Update: December 2022

We know that collective action and ownership of the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy is key to us achieving our ambition for Aotearoa to be the best place in the world to be a child or young person.  The recent review of the Strategy provides a clear direction and guide for our collective efforts.

The Review also highlighted that we need to have a strong focus on the underlying drivers of child wellbeing, including continuing to reduce child poverty, supporting child and youth mental wellbeing and addressing racism, discrimination and stigma.  These areas, along with making sure every child has a good start in life by enhancing child and whānau wellbeing in the first 1,000 days, have all been prioritised for the next phase of the Strategy’s work. You can find more information about the review recommendations and early implementation work below.

We'd like to thank you for your ongoing support and interest in our work to improve the wellbeing of children and young people. And with the the holiday season fast approaching, we'd also like to wish you a well-deserved rest, joyful times with whānau and friends, safe travels and all the very best for the coming year.
 

Webinar: Strengths-based reporting and measurement 

Join us on 16 December from 12-1pm, for a webinar focused on why strengths-based measurement and reporting matters, and how we can do it more effectively. 

Speakers include Andrew Webber and Louise Pirini from the Social Wellbeing Agency, and Dr Hinemoa Elder who will share real world experiences of strengths-based health measurement.  

Find out more and register

New best practice guidelines for engaging with children and young people

One of the recommendations of the recent review of the Strategy was to 'refresh and amplify best-practice guidelines for engaging with children and young people'.

New best practice guidelines have recently been finalised and shared with agencies. They reflect what children and young people told us about how we can better support and empower them to have their voice heard. They also incorporate elements of established guidelines and links to more detailed information, including considerations when engaging with specific population groups.

Find out more    

Implementing the Strategy Review recommendations

We recently proactively released a briefing to the Minister for Child Poverty Reduction, which provides an update on early implementation work and planned next steps.  

Find out more

Progress updates

This section highlights recent progress updates on Programme of Action items, and other initiatives that will support child and youth wellbeing:

• Fale mo Aiga: Pacific Housing Strategy and Action Plan 2030 aims to improve home ownership of Pacific Peoples.
• Pacific Education Support and Innovation funded programmes prove extremely effective for Pacific learners.
• The Pacific Wellbeing Strategy includes four priority areas that will guide how the government works with Pacific communities.
• Completion of Highest Needs Review will lead to better supports for kids and young people with the highest needs.
• New data shows health investments making a difference for New Zealanders.
• 20,600 people supported by Flexi-Wage placements, including over 3,000 people with children.
• Funding for 15 more organisations providing Rainbow wellbeing support. 
• Te Korowai Whetū Social Cohesion' strategic framework includes tools, resources and a community fund to support initiatives that strengthen social cohesion.
• More families will receive childcare support through the 'Cost of Living Package', along with increases to the Working for Families Tax Credits. 
• More mental wellbeing support is available at the Universtity of Waikato, completing the rollout of enhanced mental health and addiction services to university students.
• The Social Sector Commissioning Action Plan 2022-2028 will fundamentally change the way government works with social services, to better support whānau and communities.
• Investment in maternal mental health will result in better and more widely available care for new and expectant mothers around the country.
• The MSD Child Poverty Report shows child poverty continuing to decline despite the 1 in 100 year economic shock caused by COVID-19.
• More than four million Cost of Living payments have been made to provide timely support for low and middle income New Zealanders and soften the impact of inflation pressures.
• The Infrustructure Acceleration Fund will enable more homes, including public, affordable, market and papakāinga housing.
• Latest data shows fewer people on a Main Benefit compared to September 2021.
• A new suite of digital tools to support people affected by family violence includes a 24/7 phone and online-chat support service, a dedicated website with interactive resources, and an online space to help drive behaviour change. 
• The latest Healthy Homes Initiative evaluation report shows it has helped 142,000 Kiwis, and reduced hospitalisations by nearly 20%. 
• The Access and Choice programme has delivered more than half a million sessions to people needing mental health support.
• Two new mental health resources, including a reo Māori resource, will support the delivery of effective mental health education in schools and kura.
• ACC will now cover birthing injuries, benefitting around 28,000 birthing parents.
• 50,000 more kids will benefit from equity-based programmes next year. 
• The Healthy Active Learning initiative, focused on improving students' physical activity and nutrition, is now in 800 schools and kura nationwide.
• The Apprenticeship Boost programme has reached a significant milestone, supporting over 50,000 apprentices to move into or retain their trade.
• The ‘Better Pathways’ package aims to place more young people in education, training or work, and help drive down youth crime.

Your stories and feedback

It's inspiring to hear about the great stuff that's happening in communities to support the wellbeing of children, young people and their whānau - check out our 'Your stories' section to find out more. Please continue to let us know about new initiatives or send us your ideas or feedback - we'd love to hear from you! Contact us on: childyouthwellbeing@dpmc.govt.nz  

Healthy Active Learning at Randwick School

Randwick School in Lower Hutt is one of around 800 schools and kura involved in the Healthy Active Learning initiative. See what teachers and tamariki have to say about the impact of the initiative, and the importance of physical activity and healthy kai for their wellbeing.

Find out more