Henderson North School has been part of Healthy Active Learning in West Auckland since 2020, with multiple outcomes being enjoyed by tamariki and teachers in the years since.

Healthy Active Learning is a joint government initiative between Sport New Zealand, Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand and the Ministry of Education to improve the wellbeing of tamariki and rangatahi through heathy eating and drinking, and quality physical activity.

The launch of Healthy Active Learning initially saw 20 West Auckland schools participating in the first phase, and this number has since grown to 40.

Henderson North School has been one of the schools benefitting from the holistic and collaborative approach to supporting tamariki to be active and healthy in ways that suit them and their wider community, explains Oliver Wooding, Community Connector with Sport Waitākere’s Healthy Active Learning team.

“Our partnership with Henderson North School has been extensive and the school, its students and leadership team have been extremely focused on weaving Healthy Active Learning philosophies and activities into the fabric of the school, ensuring amazing outcomes for all tamariki,” says Oliver.

Sport Waitākere’s Healthy Active Learning team has partnered at multiple levels within the school community to help foster and grow a range of new opportunities for the learners.

The partnership has seen the establishment of a student wellbeing-focused hauora group, made up of tamariki from across years 4, 5 and 6.  Among a number of initiatives, the group has been instrumental in leading an upgrade of the playground, guided by input from tamariki across the school.

“Through insight gathering and building a rapport with the tamariki and kaiako, we identified that the students wanted to develop and revitalise the school’s play environment. The student leadership group suggested they collected more data and present the findings back to the School Board to influence change,” explains Oliver.

“The School Board were impressed and fully supported any changes the group wanted to make. The school was able to upgrade the senior playground as a direct result of the presentation. Following this, the school’s play journey continued to develop through being part of Sport Waitākere’s Gear Up! initiative, where play and sports equipment was made accessible within the school community.”

Guidance from the Healthy Active Learning team has also supported the school in accessing a Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa Play Environment application for $10,000. This application included improving three different play areas which were not currently utilised.

Oliver says Henderson North School’s success as part of the Healthy Active Learning initiative can be heavily attributed to the school’s commitment, and taking up every opportunity made available to them for their tamariki and wider school community.

“The school has made the absolute most of every opportunity presented to them, with outstanding results.  Among the many examples is the leadership team’s commitment to participating in events we’ve run, such as a professional learning and development day for Healthy Active Learning principals and our Healthy Active Learning Opportunities (HALO) day, which brings together all Healthy Active Learning schools and encourages teachers to engage with others and be inspired with new teaching ideas to take back into the classroom.  

“They were also very active participants in our first Hui Hub, bringing a range of community leaders and providers together with teaching teams from West Auckland schools to foster connection, spark collaborations and share good practice,” adds Oliver.

Other outcomes have included the opportunity for tamariki to try Aiga Jam, a unique physical activity programme that connects with elements of the Pasifika culture to deliver a positive combination of physical activity and fun, and extending the school’s participation in the Garden to Table programme to encourage healthy eating and healthy lunch preparation for whānau.

Henderson North Deputy Principal Paul Simons says the Healthy Active Learning partnership has been instrumental in helping create an environment that promotes quality play, sport and physical activity for all tamariki.  

“Among the many highlights is that we have completely evolved the way Henderson North School  values play, with many positive outcomes for tamariki, such as reduced behaviour incidences during break times and more collaboration and interaction between different year levels.

“I’m excited that our students are now more engaged in play, even children who may have previously opted for other non-physical lunchtime activities.  It has opened a new chapter for us at Henderson North School and I look forward to seeing where this relationship takes us.”

Article added: Thursday 30 March 2023