Whole School Approach Day – Ōtepoti Dunedin

Twelve Otago schools, health providers and other services joined together for the annual Whole School Approach Day in Ōtepoti Dunedin.

The day provides training for school and other services around alcohol & other drugs (AOD) and wellbeing.  It is also an opportunity for school staff to connect with each other & services in their region and discuss relevant issues and responses.

Kim Gotlieb, Tūturu Project Lead at Mirror Services said “we were delighted with the turnout, especially at a time when schools are at their limits of resourcing because of Covid. The day was a great opportunity to share knowledge & expertise with each other, continuing to develop an ecosystem of support around our schools in Otago”.

Presentations included “Vaping & Young People” by NZ Drug Foundation, “Wellbeing Responses to Vaping” by Otago Girls High School, a snapshot of their experience of Tūturu by Kavanagh College,  “Alcohol Harm Reduction” in Otago by Te Whatu Ora, “Drugs in Society” from Mirror Services,  AOD activities and time for feedback around what schools want from Tūturu.

“We hold this day annually, its important to us to be able to bring our hāpori together, building connections, sharing information and strategies.  It has resulted in a continued strengthening of partnerships between schools and service providers.  Getting people on the same page around AOD & wellbeing enables us to provide consistent messaging and responses for the young people of Otago” said Gotlieb.