A Rotorua school has taken the “radical” step of making school uniforms and stationery free to boost attendance and help families cope with soaring living costs.

This comes as the latest Stats NZ figures reveal the consumer price index increased 7.2 per cent in the 12 months to December and food prices were 11.3 per cent higher than a year earlier - the biggest annual increase in 32 years.

For the first time, new students at Kaitao Intermediate will receive free back-to-school necessities in line with the start of the year.

The school’s principal, Phil Palfrey, hoped the “radical” initiative would ease financial strain for parents, improve attendance and engage students not yet enrolled in school.

Newly enrolled students would receive a free uniform and stationery pack while existing students would just get stationery.

Palfrey said this would help “remove barriers” to students learning and classwork could get under way on the first day.

“We are really focused on raising student achievement this year and we want to get cracking. It means the day they start they have got everything. They can’t make excuses,” he said.

Kaitao Intermediate School principal Phil Palfrey. Photo / Andrew Warner

“It’s not that we are super rich at all in any way — but we have got to try something different to get our kids to school and engage kids who may not be attending any school.”

It was also the first year of every student having access to an iPad which parents rented for about $6-7 a week. Palfrey believed this would “close the digital divide” among students.

A mum who had just enrolled her 11-year-old son at Kaitao Intermediate described the initiative as a “blessing”.

The woman, who the Rotorua Daily Post Weekend agreed not to name, said she was filled with relief after hearing parents would not have to pay for uniforms.

“I just want to thank Mr Palfrey for taking another stress off four backs – this has helped a lot.”

She said all in one week she had secured a rental property, landed two jobs and received free uniform and stationery for her son.

“I am feeling really blessed today.”

The woman moved to Rotorua from Hamilton at the end of last year. She said the uniforms at her son’s previous school had cost around $320.

She said these prices were “ridiculous” and wanted to see other schools — particularly those in lower-socioeconomic areas — provide uniforms and stationery free of charge.

“It means they are prepared. If kids turn up at school with nothing they get stressed out even though their parents are trying to look for money,” she said.

“Now I won’t have anything to worry about and he won’t be worrying about anything either.”

Sunset Primary principal Eden Chapman told the Rotorua Daily Post Weekend the school had given all students free stationery for the past four years.

Sunset Primary School principal Eden Chapman. Photo / Stephen Parker

It also never charged parents for school trips or camps and Chromebooks were available to students Year 3 and up.

He said the Government’s donation scheme, which gave schools $154 per student each year, made a “big difference” to being able to buy stationery for students.

The “only thing” parents had to pay for was school uniform — and some of those who could not afford this received help from Work and Income, he said.

Chapman, who was heading into his fifth year as principal, said these initiatives were important in minimising disadvantages for those in the community.

He said feeding every single student breakfast at 9am in class every morning had made the biggest difference in student engagement.

“Teachers serve the kids cereal, toast and milo. That has made a gigantic difference to student engagement in our school - more than any other thing I have done,” he said.

“It’s about what can I do to minimise the disadvantage of where you might come from or what life might otherwise be like. I can’t do anything about so many things in society — all I can do is control how accessible and how welcoming my school is.”

Rotorua Budget Advisory Services manager Pakanui Tuhura. Photo / Andrew Warner

Rotorua Budget Advisory Services manager Pakanui Tuhura said right now clients with families were “surviving but not thriving”.

He said 2022 was a tough year due to rising living costs and ongoing housing issues, with clients over the past few weeks “working on these historic issues that have built up over months”.

He said they were now struggling to pay for necessities including food, power and rent, and in some cases were “cutting back on one to pay another”.

The cost of going back to school combined with debt from buying Christmas presents and other holiday purchases meant some families did not have any surplus income, he said.

Some had also taken on buy-now-pay-later debt during this time, which affected their ability to pay for school necessities.

But he said most clients with children returning to school were coping well and had made arrangements with schools as to how they were going to pay for uniforms and extracurricular costs.

“The clients we have that do have some issues are those with children changing schools or increased study costs such as digital tablets.”

His advice to those struggling to pay for uniforms, stationery and devices was to inform the school and “plan well ahead”.

Buying stationery on sale and purchasing second-hand uniforms could also help cut costs, he said.