Kerre Woodham: Will fining parents of absent kids help?

You might have heard ACT leader David Seymour on the Breakfast show this morning. He says there will almost certainly be prosecutions against parents of absent students this year as the Government intensifies its crackdown on school truancy. And it's not even truancy, in my mind truancy are kids doing a bunk, wagging, taking a day off. What this is, is parental neglect. Parents who are failing to ensure that their kids get to school and get to school on time. According to Ministry of Education figures, around 11.3% of students were chronically absent from school and term 4 last year, equating to around 93,000 young people. Chronically absent means a student attends 70% of school or less. The Associate Minister for Education spelled out what's going to happen next to parents who will not send their kids to school.  

“Basically, a school will go to the Ministry of Education, say look, we've got someone who they're not a can’t, they’re a won't. We've tried. We've gone out. We've engaged with them. They're basically giving us the middle finger and saying education is not important and you've got no right to demand that my kid enrols and attends a school. And in that case I've been told by the youth aid, police, by the attendance officers, by the deputy principal, we need another sanction, another step we can take. At that point they will go to the Ministry of Education and say, look, this is a potential prosecution case. Ministry of Education will weigh it up and if it stacks up, they'll take the prosecution, ultimately go before the courts. Now you can be fined $30 bucks a day up to $300 initially. For repeat offending the fine on parents can be $3000.” 

Which of course many parents won't be able to pay in that category. They're not going to be able to pay it, but the message is clear from the Government. They are quite happy to be the bad guy in getting your kids to school. And principals have said they've already noticed a difference. The expectation is that young people will attend school. Schools have to deliver statistics on the numbers of children who are turning up and they have to deliver those to the Ministry of Education – if their figures are slipping, or if there's no improvement, then action is taken by branches and agencies of the ministry to encourage children to attend school.  

So is it going to help the parents who've rung in and told me they cannot get their children to school? These are the older students who cannot and will not get out of bed. That makes it a bit tricky. We have had, on the face of it, perfectly “normal parents”  who are trying to do the right thing by their children and by the community who want their kids to get ahead in life, who want their kids to go to school, tell us that they cannot get their teenagers out of bed and into the classroom.  

If you can say, well, if I have to pay that fine, then that's going to come out of the money for your wardrobe or the money for your school trip, or the money for your phone plan, will that help? I mean, 11% of kids who are chronically absent, that's quite a lot of children, 93,000 young people, as a lot of young Kiwis who are missing out. And they're not just missing out on learning they're missing out on the structure and the discipline of getting up and going to work.   

And what if the parents and grandparents like me, who take the kids out of school for a jolly? I guess there are exceptions to every rule, but should we be fined as well? If you're willingly, wilfully disobeying the edict from the government to get your kids to school should parents and grandparents like me be fined for basically sticking the middle finger, as David Seymour said, to the attendance expectations? 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Carrywood and Morning's podcast from News
Talks hed.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
B, Well, you might have heard act Leader David Seymour
soon to be Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour on the
Breakfast Show this morning. He says there will almost certainly
be prosecutions against parents of absent students this year as
the government intensifies its crackdown on school truancy. And it's

(00:30):
not even truancy in my mind. Truancy are kids doing
a bunk wagging taking a day off. What this is
is parental neglect, parents who are failing to ensure that
their kids get to school and get to school on time.
According to the Ministry of Education figures, around eleven point

(00:50):
three percent of students were chronically absent from school in
Term four last year, equating to around ninety three thousand
young people. Chronically absent means a student attends seventy percent
of school or less. Associate Minister for Education spelled out
what's going to happen next to parents who will not

(01:11):
send their kids to school.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
Basically, a school will go to the Ministry of Education
say look we've got someone who that they're not a
can't bur or won't. We've tried, we've gone out, we've
engaged with them, basically giving us the middle finger and
saying education is not important and you've got no right
to demand that my kid enrolls and attends a school.
In that case, I've been told by the youth Aide police,

