Whānau Tangata

Introduction

Within Te Whāriki, Whānau Tangata relates to the beliefs, traditions, and child-rearing practices held by our society, and the value placed on specific knowledge, skills, attitudes, and dispositions.

This section of our report explores the trends and opportunities within our society that reflect what we do to support children’s development during middle childhood.

“Children learn through play: by doing, asking questions, interacting with others, devising theories about how things work and then trying them out and by making purposeful use of resources. As they engage in exploration, they begin to develop attitudes and expectations that will continue to influence their learning throughout life.”

“Children learn through play: by doing, asking questions, interacting with others, devising theories about how things work and then trying them out and by making purposeful use of resources. As they engage in exploration, they begin to develop attitudes and expectations that will continue to influence their learning throughout life”

(Ministry of Education, 2017)

As we consider the Whānau Tangata principle through the lens of middle childhood we have explored some of the aspirations that we as a collective community hold for our tamariki.

We look at how children’s lives are impacted by social issues such as child poverty, food, and housing insecurity. We highlight how they contribute to our community through leadership,
extracurricular learning and service, and the barriers to participating in these activities. We also explore the importance of play, and our society’s diminishing focus on play as a component of children’s healthy development beyond early childhood.

Mana Aotūroa | Exploration

Te Whāriki sees play as crucial to children’s mana aotūroa (exploration) and development. Research is clear that in early childhood education settings, children’s play IS learning, and that spontaneous play is deeply important.

This is linked to physical and cognitive outcomes, such as children gaining confidence in and control of their bodies, learning strategies for exploration, thinking and reasoning, and developing working theories for making sense of the natural, social, physical and material worlds.

The research is also clear that play continues to be of great importance to children beyond the age of five, however we do not see this reflected across middle childhood today. Particularly in how most of our schools approach learning and expectations of tamariki.

Greater effort must be made to ensure that children continue to benefit from unstructured play as they progress through their formal schooling years – this requires recognition and prioritisation of children’s right to play within curriculums and policy, and increased emphasis on opportunities for play within our homes, neighbourhoods, cities, and education settings (Allee et al., 2019; Ginsburg et al, 2007; Lester et al., 2010; Sport NZ, 2017).

Play

Play is critical to children’s physical and cognitive development. It is crucial to their overall wellbeing, resilience, capability, and health. Play builds, strengthens, and enables healthy brain development.

As well as providing enjoyment, play affects the development of:

• Executive functions such as memory, motivation and reward systems, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
• Social and emotional processing and connection – emotional regulation, attachment, stress-responses
• Physical and mental health through active movement
• Development of gross and fine motor skills
• Relationship building skills
• Learning
• Creativity
• Leadership
• Independence
• Adaptability.

“Play allows tamariki and rangatahi to engage their manawa reka (curiosity, interest) and auahatanga (creativity) to weave together knowledge and skills, ways of being and belonging,
and their tuakiri (identity) to enhance mana (influence, spiritual power).”

(Play Aotearoa, 2022)

What do we mean by play?

*Adapted in part from Play Therapy United Kingdom’s continuum of play therapy (n.d.) and Pyle and Danniels (2017) Continuum of Play-based Learning. (Source: Allee et. al, 2019)

The Continuum of Play above shows the range of ways that children play from a therapeutic perspective to within education settings.

‘Free play’ (the middle of the range) is of particular importance to children’s development. Free play is underpinned by the following principles:

Child-led

Free play is first and foremost decided by the child (child-led). Free play allows a child to explore interests with limited adult input and is self-directed. As a result, the motivation to play comes from the child, as opposed to being decided for them or influenced by adults. This also develops curiosity.

Children may choose to play individually, alongside or with others, but should have the freedom to choose when and how they engage, rather than this being instructed. Self-directed
play means that children take on the role of leader and make choices for themselves, building their sense of empowerment and their self-confidence.

To enable this, play must be accessible and mana-enhancing. For example, play among children who are neurodiverse, or those with disabilities, may look different to that of other children, yet is equally important for their development.

Freedom

“Adults generally define the purpose and use of space and time; children usually find ways to play that appear within the cracks of this adult order.”

