Pauline baty
Primary Teacher
Tania Morrison
Principal Tainui Full Primary
- P.O. Box 70 Cambridge 3450
- info@children1st.org.nz
- 07 827 9039 / 021 146 2900
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To build a resilient community where everyone is treasured.
To support the development of social, emotional and life skills of young people and their families.
Our four core values are:
Justice, Integrity, Respect and Courage…
Registered Trust CHILDREN 1st Charitable Trust is a non-profit organisation registered with the Charities Commission.
Trust Registration Number: CC49467
Incorporated and registered in May 2013
Organisational Purpose The purpose of CHILDREN 1st Charitable Trust is to establish and operate services for young people and their families to support the development of social, emotional and life skills, with a view to assist them to make a more worthwhile contribution to society.
Our Trust aims to provide external, evidence-based programmes for children in a school setting, that fall within the middle to low range of needing social and emotional support. This objective is to help prevent them from falling into the high-risk category where they will require an ongoing high level of support.
CHILDREN 1st Charitable Trust was established in 2013 because our Trustees recognised a need to provide primary school-aged children with extra support to improve their confidence, self-esteem and teach them strategies to help them better cope with life today.
CHILDREN 1st is based in Cambridge and we currently offer & facilitate Resilience Programmes for children and their parents in Primary schools within the Waipa and Waikato region.
We have received ongoing support from both Community Waikato to assist in the development of our Trust and Herbert Morton Accountants in Cambridge.
Our Trustees have a positive and mutual respect for each other, are all motivated to help children and are passionate about the Trust’s cause.
Three of our Trustees teach in schools in the Waikato and have been actively involved in education and the community for more than 20 years. It is very evident to our Trust that there is an increasing number of children and families that need extra support in coping with the challenges of daily life.
CHILDREN 1st provides Resilience programmes in Waipa and Waikato schools for children aged 5 – 13 years, primarily free of charge.
All programmes are run by Registered teachers who are trained and experienced facilitators.
Children will benefit from gaining confidence, resilience, self-esteem, empathy, social skills, building friendships by bringing in an external programme.
One in five adults and children suffer from anxiety and depression. This is more prevalent than ADHD, drug use, or any other mental health problem.
Only 5% of cases receive intervention! ( Andrews, 2005 )
Anxiety and depressive disorders make up 60% of school and work difficulties (Andrews 2005)
New Zealand communities have one of the highest rates of bullying, mental health issues, youth suicide and family violence.
“Children who are emotionally and socially skilled are more successful at school.”
– (Durlak et al., 2011)
“ Children who are emotionally and socially skilled relate better to other children, teachers and parents. They are more competent in dealing with stress and school work.”
– (Aber, Jones & Cohen, 2000)
“Children that have learnt empathy, emotional and social competence show significantly less behavioural problems at school, even if they are in adverse life circumstances.”
– (Caprara et al., 2000)
CHILDREN 1st Charitable Trust is committed to working with young children and parents to help prevent the increase of mental health issues and violence in the family and in our community. This will in turn help reduce the huge financial cost for society if these young people are given the support they need and so deserve.
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Sue is a registered Primary teacher who has worked in multicultural settings for 30 years. During that time she has worked in South Auckland as a Senior Teacher and a Deputy Principal at Mauke Primary, in the Cook Islands.
She has always been very passionate about working with children and families.
With the change in today’s society, it was becoming more evident for the need to teach children and families coping strategies and self-help techniques. Therefore Sue pursued a way to support, teach and empower children and families, so they can develop greater emotional intelligence, resilience and increase their confidence and self-esteem. Also giving them tools to improve their social interaction and to resolve conflict in a more peaceful manner.
Sue strongly believes that all these factors are crucial to the positive development of the individual, whanau, community and the nation as a whole. This vision led Sue to initiate the formation of CHILDREN 1st Charitable Trust, which became a registered Trust in May 2013.
Sue has the role of Chief Executor and is responsible for the day to day operations of the Trust. She is also contracted by the Trust to facilitate Resilience programmes in Waipa and Waikato schools and assist parents and teachers in implementing strategies into the school and home environment.
