Heartland Trust supports Mitey – The Sir John Kirwan Foundation

With funds provided by the Heartland Trust, Heartland Bank is pleased to support Mitey – Sir John Kirwan Foundation’s mental health education initiative.

Designed for New Zealand children, Mitey supports schools to deliver an evidence-based approach to mental health education for Years 1-8. Mitey is currently being delivered in 148 schools in Auckland, Southland, Napier, and Wellington.

It takes a village to raise mentally thriving children, and Mitey understands the power of community – so taking a school-wide approach to mental health education has been the way to go for Mitey.

When a school partners with Mitey, the first step is a visit from one of Mitey’s coaches, who work with its partner schools free of charge. Coaches begin by taking an initial assessment of a school’s approach to wellbeing through engaging with senior management using Mitey’s Wellbeing Review Tool – a questionnaire which has been developed for Mitey by the University of Auckland. From there, a plan of action is developed that encompasses the whole school environment from the classroom to policy development to staff wellbeing to community engagement.

Once a school has identified a plan of action with Mitey, a coach stays with the school to implement Mitey both inside and outside the classroom, providing support and professional development to embed mental health education into teaching and learning.

The Heartland Trust is a registered charitable trust which is independent from, but closely supported by, Heartland Bank. The Heartland Trust’s funding has been used by Mitey to cover the costs of a vehicle, enabling coaches to continue to deliver Mitey to its partner schools, and geographically isolated schools in more rural areas.

Heartland is proud to be supporting this important kaupapa as it equips students with the tools they need to thrive mentally, both in and out of the classroom.

Learn more about Mitey here.