*Name changed to protect privacy