Teachers are struggling with children affected by P-addicted parents and need better resources to deal with it, says the president of the education union.
Further strike action could be on the cards if New Zealand teachers reject the Ministry of Education's latest pay offer, which would give teachers and principals a three percent pay increase each year for three years.
While the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) mulls over the pay offer, President Lynda Stuart says money is not the only issue, telling the AM Show on Wednesday the latest offer does not address reducing workloads and aiding teachers with better resources.
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"We've got children that come into our schools who've suffered significant trauma," she said, adding there is an increasing amount of children affected by parents who have had addictions to alcohol or methamphetamine, and require specialist support.
She said this is something that has been "identified throughout the country," with some children suffering from fetal alcohol spectrum syndrome, which occurs in those whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy.
"I don't have the numbers on this, but I know significantly this is something we're hearing about in Northland and other areas of the country," Ms Stuart said.
Te Tai Tokerau Principals Association president Pat Newman told Newstalk ZB in May that use of methamphetamine is rampant in Northland, saying he "would doubt there is a class in Northland that doesn't have a child that is somehow affected through P."
Ms Stuart said NZEI has asked the Government not only for a pay increase, but also for "things that will actually help teachers do their job and give them the time to teach and give our principals the time to lead".
"We've asked particularly for the role of a 'SENCO' - a learning support coordinator, who helps navigate the support for those children who have additional learning needs," she said.
"We're finding that our teachers are finding it really challenging with some of the students in their classrooms and it would really support our teachers to have that role formalised, to have the staffing for that role, and to have the training for that role."
There are concerns over an apparent "crisis" brewing within the teaching profession in New Zealand, with two recent reports revealing more than 40 percent of primary school principals have suffered physical violence at work, and one in three show signs of PTSD.
"The crisis in education is huge and the teacher shortage is huge," said Ms Stuart.
Recent figures released to NZEI show the teacher shortage could reach crisis point by 2030, and Ms Stuart said in July there will be at least an extra 40,000 primary school students in New Zealand and 38,000 of them are projected to be in the Auckland area.
Ms Stuart says members of NZEI are currently looking at the latest offer from the Government, and next week they will do an electronic ballot and make a decision.
If the offer is rejected, then another strike could be on the table.
Newshub.
