A collaborative health initiative is currently underway in West Auckland primary schools to embed wellbeing practices into bilingual learning environments. The program, Whāia te Oranga, operates within the bilingual units at Rānui Primary School and New Windsor School, providing structured hauora sessions for over 150 students.
Led by Healthy Families Waitakere, the pilot was established to address systemic gaps in specialist wellbeing support that have long affected bilingual classrooms.
Christian Curtis, systems innovator at Healthy Families Waitakere, noted that the community was clear about what was needed.
“Kaiako and whānau told us during wānanga they wanted deeper whānau engagement, consistent access to wellbeing opportunities, and sustainability through local capability building,” Curtis said.
The operational pressures in Bilingual Units
According to Curtis, teachers in bilingual classrooms navigate operational challenges, managing the standard national curriculum alongside language revitalisation efforts across multiple year levels.
“Kaiako are expected to deliver hauora on top of everything else, without specialist training or dedicated time,” Curtis explained. “In bilingual units where kaiako are already carrying a full kete of language revitalisation alongside the curriculum, that absence has been pronounced.”
To bridge this gap, the initiative partners with an expert external collaborative network, including The Kindness Institute, Taukoea Limited, Toi Mauri Ora, and Kī-o-Rahi Tāmaki Makaurau, to visit participating schools to facilitate structured weekly sessions covering mau rākau, kī-o-rahi, and mauri tau.
Ruka Rangi, team leader of Te Whānau Puāwaitanga at New Windsor School, stated that the external support provides practical relief for staff while enriching the classroom environment.
“The relief Whāia te Oranga provides is a practical way to bring genuine experiences for our kids that my colleague and I can’t always achieve,” Rangi said.
School leadership highlights that student engagement relies heavily on a secure sense of identity and belonging. Maria Laxa, deputy principal at New Windsor School, stated that foundational wellbeing is essential.
“We found that if you haven’t got a strong foundation in identity, wellbeing, and a sense of belonging, it can’t go any further,” Laxa observed.
She added that practices informed by Te Whare Tapa Whā equip students with practical self-regulation tools to manage anxiety and build resilience.
“The attendance has gone up, especially in the bilingual unit, especially when the Whāia te Oranga programme is on,” Laxa said.
“The other benefits that we see is the kids’ self-discipline increased, and there’s more focus on their mahi.”
Through dedicated whānau engagement sessions, she said families have participated in the practices, learning mindful strategies to reinforce at home and connecting learning directly between the kura and the home.
Looking Ahead
The pilot is scheduled to continue through the remainder of 2026, with stakeholders actively working on long-term sustainability models to maintain specialist support and build local capability across participating communities.
Expressing support for the initiative’s future reach, Laxa said, “I think it should be across all bilingual units and across all mainstream because it’s grounded in where the kids can have tools to ease any anxiety and worries that they have.”
Rangi reiterated that the primary aspiration of the program is to ensure tamariki are equipped to connect deeply with their cultural identity.
“Ko ngā painga, he mea hou ki te nuinga o ngā tamariki i te mea, atu i te kura, puta i te kura, kāore i reira tētahi wheako, tētahi hononga pēnei ki ēnei, ki tō tātou ao.”
