Child and Youth Strategy Annual Report
- Emma Godwin
Purpose
This report sets out the progress towards the outcomes of the Child and Youth Strategy (the Strategy) and the previous Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy for the 2023/24 financial year.
The report covers the indicators from the previous Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy, as this Strategy was in place in the 2023/24 financial year. It also includes reporting on progress on the current Child and Youth Strategy, to establish a baseline ahead of the first reporting that is required on the Child and Youth Strategy for the 2024/25 financial year.
This report also covers progress on the Child Poverty Related Indicators (CPRIs), which are a set of indicators that measure the broader causes, correlates and consequences of child poverty. This report covers current and previous CPRIs for the 2023/24 financial year.
This report is used by government and government agencies to monitor progress towards the outcomes of the Strategy and the CPRIs. It can also be used by a range of other groups to understand what experiences children and young people are having, measure progress towards the Strategy outcomes, and inform responses at a national or local level.
Requirements under the Children’s Act 2014 and Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018
The Children’s Act 2014 requires the government to report annually on progress towards achieving the Strategy’s outcomes. The Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018 requires the government to report annually on the CPRIs.This report fulfills both requirements.
Identified populations of children and young people
The report includes disaggregated data on Māori children and young people, Pacific children and young people, disabled children and young people, and children and young people in disabled households, where available. Ethnicity data includes a mix of total response ethnicity and prioritised ethnicity. This is noted in the relevant data notes. A disabled household is defined as a household with at least one disabled person in the household.
Where disaggregated data is not presented, this is because it is not available.
Findings
Rates of material hardship for children rose from 12.5 percent in 2022/23 to 13.4 percent in 2023/24. This year-on-year change was not statistically significant. However, rates have been trending upwards over the past two years and are now back at levels similar to 2017/18.
Māori children experienced material hardship at over twice the rate of non-Māori children. 23.9 percent of Māori children experienced material hardship in
2023/24, compared to 21.6 percent in 2022/23. This year-on-year change was not statistically significant. Overall, rates for Māori children have not changed
significantly since the first year of Stats NZ’s reporting in 2018/19. These disparities likely reflect ongoing, systemic inequities for Māori children and
whānau, including intergenerational disadvantage and poverty, which have been driven by colonisation.
Pacific children (28.7 percent) experienced material hardship at nearly three times the rate of non-Pacific children (10.9 percent). This is a change from 29 percent in 2022/23. This year-on-year change was not statistically significant. Rates for Pacific children have not changed significantly since
the baseline year of 2018/19.
Data on child poverty for disabled children is available from 2019/20. Rates of material hardship continued to be significantly higher for disabled children (21.0% in 2023/24) and children in disabled households (22.6% in 2023/24) compared to non-disabled children (12.3% in 2023/24) and children in non-disabled households (9.5% in 2023/24). This likely reflects the additional costs of disability for households, as well as barriers to employment.
Regular attendance improved for all learners aged 6-16 years from 47.4 percent in 2022/23 to 53.7 percent in 2023/24, a 6 percentage point increase. This is the second year where attendance rates have increased, following a large fall in the 2021/22 school year to 40.2 percent.
Regular attendance for Māori students increased to 39.17 percent in 2023/24, from 33.20 percent in 2022/23. Attendance rates for Māori learners in Māori medium also increased to 34.4 percent in 2023/24, from 28.3 percent in 2022/23. The relationship between attendance and achievement for Māori learners in Māori medium looks different, with Māori learners in Māori medium achieving at higher rates [see pages 19-20]. While rates are improving, there remain
disparities in attendance between ākonga Māori and non-Māori learners. These rates likely reflect additional challenges Māori learners experience in attending and engaging in school, including experiences of racism and discrimination.
Regular attendance for Pacific students was up to 41.92 percent in 2023/24, from 32.20 percent in 2022/23.These rates likely reflect additional challenges Pacific learners experience in attending and engaging in school. Attendance cannot be disaggregated for disabled learners. This is a significant data gap. Other data and research indicates that disabled learners experience challenges to enrolment and attendance.
The percentage of school leavers attaining NCEA Level 2 has been declining since the 2020 school year. This is the lowest rate of attainment since 2013.
There are disparities in rates of achievement for learners in from schools with more socio-economic barriers, compared to learners from schools with fewer socio-economic barriers. 62.0 percent of school leavers from high Equity Index score schools achieved NCEA Level 2 or more. This was a decrease from 66.4 percent in the 2019 school year.