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Northland principals are celebrating the results of a campaign to get kids back to school.
Te Tai Tokerau Principals Association president Pat Newman says while there’s still concern around the motu about attendance levels in the wake of the pandemic, a concerted effort to assist families means about 2000 extra students resumed school in the north on a regular basis last term.
It took a combined approach between schools, the Ministry of Education, whanau and the community.
“It was a matter of raising awareness in whanau and families. It was raising awareness in communities of why the school was important but above all it was about raising awareness in our students and our children that school was fun, the school was important, that they needed to be there and their mates were missing out and they were missing them,” Mr Newman says.
The campaign used Facebook to encourage students to reach out to their absent peers, as well as targeted advertising in cinemas and buses.
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