I am the Principal of Lichfield School, in the South Waikato. I have been involved in educating children for over 16 years and have held a range of teaching and leadership positions over this period.
I live in rural Waikato with my wife and three children (2 adult age and 1 school-age). My youngest child has in the past, benefited from being involved in one of the programmes that the Children 1st Charitable Trust runs, and so I know first-hand how valuable and important these programmes are.
In my daily work, I have seen how significant the need is for children to be able to develop coping skills and strategies for an ever-changing world. The development of resilience, confidence and healthy self-esteem is vital if our children are to be successful members of our community and society.
I am the current chairperson of the Children 1st Charitable Trust and it is an honour for me to have the opportunity to be involved within the trust; knowing that the work we do, will benefit other families just like mine.
“Titoki mai te whenua ki te rangi. Ko nga rau o te rakau, he marumaru mo te iwi. Ko nga pukupuku o te rakau hei oranga mo te hinengaro, mo te tinana, mo te whanau me te wairua”.
The titoki tree grows out of the earth towards the sky. It shelters the seedlings below with its leaves and knotty trunk. So we look to a strengthened and enduring structure to invigorate our people, stimulate their intellectual and spiritual imagination and sustain the wellbeing of our families.
Kia ora, ko Carol-Lynn Hill toku ingoa, I am the Principal of Pāterangi School, a gorgeous rural school on the outskirts of Te Awamutu.
I am married to Nik, a teacher, and we have two beautiful adult children. We live in Raglan and enjoy a simple life by the beach and in our kura (schools).
One of the most important reasons I became a tumuaki (principal) was my deep belief in how children learn and how our kaiako need to approach teaching – this could only be achieved in a senior leadership role. This belief I have is around the emotional well-being of our tamariki and holding that as a key priority, surrounded by kaiako who have the skills and emotional intelligence to connect to our young learners. My mantra has always been, “You have to reach them to teach them”. You might have the best teacher in the world in front of a class, but if a child is in a state of anxiety or “fight or flight’ mode – they will not learn. We need to get our children in a safe mental state to be able to teach them.
That is why I am proud to be a part of this Trust. I have first hand experience seeing the impact of growing resilience skills and providing our tamariki the communication skills and knowledge to understand how to best regulate, communicate and cooperate with others. My school runs the Being My Best Programme, Zones of Regulation, we have an in-school counselor, and we teach The Resilience Project Curriculum. We are seeing a tremendous difference and parents are writing to me with huge gratitude for the difference they are seeing at home.
Sadly, I recently heard a staggering statistic that the most common cause of death in 15-24-year-olds will be suicide. I take this as a call to action and one way I can make a difference is by donating my time to the Children’s 1st Trust, so they can deliver a programme of work to build resilience in our young tamariki.
Kia Kaha for our tamariki!
Sandra’s expertise lies in financial management, particularly in the
education and residential construction sectors. During the 17 years, Sandra was the finance officer of a school in the Waikato, from 1994 to 2012, she came to appreciate the work done by teachers in their efforts, not only to educate children but to make a difference in the lives of an increasing number of children who need help coping with the demands or effects of their everyday lives.
Sandra developed a deep respect for teachers in those years, and those who actively seek to make a difference in the lives of children, and decided that the best way she could help was to ensure teaching and support staff had the best administration support possible so they could concentrate on their core roles of teaching and nurturing.
While in her role at the school, Sandra worked alongside the other ladies who now make up the Board of Trustees for the Children 1st Charitable Trust, and as a result of the mutual respect and similar values shared by all, Sandra was offered the position of Treasurer for the new Trust, which she accepted without hesitation. Sandra brings to the Trust integrity, a requirement for transparency and a grounded perspective that will serve the Trust well. Sandra currently lives on the Gold Coast of Australia, working as an on-site residential property manager and real estate agent, but with the aid of modern technology is able to provide effective financial management to support the goals of the Trust.
My name is Lynne Douglas. I have been involved in education for many years as a teacher in the Primary sector.
In today’s rapidly changing world children need now, more than ever, the skills to be able to develop resilience to help them cope and deal with the pressures many of them have to face.
Children 1st Charitable Trust provides children and their families with programmes for this to occur and because of this, I am very passionate to be involved in this organisation.