Sport NZ (2017) have identified several factors that are thought to influence children’s ability to engage in play:

• Limited understanding among adults of how to enable quality play
• Less unstructured time in children’s schedules
• Increased use of screen time
• Changing perspectives on places that are appropriate for play
• Increased fears and regulations around safety.
• Greater appetite for instant gratification in contrast to the slower pace of play.

Play in Middle Childhood

Play is prioritised within early childhood in Aotearoa as a crucial component of Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 2017). Internationally there are widely accepted frameworks such as Parten’s 6 Stages of Play which focus on the types and stages of play that children engage in during early childhood.

However, despite play continuing to be of importance for children’s development during the
middle years, there does not appear to be a similar focus within education, or more broadly in society, on what play looks like, or the progression of play, during this period.

Cognitive and physical advances during middle childhood result in developments in children’s play, such as:

• Richer play, as children’s ability to concentrate improves
• More structured play, as children become more able to construct, communicate and understand rules
• Engagement in board games and organised games
• Imaginative play deepened by stories
• Influences on play increase – books, media, social circles, etc…
• Daydreaming increases
• Play may become more internalised as children become more aware of what is socially acceptable among their peers
• Increases in strength and agility impact on physical play
• Children engage in gendered play

(Smith, 2013)

The right to play

Children’s right to play is affirmed in Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which states that:

1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.
2. States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.

Further definition of the terminology used in this Article by the International Play Association identifies play as including “activities of children that are not controlled by adults and that do not necessarily conform to any rules” (Play Aotearoa, 2022).

The right to play is recognised in the Child & Youth Wellbeing Strategy, which aspires for children
to be Happy and Healthy through the provision of spaces and opportunities to play and express themselves creatively.

Children’s ability to engage in play is largely influenced by the value placed on play by the adults around them. Play must be recognised and supported through the systems that directly engage with children – such as our education curricula and health system – and those systems that impact the environment in which they live, such as town planning and housing policies. Enabling appropriate and accessible opportunities for play is key to ensuring the right to play is upheld within Aotearoa.

Play Aotearoa | Te Rōpū Tākaro

Play Aotearoa is an NGO focused on protecting, preserving and promoting the child’s right to play in accordance with Article 31 of the UNCRC.

Play Aotearoa NZ is a membership body of practitioners, researchers, educators, and enthusiasts who provide a forum for exchange and action across disciplines and sectors to advocate for tākaro in Aotearoa.

— Click to find out more about Play Aotearoa

Places where play happens

Magical Bridge Playground

The Magical Bridge Playground is a fully accessible and inclusive
playground that opened in Hamilton in December 2023.

The Playground was designed to

Play through a Te Ao Māori Lens

Sport New Zealand’s Māori Voices of Play Insights report highlights traditional activities and spaces that enabling play within Te Ao Māori.

This included:

• Te Whare Tapere – a community space for performing arts and entertainment. This included ngā waiata, ngā haka (dance), ngā kōrero (storytelling), ngā taonga pūoro (instruments) and ngā tākaro (games).
• Te Whare Tū Taua – a space designated for war and weaponry.
• Ngā Taonga Tākaro – traditional Māori games and sports which typically had a connection to spiritual beliefs.
• Ngā Mahi a te Rēhia – games which enabled the sharing and strengthening of practices and values.
• Kapa Haka – chanting and dancing underpinned by Māori creation and whakapapa
• Mara Hupara – educative playgrounds based on traditional games and play items. See this example in Auckland

The report identified that for Māori, play is strongly connected to the natural environment, that uniquely Māori play opportunities are highly valued, and that play is a vehicle for sharing mātauranga Māori. The intergenerational nature of play on the marae and at home and the valuing of stories within Māori culture enable this to occur. (Sport New Zealand, 2020).

Waka Ama

Waka Ama, is a traditional Pacific form of canoeing considered to be “major vehicle of Māori cultural identity for participants and supporters” (Sport NZ, 2020).

In 2023, children made up around one quarter of the membership of Waka Ama Aotearoa. Over half of all members were Māori.

— Click to find out more at Waka Ama Aotearoa

Te Mana Kuratahi

Te Mana Kuratahi is the biennial national primary schools kapa haka competition.

Hosted by different regions, the competition enables children from around New Zealand to compete over a four-day period. The competition has now been running for over 20 years.

— Click to find out more at Te Mana Kuratahi

Play within Education

In recent years play has become increasingly recognised as an important aspect of learning and development during the first year or two of primary school.

