Back-to-school costs: Christmas, Covid extra stress for families in 2021
29 Jan, 2021 09:33 PM
6 minutes to read
Dozens of Bay of Plenty families are on the waiting list to receive back-to-school funding. Photo / Getty Images
Dozens of Bay of Plenty families are on the waiting list to receive back-to-school funding. Photo / Getty Images
Bay of Plenty families are preparing for a tough start to the term as the stress of back-to-school costs is expected to be amplified as many struggle after the impact of Christmas. Dozens of Bay schoolkids were on children s charity Variety s waiting list to get funding for basic essentials including uniform and stationery for 2021.
Back to school costs: Families prepare for the 2021 school year
27 Jan, 2021 05:00 PM
6 minutes to read
Dozens of Bay children are on a waiting list to get back to school funding. Photo / Getty Images
Some Bay families are preparing for a tough start to the term as the stress of back to school costs begins to settle in. Dozens of Bay schoolkids are on children s charity Variety s waiting list to get funding for basic essentials including uniform and stationery for 2021 - and the region s schools will receive more than 200,000 items of KidsCan food in the first term.
Meanwhile, low decile schools are reducing stationery costs, sourcing cheaper uniforms, dropping fees and ensuring parents know there is food support at school.
In Wairoa, Kids Corner and Kids House are two of the 62 centres to benefit from the charity s early childhood programme. Kids Corner and its 34 children are tucked down a sleepy street of the northern Hawke’s Bay town, known for its struggles with poverty, damp housing and its strong gang presence. But centre manager Eirlys Toothill for both centres, says the assistance from KidsCan has had a positive ripple effect from the learning centre right back into the homes.
John Cowpland/Stuff
Mason Runga-Leach enjoys a day out in the sun at Kids Corner in Wairoa. Toothill said one of the children was so excited to receive a raincoat and shoes from the charity, she refused to take it off and wore it to bed. “It’s because it was something that belonged to her, something that was hers,” she said.