Three years ago Napier police youth aide were frustrated by a hard core of youngsters who were not in school and were getting involved in crime. After much lobbying and struggle youth aide created the Nikau centre in partnership with local schools, the Ministry of Education, Presbyterian Support and local government agencies. The centre provides specially tailored education and supports the students and local schools to reintegrate the children into mainstream classrooms.
Presbyterian Support East Coast has employed a full time social worker for three years to supply social services support for students and their families, at a cost of $175,000.
The Presbyterian Support social worker is managed and supervised by Family Works Hastings. This worker is based at the Nikau Centre so as to work closely with the educational team to provide non-educational support for youngsters as well as whanau support for their families.
Presbyterian Support East Coast made this commitment because;
· It is a positive action towards breaking the intergenerational cycle of poor outcomes
· If successful, it could be copied into a national model.
· It addresses the needs of young people at risk
· It is a collaborative partnership between PSEC, a community based organisation, the educational sector, CYFs and NZ Police
There are many circumstances in New Zealand where an individual agency cannot alone achieve a satisfactory outcome for a child or family. What is needed is the development of a new infrastructure that will work across agencies to support those who are currently falling between the ‘criteria gaps’ of government departments. This is one such situation.
The Nikau centre is an example of an innovative, collaborative, community based response to the needs of families and children.
The Nikau Centre management committee was concerned that this project will not succeed long-term, unless the social issues surrounding each child are also addressed. The idea that a child can be “fixed” and prepared for a successful re-entry into main stream education without the family also being supported is flawed.
To succeed in their education, children need support from their home environment, and this requires help from social workers. In 2004 the truancy rate for secondary schools was 6,9%, that represents thousands of children out of the classroom each and every day.
While the social support may be considered the responsibility of the Ministry of Education’s Group Special Education (GSE), this is not happening. MOE will only accept accountability for the educational outcomes of the Nikau Centre. They consider any additional support for students and families to be the responsibility of the community.
Educationally, the Nikau Centre is a success and the local schools who contribute to the funding of the Centre also indicate a strong need for this service.
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