Cathy Chalmers: Manurewa Attendance Service head on David Seymour blaming striking teachers for attendance numbers

An attendance expert says David Seymour's disingenuous to blame attendance numbers on striking teachers. 

He's claiming their industrial action meant term three attendance dropped year on year.

He says it was on track for 52 percent attendance, but ended closer to 50.

Manurewa Attendance Service head Cathy Chalmers says attendance on those days isn't recorded - and numbers usually slip at the end of term.

"Historically, that last day before the long weekend, we get a lot of students not turning up to school."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now David Seymour is blaming striking teachers for a drop
in school attendance. He reckons attendance was on track to
be one percent higher than last year, but because of
the strikes, it's now down one percent on last year. Now,
Kathy Chambers, are charmers right? Rather is the principle of
Green Meadows Intermediate and the head of manyere were attendance
service and with us Now Hi, Kathy, hi there, how

(00:20):
are you? I'm very well? Thank you?

Speaker 2 (00:22):
As David right, Well, I don't want to challenge whether
he's right or wrong, but what I would say is
that typically the last week of the term, attendance is
historically the patent drops. But also I think we need

(00:42):
to remember that parents are the ones who are legally
responsible for their child's attendance.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
And this sounds like he's right, doesn't it.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
No, what I was actually going to say was blaming it.
I'm a teacher's participating in a lawful strike is a
bit disingenuous because, in my opinion, first off, attendance isn't
recorded on those days, so the days themselves would have
had no impact on attendance. And the second thing is

(01:14):
that if a parent lets their childs stay home for
other days. You know, that's a parent parental choice. Not right,
but it's a little bit tricky blaming that on teaching.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
But I so can I take from what you've said
that given that we don't count a strike day as
an attendance a lack of attendance, we would though, so
we wouldn't count that Thursday, but we would count the
Friday between the strike and labor weekend, and that Friday,
whole bunch of kids didn't turn up.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
And that Friday, that that day historically, I can speak
in our area, I can speak for my school. Historically,
that last day before the long weekend, we get a
lot of students not turning up to school. Okay, So
I just think it's a little bit disingenuous what I
do know, And I'm remember it's only secondary schools that

(02:07):
were on strike at that time. There were no primary
schools on strike in the last week of term. So
the data really only reflect that he's referring to is
only relevant to the secondary school secondary schools. Primary schools
were at school. And the other thing, you know this
he has acknowledged the high levels of illness that happened

(02:31):
in term three and that would have had a significant
impact on data as well.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Kathy, Look, it's good to talk to you. I really
appreciate your time. There's Kathy Charmers, who is the Green
Meadows Intermediate School lead principle of the Manyeare Attendance Service
as well. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen
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