Health provider training day kickstarts important conversations in Te Tau Ihu/Nelson Region

On 26-27 April, Tūturu hosted a training day for health providers in the Nelson/Te Tau Ihu region, bringing together a diverse group of around a dozen professionals from both Nelson and Marlborough.

The event included people working in smoke-free, youth health and school guidance counsellor spaces, as well as CAYAD staff and health promoters.

An core aspiration of Tūturu is that all young people at secondary schools in Aotearoa can learn, be well, and prepared for a modern world. This training aims to increase the health community’s knowledge and capacity to work with schools in the region using the Tūturu approach. Tūturu currently has health providers located in the Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Waikato and Dunedin regions and we are committed to developing capability in other areas such as Te Tau Ihu.

The first day began with a warm welcome and whanaungatanga. Tūturu national staff member Georgia provided an engaging overview of Tūturu's history, evaluation, and approach, which attendees found helpful for grounding their understanding of the programme.

After lunch, Tūturu Learning and Development Director, Dr Annabel Prescott, facilitated a session on drug policy and student voice. The day wrapped up with a productive discussion on engaging with schools, focusing on strategies for engagement and initiating conversations with senior leaders.

The second day focused on implementation. Attendees were given the opportunity to explore resources relating to each of the four Tūturu pillars - school climate, pastoral pathways, professional learning and development and curriculum resources. Later, attendees took part in a system occupation exercise, allowing for relationship mapping. In this exercise, attendees stood in a circle, with each loci representing an individual's role in relation to the local education sector. The activity aimed to help participants recognise each other's positions in relation to schools and identify connections they could leverage to better connect with the local education system.

Attendees mapped their roles in the education sector relative to the above loci

Annabel also presented her research on drug policy and student voice, sparking a conversation on how health providers can initiate discussions with schools about implementing Tūturu and the value it can bring to the educational environment. The second day concluded with a summary of key learnings and an opportunity for participants to reflect on their personal takeaways.

Reflecting on the event, Annabel said: "The training day was a valuable experience, helping health  providers understand how they can effectively collaborate with schools to create a positive impact on students' wellbeing."

One attendee gave feedback on the day saying: “I'm so excited that we can be part of the mahi that paves the way for Tūturu to become an integrated part of our kura!”

We look forward to continuing to develop our regional capability to support better health and educational outcomes for young people across Aotearoa.