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The Government’s school-based Mana Ake wellbeing programme has been expanded to primary and intermediate school-aged children living on the West Coast.
The programme is designed to promote mental health support to primary and intermediate school-aged children and was originally launched in 2018 in the Canterbury region, including Kaikoura, as part of the Government’s plan for wraparound support for children living in earthquake-affected communities.
It’s a cross-agency initiative between Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand and the Ministry of Education.
The programme sees 12 NGO providers employ workers ranging from psychologists to social workers and counsellors to support school and families when children experience issues that may impact their wellbeing.
In May this year, Health Minister Andrew Little and Associate Education Minister Jan Tinetti announced the programme would receive a $90 million boost with the aim of expanding the programme into the Northland, Counties Manukau, Bay of Plenty, Lakes and West Coast regions.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister Little marked the official beginning of services at Kumara School on the West Coast today.
“Mana Ake has been widely recognised as an excellent way to support children with wellbeing challenges. It can help identify small issues sooner, preventing them from becoming big problems,” Little says.
He says one of the strengths of the programme is that it is co-designed by the local community, meaning it is tailored to meet the children’s needs in a way that’s meaningful to them.
“The full Mana Ake programme is set to benefit around 195,000 primary and intermediate aged children – which is something to celebrate,” Little says.
Services are expected to commence in the Northland, Counties Manukau, Bay of Plenty and Lakes regions from early 2023.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
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