A child does not choose the street they grow up on, their parent’s income, or whether their home is warm, dry and secure.

More than a year after the Government shifted to a $3-per-meal school lunch model, some Northland schools say the programme is failing the very students it was designed to help.

The Children's Commissioner says the latest report on child poverty reveals the country's "national shame".

"Everyone should be treated the same." It's a phrase that surfaces often in New Zealand's public debate. Whether it's discussions about healthcare, education, local government or Te Tiriti o Waitangi, calls for equality can sound straightforward. It means fairness, giving everyone the same treatment.

The Painga Project aims to put 7000 pairs of glasses on the faces of children in high equity index schools each year, through its purpose-built mobile optometry clinic, a mini-bus called Celia.

A colourful optometry van called Celia visited Gisborne this week to show prospective funding partners its potential for screening children for eyesight problems at schools.

This week we hear from Sarah Corson, co-founder of The Painga Project. This enterprise was set up to improve the health and wellbeing of students, families and communities in low decile South Auckland primary and intermediate schools.

A charity screening children for sight and hearing problems at schools in high-need areas now has a fully kitted-out optometry bus - and big plans to roll the service out to reach more regions and adults too.

Wearing glasses for the first time or getting their hearing problems treated had been life-changing for students at Edmund Hillary School - both inside and outside the classroom, according to principal Kataraina Nock.

It was while researching her two latest projects that Award-winning journalist Rebecca Macfie came to realise the privileges colonisation had bequeathed her own family.

Creating and maintaining the conditions for learning for tamariki burdened by compounding hardship is a relentless and all-consuming challenge for school leaders. In Papakura, that burden is lightened by community partners who share a fierce commitment to educational equity.

Eye patches aren’t just for pirates and villains. In Elio, Disney/Pixar introduces a young hero with a patch – and breaks old stereotypes in the process.

As teen anxiety and depression continue to rise, and as our rangatahi face mounting pressures, the experiences these centres offer are increasingly important.

This Government, like those before it, has once again failed to protect our most vulnerable. And in doing so, it has laid bare a truth we cannot ignore — Aotearoa is a nation that does not prioritise the wellbeing of Māori children.

Youth crime is a constant issue in New Zealand – and in the last few years, stories of ram raids, violent attacks and spree offending have dominated the headlines.

A researcher has partnered with a South Auckland marae to grow an urban "food forest" with the goal of using it as a seed for future change.

In treating school lunches as a service rather than an investment, penny pinching risks raising costs above value.

Principals from schools in the country's poorest communities have united to call for an end to new NCEA reading, writing and maths tests.

When award-winning journalist and author Rebecca Macfie began a new project to explore poverty in Aotearoa, she first had to ask herself some hard questions.

An optometrist is concerned more children are now at risk of getting myopia or short-sightedness, due to the increase in daily screen-time.