There is then a noticeable drop off in the place of play within education from the age of around Year 3 (7-8 years), suggesting that there is little understanding generally of the importance of
play to children’s development across middle to late childhood. Play is referenced in the New Zealand Curriculum under The Arts (Drama) and Health & Physical Education.

Research within Aotearoa that is focused on play also tends focus on younger children. One exception to this is the work of Julia Bevin who is completing her Doctorate of Education focused on how play enhances learner agency and well-being in the upper primary levels in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

— Find out more about Bevan’s work here

Resources and initiatives focused on play within education include:

• Play Pedagogy Aotearoa – champions an education where every
  child experiences developmentally appropriate, play-based learning, equipping them with the skills and dispositions to thrive in the future.
• Play Conversations – a podcast lead by Dr Sarah Aiono which engages passionate play leaders, advocates, experts, and educators about all things play and why our children need opportunities for play in school – no matter their age.
• Longworth Education case studies of play-based education within primary schools can be found here.
• Loose parts play involves the use of open-ended objects and materials to facilitate play experiences for children. While common within early childhood settings, play advocates support the use of loose parts play in education more broadly. Check out Junky Monkeys and Conscious Kids to learn more about loose parts play being used in Aotearoa schools.
• Healthy Active Learning – a joint initiative between the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, and Sport NZ, which aims to support schools to create environments that support and promote play, sport, and physical activity. Through this initiative it is hoped that tamariki will have more opportunities for free play at school.

Additional Play Resources

Sport New Zealand

Sport New Zealand recognises its role as a kaitiaki (guardian) of play in Aotearoa and the correlation that play has to physical literacy.

It has developed several initiatives to uphold children’s right to play.

Principles of Play (developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Health). These principles underpin the work of Sport New Zealand in promoting opportunities for play for tamariki in Aotearoa:

1. .Play is important to the wellbeing of young New Zealanders
2. Play is a cornerstone of our physical literacy approach and a crucial part of development for young people.
3. Play is the shared responsibility of everyone
4. Young people must have access to enriched and varied playful experiences within their local environments.
5. Adults must understand what their role is in enabling play.
6. Young people need the opportunity to experience risk and challenge through play
7. Wherever possible, play should include the opportunity to be active.

Kia Hīanga – The Play Plan – Sport NZ’s 2021-2024 bicultural plan focused on tamariki aged five-12. The plan sets out how Sport NZ aims to deliver on improving the quality of experiences, opportunities and support for play and create an environment for play to flourish in Aotearoa.

Neighbourhood Play System (NPS) – a child-centred approach to urban play design, the NPS provides a blueprint to identify and address opportunities and barriers for tamariki to play in
their school and neighbourhood. Linking to local plans and funding opportunities, the NPS blueprint looks at how to embed play elements through school grounds, footpaths, streets, alleyways, greenspaces, waterways, industrial zones, mare, churches and shops – to promote play every day

Local Play Advocates – Local Play Advocates work within local government to build awareness and understanding of the importance of play for children’s wellbeing, and the role that Councils have in enabling play within their communities. These roles are funded by Sport New Zealand for a period of two years, with the hope that they will become embedded in Council beyond that period.

Sport New Zealand Research

Sport New Zealand has also published the following recent reports focused on play in Aotearoa:

• Spotlight on Tamariki: Findings from the Active NZ survey focused on participation in play, active recreation and sport for tamariki aged 5-11.
• Power of Play: Regional insights focused on communities’ perceptions and experiences of play and what helps, or hinders, children’s play.
• Play in Crisis (2021): A set of resources to inform the preservation and enhancement of play for tamariki in Aotearoa during crisis.

Play as Therapy

Play therapy uses play and the creative arts as a means of alleviating emotional, behavioural, and mental health challenges experienced by children.

Play therapy offers children a safe environment to process emotions and desires that they may find difficult to understand or communicate verbally. It allows children to rehearse skills and identify new strategies for dealing with situations they encounter. A variety of therapeutic tools may be utilised in play therapy such as creative visualisation, therapeutic storytelling, drama and role play, visual arts, music, dance and movement.

Play therapy has a strong evidence-base internationally as an effective therapy for five to 12-year-olds.

