The Jade Speaks Up Trust

Jade Speaks Up has spent the last three years focused on a research pilot, working with over 3,000 children and their teachers in 18 schools around New Zealand. It was an exciting co-design process that further refined this strongly relevant resource, as we heard feedback from children, teachers, principals and community agencies.

The results showed that the programme effectively gave children aged between 8-12 increased strategies for responding to dangerous or frightening situations. The programme also has a positive impact on student wellbeing, reducing bullying, increasing empathy and care in the classrooms. Additionally teachers observed a noticeable improvement in children’s use of emotional language and reaching out for help. Children and teachers report increased confidence and less conflict as the numbers of disruptive incidents diminished in the classrooms. Teachers also reported an improvement in children’s literacy! You can read our reports under the resources page (insert lnk)

At this moment, Jade Speaks Up is in transition after being funded for the past three years. Andrea and Elaine are working voluntarily to support the teachers in the schools which are working with the programme in 2020. We currently have limited capacity to respond to increasing requests for the programme from a wide variety of schools.

And this is where we are asking for your help. Any money that is donated to our programme will go directly into resources, training and supervision support for more teachers to bring this wellbeing and safety programme into their schools. We are also approaching a variety of funders in both government and philanthropic circles to find support in this critical time of pandemics and hardship.

This is an opportunity for anyone/you to become part of the solution for keeping our children supported in these increasingly stressful times, emphasised in these Covid times. We would be very grateful for your kindness in helping keep our tamariki safe and well.

Ngā mihi nui