Whānau Centre

The Whānau Centre is based within the school and supports students and their whānau by way of the school nurse, social worker, and other staff attached alongside other agencies in the community. The Whānau Centre gives families a place to meet and to work on ways to support their children’s education and address the health needs to ensure there are no barriers to engagement whilst in the classroom.

Students’ feedback in Whānau Centre evaluations has been positive with comments including: being helpful, supportive with a wide range of problems, a youth friendly service, a place where they are able to seek medical advice and treatment, help for their whānau, getting information on other social/health services available, and being a safe place to go.

Whānau Centre Staff

  • SHERIDAN HATTAWAY-MARTIN - Whānau Centre Team Leader

    My name is Whaea Sheridan, I am Māori and whakapapa back to the Mighty Waikato. I have been nursing at Kia Aroha Campus for 10 years now and was also an ex student back when it was known as Clover Park Intermediate. I have been nursing for over 20 years now and to be able to provide health care to our tamariki/rangatahi is where I am most happy. I am a Registered Nurse Prescriber within the Community which aids with breaking down barriers for our whanau when accessing health care. I am passionate about our tamariki/rangatahi, and being able to ensure our students are able to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing, being empowered when accessing all the different services ensures our students get the best care possible. It's amazing being part of the Whānau Centre and wider team at Kia Aroha Campus.

    ASHLEA BELLVE

    My name is Ashlea Bellve, I am of Māori and European decent, born and raised in Manurewa, South Auckland. I have a son who was born in 2022 and is my absolute world. Family is extremely important to me. I was a commercial and residential painter for 4 years before completing my Bachelor of Nursing. I became a Registered Nurse in August 2022. I have had experience in community mental health, acute surgical wards and theatre nursing. I have a passion for helping rangatahi, specifically Māori and Pasifika as this resonates closely to me growing up in South Auckland, making me so excited to be on board at Kia Aroha Campus.

  • CHEVY TE AUTE

    He kawai whakaheke ōku ki Te Arawa waka. He uri tēnei nō Tapuika, nō Waitaha hoki. Ko Chevy Te Aute tōku ingoa.

    I am a māmā to two beautiful girls, a tauira of many kaupapa, and an avid kdrama watcher. My role within Kia Aroha Campus is as the Social Worker in Schools (SWiS). Based in the whānau centre on Wednesday and Thursday, my role is to support and/or connect our tamariki and their whānau with social services. Feel free to pop in to say hi, and ask any pātai you may have.

  • CHRISTIAN KAUMOANA

    Ngati Maniapoto, Ngati Paoa

    Ex- Student & ‘Check & Connect’ mentor

    Works with individuals to maintain and improve school attendance and engagement, with a focus on problem-solving skills and building resilience.

  • IAN MILNE
    Poua Ian has been part of the Whānau Centre team since 2018. His focus is on the attendance of the students and looking at our systems in relation to this. His hours are Monday – Friday 10am – 2pm when he is making calls and sending letters to whānau regarding attendance and lateness.  He also has 30 years’ experience with WINZ and has offered to assist whānau for advice in relation to any concerns they have regarding what support they may qualify for .

WHĀNAU CENTRE INITIATIVES

The “Break Free” project is a culturally responsive intervention that aims to develop new pathways for students who present with a range of behaviours and/or histories that create significant barriers to engagement in learning.  The purpose of the project is to personalise the response and support to the specific needs of each student to enable them to break free from the transcript they believe they have to follow or live up to, and develop a new story (restorying), by determining and agreeing on the way forward.   The Break Free Project was implemented in 2013, and is led by Whānau Centre staff together with teachers and whānau. In 2025 we will be making the Break Free programme a priority to ensure we are meeting students’ needs.

The Whānau Centre team has also run events within the school, such as whole school shared kai, sports days, and fun days.  We promote events such as Anti-Bullying "Pink Shirt Day", Asthma awareness, and Daffodil Day in order to spread awareness of these causes to our students.