6. Question No. 6—EducationJAN TINETTI (Labour) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 6—Education6. JAN TINETTI (Labour) to the Minister of Education: What is the Government doing to support children's wellbeing in schools?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): Today the coalition Government announced a prototype school lunch programme for 30 primary and intermediate schools who will receive a free lunch every school day for every student in years 1 to 8 from term 1 next year. This is just one of the 75 initiatives that are in the Government's Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy that was launched today. The Government is committed to reducing child poverty and its impact on learning. Providing a healthy and nutritious lunch for children is something that we can start doing now while we tackle the long-term challenges.Jan Tinetti: What makes this school lunch programme different from other Government food in schools initiatives in the past?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: This prototype services a different need when compared to a lot of the breakfast programmes that exist currently. We're going to be working with providers in schools to test different ways of delivering nutritious safe and appealing lunches that are packaged sustainably and that represent value for money for students and for the Government. The programme's initially being run in Hawke's Bay - Tairāwhiti the Bay of Plenty - Waiariki—Kiritapu Allan: Hear hear!Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: —and Otago and Southland will follow. These regions are chosen because they collectively represent a range of different school types sizes urban and rural locations and different student needs across the whole of New Zealand. Up to 21000 students across 120 schools will benefit from the prototype.SPEAKER: Order! Before we go any further I'm going to indicate to Kiritapu Allan that she is not going to interject again during this question time.Jan Tinetti: Why has the Government taken a prototype approach to the Food in Schools programme?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: We recognise that there will be a lot of schools that will be interested in accessing a programme like this. However we've decided to implement it on a limited scale initially because providing a lunch to thousands of students is actually a complex and expensive undertaking and we would rather do it well for a few as we scale that programme up than do it poorly for many by rushing it. We want to get this right for schools and make it work for them so that the programme is manageable and sustainable.Jan Tinetti: What are the benefits of starting a food in schools programme for the children in those schools?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Being hungry is an impediment to concentration and to learning. Children themselves told us during the Education Conversation that they want the basics including a free and healthy lunch in school to ensure that they are able and well and can learn. This prototype starts to ensure that they're fed and that they have the best chance to succeed. These are just some of the reasons why we're working with the 20 percent of schools with the highest concentrations of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. The evidence suggests that food insecurity will be a bigger problem for the students in these schools.Jan Tinetti: What other actions has the Government taken to improve child wellbeing?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The Government's made a significant investment in our children's and families' wellbeing investing over a billion dollars into improving the care system supporting families and better care for those children and young people. Reducing child poverty is a key goal of this Government and $5.5 billion put in through the Families Package and initiatives in the Wellbeing Budget will raise 50000 to 74000 children out of poverty. And of course we put extra funding into schools that don't ask parents for donations—something that we know has been a driver of inequality in our school system.