— Further information about the efficacy of play therapy can be found in the Association for Play Therapy USA Play Therapy Evidence-Based Practice Statement here.

While an established field of practice in many other countries, play therapy is effectively unsupported in New Zealand.

While an established field of practice in many other countries, play therapy is effectively unsupported in New Zealand.

Except for hospital play specialists (profiled below), there are no NZQA accredited play therapy qualifications available to practitioners in New Zealand, and none of our therapeutic, social work, community or health qualifications are required to include learning related to play therapy.

This creates three major issues:

1. There is no regulation of therapeutic play therapy, or those who offer it
2. Those offering play therapy to children are unlikely to have received specific training in this approach
3. There is effectively no research on the practice of therapeutic play therapy in New Zealand.

Hospital Play Specialists

Hospital Play Specialists support children, young people and their whānau to cope with hospitalization by using play as a medium to minimize associated stress and anxiety, build coping strategies and create opportunities for participating in their health care experiences (Hospital Play Specialists Association, 2023).

It should be noted that most hospital play specialists first train in early childhood education, with those under five years of age.

— Examples of Hospital Play Specialists at Starship Children’s Hospital can be found here and here
— Find out more at Hospital Play Specialists Association Aotearoa New Zealand – a professional body supporting the work of hospital play specialists

Mana Atua | Wellbeing

Te Whāriki upholds mana atua (wellbeing) through the promotion of children’s health, provision of an adequate standard of living and their protection from harm.

One way to explore the state of mana atua for our tamariki is how we understand and act on socioeconomic disadvantage and the impacts issues such as poverty, housing insecurity and food insecurity have on children’s development. We also look at how children are protected from harm within our society.

At an international level, Aotearoa experiences comparatively high levels of both child poverty and harm to children. We continue to see unequal impacts of this falling on Māori, Pacific and refugee migrant children.

Food Security

Children in food insecure households have been found to have poorer health outcomes than those experiencing food security – evident in rates of poor nutrition, childhood obesity or being overweight, asthma and behavioural or developmental difficulties.

Children in food insecure households have been found to have poorer health outcomes than those experiencing food security – evident in rates of poor nutrition, childhood obesity or being overweight, asthma and behavioural or developmental difficulties.

(Ministry of Health, 2019)

The Child Poverty Monitor reporting indicates that in 2020/21, around one in six children (14.9%) were living in households where food ran out often or sometimes due to lack of money.

This figure was higher for children living in areas with the highest deprivation score (30.5%), Pacific children (37.3%) and Māori children (26.4%) (Duncanson et al., 2022).

Over the same period, research from Growing Up in New Zealand tells us that one in six 12-year-olds in their cohort were living in households that were not food secure. Food insecurity was highest for Pacific or Māori children, or children living in high deprivation neighbourhoods. Interestingly, food insecurity indicators had decreased for the Growing Up in New Zealand cohort between ages 8 and 12, except for the use of special food grants and food banks which had increased. This shows that the reliance on grants and food banks is replacing real food security for many of our children. (Gerritsen et al., 2023).

A range of initiatives exist to address food insecurity for children:

KickStart Breakfast

KickStart Breakfast aims to support children’s learning and wellbeing through the provision of a healthy breakfast at schools throughout Aotearoa. The programme is delivered in partnership by the Ministry of Social Development, Fonterra and Sanitarium. Over 180,000 breakfasts of Weet-Bix and Anchor milk are served per week to children across the 1,400+ schools (over 50% of all schools) that have adopted the programme. The programme is available to all schools and alternative education providers at primary, intermediate and secondary level.

— Click to find out more about KickStart Breakfast

Ka Ora, Ka Ako | Healthy School Lunches Programme

The Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme aims to reduce food insecurity through the provision of healthy lunches in school communities that face the greatest socioeconomic barriers. Currently around 25% of all students in New Zealand have access to Ka Ora, Ka Ako-meals are available to all students at participating schools. The primary measure of eligibility is a school’s Equity Index.

As at September 2023 around 230,000 students had access to lunches through this programme, with 87% of participating schools containing students in the five to 12-years age range (Ministry of Education, 2023).

The Growing Up in NZ study found that:

• one in four 12-year-olds received food from a school-based programme most or every school day
• 20% received Ka Ora, Ka Ako
• Half of the young people living in moderately food insecure households, and a third of those living in severely food insecure households, did not receive Ka Ora, Ka Ako in the past year (Gerritsen et al., 2023).

