Health Education

At Takapuna Primary School, we believe that nurturing our students’ physical, mental, and emotional well-being is vital for their overall success. Our robust Health Education curriculum focuses on providing a safe, inclusive environment that equips our tamariki with age-appropriate skills, resilience, and knowledge to make positive life choices.

In alignment with our core school values—Care & Respect (Manaaki & Whakaute), Excellence (Hiranga), Innovation (Auahatanga), Integrity (Ngākau pono), and Responsibility (Haepapa) —our health initiatives are seamlessly woven into everyday learning across the school.

Mental Health & Well-being

We take a proactive, dual-focused approach (covering both IQ and EQ) to mental health and emotional awareness:

• Mitey: A comprehensive three-year mental health programme built around the New Zealand curriculum. Embedded into daily classroom life, Mitey normalises emotions and uses the MANA model to build student knowledge and positive attitudes toward mental health.

  Mitey is a New Zealand specific, Years 1-8 approach to embedding mental health education in both teaching and learning. It was developed by the Sir John Kirwan Foundation. Our kura is now in the second year on our Mitey journey. Children will learn how to recognise and respond to their own mental health and those of others. Cultivating good mental health helps us cope with life’s ups and downs, and to feel comfortable asking for help from others when we need it. All the teachers at Takapuna Primary are engaging with Professional Development from our expert coaches working for Mitey. For more information visit the website: https://www.mitey.org.nz/

• LifeChanger (Years 5 & 6): A preventative program that empowers our senior students to champion their own well-being. It creates a seamless developmental pathway, cultivating safe spaces and involving teachers, parents, and community mentors.
• Dedicated Wellbeing Room: Available to students at any time during class and supervised during break times, this room offers a quiet space to relax, read, colour, or practice yoga and breathing exercises.
• Wellbeing Mentor: In partnership with Life Walk NZ, we host a trained wellbeing mentor who gives our students a trusted, supportive voice to talk to so they always feel heard.

Relationships & Keeping Ourselves Safe

Building healthy connections and protecting our students is paramount:

• Keeping Ourselves Safe (KOS): Delivered every two years alongside our local Police Education Officer, this program teaches students to recognise healthy vs. unhealthy relationships and safe interaction practices, both face-to-face and online.
• Restorative Practices & Anti-Bullying: We maintain clear pathways for students to safely report bullying, meanness or cyberbullying. Any reports are dealt with swiftly, fairly, and confidentially, supported by our Healing the Hurt restorative program.

Daily Health & Everyday Safety

We integrate physical health, hygiene, and environmental safety into our routine:

• General Integrated Health: We proudly operate as a Water-Only School and teach foundational practices surrounding healthy eating and personal hygiene.
• Digital Safety: All students participate in our annual Digital Safety Week and sign a safe-use agreement. 
• Road, Fire & Sun Safety: Students explicitly learn traffic laws and hazard awareness through Road Safety modules. We partner with Firewise to teach fire prevention and evacuation safety. During Terms 1 and 4, we strictly enforce our sun safety policy (compulsory hats, shared shade play areas, and sunblock).

Senior Puberty Programme (Years 5 & 6)

Delivered annually by professional outside facilitators alongside classroom teachers, this program introduces our senior students to the physical and emotional changes that accompany growing into young adults. Boys and girls learn about their changing bodies, menstruation management, and the vital daily hygiene adjustments required during puberty, while being encouraged to open up conversations with comfortable family members at home.

Community Partnership & Consultation

As a School Board, we regularly consult with our community to ensure our Health curriculum accurately reflects the wishes, customs, and diverse beliefs of our families. If you ever have any questions or feedback regarding our active Health programmes, please contact our Principal, Devika Tagg, at devikat@tps.school.nz with the subject line “Health Programmes”.