Dunedin Whole School Approach Hui 2025 - Bridging the gap between health and education

On Tuesday 18 March, our Tūturu team in Ōtepoti Dunedin hosted a Whole School Approach Day Hui for secondary schools and youth agencies. The afternoon provided a professional learning opportunity focused on evidence-based ways to support young people’s wellbeing, with an emphasis on youth development and strengthening support systems for rangatahi.

Tūturu works to bridge the gap between the education and health sectors, fostering collaboration to benefit young people’s wellbeing. While these sectors offer different but equally valuable perspectives on supporting young people to lead healthy, successful lives, they don’t always intersect. Tūturu is dedicated to integrating best practices, evidence-based tools, curriculum materials, and staff training from the health sector into schools to promote student hauora (wellbeing).

During the hui, Deputy Principal (Pastoral) Sue Porter from Otago Girls' High School (OGHS) shared insights into the school’s innovative approach to vaping and their collaboration with Public Health Nurse Jude Wall to provide vaping cessation support. In their presentation, Porter and Wall addressed a pressing issue for schools: “We have legislation and education, but what about cessation? How can schools harness the expertise of their health nurse to offer cessation programmes for students who want to stop vaping?”

Their remarks resonated with the audience, highlighting the challenges schools face and the importance of providing meaningful support for students wanting to quit vaping. Their presentation sparked valuable discussion among attendees about how schools can integrate cessation resources into their student support frameworks.

The latest vaping data reveals concerning trends, particularly among Māori and Pacific youth. According to the ASH Year 10 Snapshot Survey, 21% of Māori youth vape daily, compared to 12% of Pacific youth and 5% of non-Māori/Pacific youth. According to the International Tobacco Control Youth & Young Adult Survey, New Zealand currently has the highest youth vaping rate among English-speaking countries,

Tūturu Leads Mark Pickering and Kim Gotlieb led a session on “Reflective Listening,” a core technique of Motivational Interviewing widely used in the health sector. This approach enhances communication and fosters intrinsic motivation for change, making it particularly useful when working with young people.

Reflective Listening, successfully used in youth alcohol and other drug (AOD) support, is a prime example of a health-based modality introduced into the education sector by Tūturu. “Reflective Listening can really be a gamechanger,” says Pickering. “It provides a space for young people to feel heard and encourages them to develop their own motivation for change. We know that simply telling young people what to do isn’t effective. Instead, reflective listening utilises empathy, which research shows significantly increases the likelihood of positive change.”

Senior Tūturu Lead Kim Gotlieb emphasised that Tūturu is strengthening connections between education and health to better support young people’s hauora. “We bring expertise from the health sector that can be readily implemented in education. We are much stronger when we collaborate and share an understanding of youth development and how to enhance it. It makes sense to share what we know works.”

We will continue to offer professional development opportunities, fostering collaboration between educators and health professionals to equip them with the tools needed to make a lasting difference in the lives of rangatahi.

Sources:

ASH Year 10 Snapshot Survey (ASH NZ)

ITC Youth and Young Adult Tobacco and Vaping Survey