Keeping an eye on the horizon

The impact of severe weather on schools

By Timmi Aplin-Barrett

Over the winter season, bad weather can really impact schools with thousands of students unable to attend when they have to close.

The Ministry of Education has reported dozens of schools closing on various days during the past winter because of bad weather. The recent weather bomb in the Nelson/Tasman/Marlborough region has been particularly hard with at least five days during August alone where more than 5,000 students have been impacted. Hira School in the Nelson region is reported to have been the worst affected by the weather bomb and had to close for several days. Hira School’s acting principal, Pam Stack, says these closures, on top of covid related closures, have felt like the final straw. “We had many homes affected and we had a sense of some tamariki coming back very emotionally affected by it all,” she says. Around two thirds of the primary school’s outdoor area have been cordoned off and their grounds have been severely compromised and damaged. Pam says although they’re a small school, outside time gets very intense without as much room. She says the school is facing a long and ongoing repair job. However, Hira school and many others are prepared for events such as this. With the rise of online schooling, students are still able to keep up with their learning. “Our whanau are pretty committed to being at school,” Pam says. “The robust online learning we have provided along with the support of ministry initiatives has allowed parents to know that learning can carry on virtually.” Pam says there’s nothing like face-toface school but it’s all about families looking after themselves. She says that effective learning can’t take place if kids are feeling upset. “We’ve got four contributing valleys and all of them were closed during the weather event.

“Families had major damage on their properties to clean up. The home learning program helps because people can make choices based on their situations,” she explains. Ensuring children can continue learning even when their school has to be closed aligns with the Ministry of Educations recent strategy and commitment to get more kids attending school regularly. The Attendance and Engagement Strategy – now called All in for Learning – is a nationwide response to finding out that only around three in five kids attend school regularly. Associate Education Minister, Jan Tinetti says she wants to see the number of kids attending school regularly increased to 70 percent percent in 2024 and 75 percent in 2026. “There’s no quick fix and there can be many barriers but we are working with schools to help turn our school attendance rates around,” Jan says. It seems that providing a robust online learning program for school kids may well be a big help in this nationwide issue.

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