Child Wellbeing Strategy a turning point

The School Trustees Association is excited about the Child Wellbeing Strategy released yesterday by the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Minister for Children Tracey Martin.

Children’s and young people’s ability to progress and achieve well at school is hugely impacted by the quality of life the student experiences outside the school gates, and the Wellbeing Strategy will make a significant difference to those who need it most.

"Most of us can’t even remember how long we’ve been asking for this kind of initiative to make our children and young people’s wellbeing a social priority across the board," says NZSTA President Lorraine Kerr.

"For decades we have been battling against a rising tide of poverty, inequity and a general erosion of children’s quality of life. We’ve become so involved in trying to counter those issues in our schools that we’ve had less and less time to focus on helping students learn," she says.

"It’s exciting to finally have a commitment and even an action plan to reverse that situation. Finally we’re building the fence at the top of the cliff."

The trial of a free school lunch programme announced as part of the Wellbeing Strategy has the potential to make a huge difference for the students who are most in need. The proposal appears to draw on the experience of previous initiatives such as breakfast clubs. NZSTA has been actively involved in supporting the development of good practice guidelines for food programmes in schools.

ENDS

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