St John encourages Māori Language Immersion Schools to take up ASB St John in Schools

Elliot Steel |

ASB Hato Hōne i rō Kura te reo curriculum launches this week, supported by ACC, and St John is seeking kura kaupapa and kōhanga reo to take up the in-school first aid training.

St John has updated and translated its ASB St John in Schools curriculum, recruited three new fluent te reo educators ready to travel to Māori-medium education providers around the country, and wants kura kaupapa and kōhanga reo to get in touch and work together to co-design tailored courses for them.

St John Director of Community Health Services, Sarah Manley says this week’s launch is significant, not only for tamariki, but for their whānau, friends and communities who can also benefit from their training.

“This year also saw the 400,000th child to be educated through our programme, so to tick off another extremely important milestone in 2018 gets us that next step closer to equitable health outcomes for the entire country.

“With St John receiving over 50 emergency 111 calls per week from children, ASB St John in Schools has never been more needed. Our training equips Kiwi kids with the skills and confidence to take action and respond in an emergency”.

St John would like to acknowledge the support of ASB and ACC, without which the delivery of the ASB St John in Schools programme, and the te reo curriculum translation wouldn’t be possible.

Isaac Carlson, Head of Injury Prevention at ACC says ACC has supported the programme since its inception.

“Being a part of its next phase is really important. We see the NZ Schools Curriculum update, and the te reo translation as a positive step towards ensuring even more New Zealand tamariki are prepared to deal with injury.”

ASB head of community and sponsorship Mark Graham says ASB is excited to be partnering with St John on a campaign that will help broaden Māori language understanding across New Zealand, while also increasing the life-saving knowledge of Kiwi kids.

“ASB is incredibly proud of our partnership with St John and all the work they do for New Zealand communities. The addition of ASB St John in School sessions in te Reo Māori is a great way to broaden Māori language understanding across the country, and to celebrate Māori language week.

“Māori culture is a big part of the ASB workplace and a focus for our team, including our chief executive who has been taking regular te Reo Māori lessons. Our ASB Kapa Haka group and Māori Komiti have existed within the bank for a number of years, and we offer te Reo classes to all staff,” he says.

 “The launch of our te reo curriculum is a good opportunity to repeat our call for compulsory first aid training in every school in New Zealand, which aligns with the Labour-led Government’s objectives in its “School Leavers’ Toolkit” policy,” Ms Manley adds.

To find out more about bringing ASB St John in Schools training to your local area, visit www.stjohn.org.nz/schools.

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