(01:34):
by the attendance officers, by the Deputy Principles, we need
another sanction, another step we can take. At that point
they will go to the Ministry of Education and say
this is a potential prosecution case. Ministry of Education will
weigh it up and if it stacks up, they'll take
a prosecution ultimately go before the courts. Now you can
find thirty bucks a day up to three hundred dollars

(01:56):
initially for a repeat offending. The fine on parents can
be three thousand dollars.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Which of course many parents won't be able to pay
in that category. There was day it seemed more talking
on the mic costing breakfast this morning, they're not going
to be able to pay it. But the message is
clear from the government they are quite happy to be
the bad guy and getting your kids to school, and
Principles have said they've already noticed a difference. The expectation

(02:24):
is that young people will attend school, and schools have
to deliver statistics on the numbers of children who are
turning up and they have to deliver those to the
Ministry of Education, and if their figures of slipping or
if there's no improvement, then action is taken by branches
and agencies of the Ministry to encourage children to attend school.

(02:48):
So they've tried the carrot and this is the stick.
So rather than the actual fine itself, it is just
the expectation that young people will attend school. The government's
quite happy to be the bad guy in this, and
principles say it's making a difference. So is it going

(03:11):
to help. The parents have rung in and told me
they cannot get their children to school. These are the
older students. Obviously, with primary school age you can pretty
much get them there if you have a will. There
is a way. When it comes to great, hulking teenagers
who cannot and will not get out of bed. That
makes it a bit trickier. We have had, on the

(03:33):
face of it, perfectly normal parents in inverted commerce who
are trying to do the right thing by their children
and by the community, who want their kids to get
ahead in life, who want their kids to go to school,
but they cannot get their teenagers out of bed and
into the classroom. You may have heard them, they've rung
in said what do I do? If you can tell

(03:55):
the young ones that you're going to be liable for
a fine of three hundred dollars and then three thousand
dollars if they continue to decide, yeah, no, schools not
really for me, will that be sufficient motivation for them
to get their rais into g for you to have

(04:16):
an added tool to get them out of bed, into
a uniform, onto a bus or into the car and
into school. If you can say, well, if I have
to pay that fine, then that's going to come out
of the money for your wardrobe, or the money for
your school trip, or the money for your phone plan.

(04:39):
Will that help? I mean eleven percent of kids who
are chronically absent, that's quite a lot of children. Ninety
three thousand young people as a lot of young kiwis
who are missing out, and they're not just missing out
on learning, they're missing out on the structure and the
discipline of getting up and going to work. Some of

(05:03):
them might be influences, some of them might turn out
to be gamers and very successful ones. Some of them
might turn up to be musos. But even then, you
still need a structure and a discipline to your day
if you're going to be the best at what you do,
so you're going to have to learn how to get
up and go to work. Is this going to be sufficient?

(05:28):
I think it's just another tool that the government is giving.
Parents will be the bad guy you can rent and
rail against a center right government, and it might get
the kids interested in voting if they're in the sixteen
plus age group, to ensure they never get bullied and
bossed out of bed again. Will that help? And will

(05:53):
that help you? And what of the parents and grandparents
like me who take the kids out of school for
a jolly. You know, even if I could have got
the kids into the resort in Fiji, I couldn't. It
was booked out. So we're doing it out of school holidays.
It means that instead of paying sixteen hundred and nine

(06:15):
dollars for flights, I'll pay seven hundred and if their
parents are willing, I'm not take kidnapping the children, but
you know they're meeting all their targets they're attending school regularly,
they certainly wouldn't be in the seventy percent of school
or less, So I guess I'll risk it fact of

(06:37):
the three hundred dollar fine. If that's what happens into
the holiday doesn't happen regularly, it'll be a one off
the rest of the time they'll be there. So I
guess there are exceptions to every rule. But should we
be fined as well? If you're willingly, willfully disobeying the

(07:01):
edict from the government to get your kids to school?
Should should parents and grandparents like me be fined for
basically sticking the middle finger, as David Seymour said to
the attendance expectations.

Speaker 1 (07:20):
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