Te Wānanga o Aotearoa has teamed up with the Ministry of Education to create iNative, a support network of homework hubs to help rangatāhi achieve NCEA L2.

Youth Development Expert Jade Chase has been at the helm of the education initiative since February and says she's excited to see the consultation groundwork come into fruition.

"We wanted to create a high quality service that met the diverse needs of rangatahi and the communities they live, so we made a point to involve them in the planning and implementation of iNative.”

Based on existing relationships TWoA has with secondary schools, an iNative hub has been established in Kaikohe, South Auckland, Hamilton, Kawerau and Gisborne.

The name iNative reflects the participants' generation and identity in the digital era, with spaces allocated to specifically target Māori aged 16 to 18 studying NCEA Level 2.

However, iNative will offer more than just a regular homework space. In addition to weekly and noho marae sessions, iNative will also provide holistic support for young people and their families, if and where possible. 

More than 300 young people can benefit from iNative career and pathway planning, specific subject tuition and more, all within in a fun and interactive environment. 

There will also be whānau workshops throughout the year for families who want to learn more about NCEA and how to support young people with their school work or find out about the opportunities and pathways available for them. 

"We are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to support our rangatahi to discover their true purpose in life and succeed - whatever that means for them. If and when required, we will involve other agencies to provide wrap around support to rangatahi and whanau engaged in the initiative,” says Jade.

Referrals can be received from whānau, schools, Private Tertiary Education providers, Youth Guarantee providers, iwi providers and young people.

Education Minister Hekia Parata says Express to Success is one of a range of initiatives targeting 16 to 18 year olds, such as the Count Me In project to re-engage youth with learning.

Kaikohe will be the first to launch iNative this Friday 10 June, followed by South Auckland and Hamilton Thursday 23 June, Kawerau Wednesday 29 June and Gisborne on Thursday 30 June.

The iNative Coordinators are:


Kaikohe: Robyn Reihana 022 045 1711 Robyn.Reihana@twoa.ac.nz
South Auckland: Fale Tumanu 022 658 1124 Fale.Tumanu@twoa.ac.nz
Hamilton: Richmond Hollis 021 683 060 Rich.Hollis@twoa.ac.nz
Kawerau: Gavin Holland 0800 3236553 Gavin.Holland@tarawera.school.nz
Gisborne: Malia Patea-Taylor 027457 5617 Malia.Patea-Taylor@twoa.ac.nz