Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland Whole School Approach Day

On 3 May, Tāmaki Makaurau hosted its inaugural Whole School Approach Day.

The event was hosted by the group of health providers, CAYAD, Mahitahi, and Odyssey, who are responsible for delivering Tūturu to schools in South, East, and Central Auckland.

Newly appointed Tūturu leads, Corey Tau and Tony Ormsby, front-loaded the day with the theme of whanaungatanga, allowing schools to forge relationships with other members of their community and access the Tūturu resources.

Stand Up (Odyssey) members, Alexandra Siu and Bailey Nunes, conducted a workshop on alcohol and other drug issues from a school-wide perspective. The aim of their presentation was to equip school staff with introductory knowledge on having open, honest, and safe conversations with students.

This platform was the perfect segue for Tūturu Operations Manager, Tumokai Morgan, to present a workshop on how schools can respond to vaping. Schools were provided with a snapshot into a plethora of statistics, ideas for system change for their kura, and how they can best support their tauira (students).

In the afternoon, the focus shifted onto the attendees. Alexandra Siu, Corey Tau, and Tony Ormsby delivered an interactive session focusing on working with families under long-term stress. The idea was to allow attendees a time to reflect on their morals, policies, and systems, and make links to the empowerment and equity for students and their whānau.

Odyssey's Alex Siu engaged attendees at Auckland's Whole School Approach Day in an activity.

Based on feedback we received, attendees appreciated the opportunity to network, to gain insights into strength-based approaches like vaping, and learn about the role of Tūturu in supporting rangatahi. They also reported having an improved understanding of shared pastoral, teaching strategies, local alcohol and other drugs (AOD) services, and the education curriculum.

Auckland Regional Lead, Tony Ormsby, presents to attendees

Tūturu Lead, Tony Ormsby, said the WSA day was all about whanaungatanga - building relationships with schools, principals, deputy principals, teaching staff, and support workers present from approximately 30 different schools from around Auckland.

We heard from multiple attendees requesting more focused follow-up sessions. The Auckland team is looking forward to hosting more events in the Tāmaki Makaurau region in the near future!