— Click to find out more about Ka Ora, Ka Ako | Healthy Lunches Programme

Fruit in Schools Programme

The Fruit in Schools Programme delivers fresh fruit to students in 566 primary schools throughout Aotearoa. The programme aims to enable students to regularly eat fresh fruit, while also raising awareness of, and promoting, healthy eating and lifestyles. Fresh fruit was supplied daily to over 120,000 tamariki and staff during term time in 2022. Positive impacts reported by school leadership include the ability for schools to feed hungry students, promotion of a healthy food environment within the school setting, and a sense of equality among students.

Fruit in Schools was developed by an interagency group comprising health, education, and sport organisations.

— Click to find out more about Fruit in Schools

Housing

Housing insecurity is a major issue for children in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Issues faced by children experiencing housing insecurity may include:

• The loss of social connections through increased mobility
• Impact on education through changing schooling
• Health impacts associated with overcrowding and inadequate standards of housing
• Lack of consistency in healthcare services due to changing
  locations
• Potential lack of play spaces available to children in emergency housing Statistics NZ data from 2021 tells us that children in households experiencing poverty are more likely to be living in rental housing:
• 4 out of 5 children in material hardship lived in homes that were rented.
• A child living in a rented home was seven times more likely to experience material hardship than a child living in a home owned by their family (22.1 percent or 101,800, compared with
  3.2 percent or 14,600, respectively).
• 113,400, or 24.6% of children living in a rented home were in low-income households, compared with 52,900, or 11.8% of children living in homes their family owned (Statistics NZ, 2022).

The Housing Register is a list of people eligible for and awaiting placement in public housing. For the period December 2023, there were 10,326 applicants with children on the Housing Register.

(MSD, 2023)

Children living in emergency housing

Data from the Ministry of Social Development (2024) tell us that at the end of January 2024:

• More than 3,000 children were living in emergency housing – a figure that has remained consistently high over the past 18 months.
• 297 couples with children and 1,209 single people with children received Emergency Housing Special Needs Grants.
• Single people with children make up 42% of the households receiving Emergency Housing Grants.
• Couples with children and single people with children together make up over half the households receiving Emergency Housing Grants.

Because details about the children living in Emergency Housing (such as age or ethnicity) are not recorded, we know little about these children and their specific needs.

Emergency Housing is not required to meet New Zealand’s Healthy Homes Standards meaning that children’s health may be compromised due to poor housing conditions.

Children living in Emergency Housing may be required to shift between Emergency Housing Providers – this means that they may have to change schools or lose community connections each time they move.

Child Poverty

Poverty impacts children’s cognitive, social and behavioural development and is linked to poorer educational and health outcomes (Ministry for Social Development, 2018).

Rates of child poverty have reduced across eight out of nine measures since the government’s child poverty reduction targets were introduced under the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018.

While two out of three of the government’s first three-year targets (Low income after housing costs, and material hardship measures) were achieved in 2020/2021, both measures have since increased in the 2022/23 year (Statistics NZ, 2022; 2023; 2024). Greater efforts to address child poverty are needed to enable the government’s future targets to be met, and ensure more children experience an adequate standard of living.

Poverty is experienced disproportionately by Māori and Pacific children and children with a disability, or those living in households where someone has a disability.

Low-income: less than 50% median equivalised disposable household income
*These are two of the six supplementary measures of child poverty that the government must report on.
**This figure refers specifically to children with disabilities however this percentage would be higher when considering children living in households impacted by disability (e.g. living with a disabled family member).

Source: Statistics NZ, 2024

Material Hardship

Material hardship is reflected in a lack of access to food and clothing, healthcare services, adequate living conditions and experiences such as trips and special occasions. In this respect, material hardship may be a more tangible measure of poverty for children than the income measures used in reporting child poverty.

The Growing Up in New Zealand study found that at age 12, 1 out of 10 children were living in households reporting material hardship, and 1 out of 5 children had lived in material hardship at some point during their childhood. Māori and Pacific children, and those from low-income or sole parent households, had a greater likelihood of living in material hardship. Over half of the children experiencing material hardship at some point during childhood were found to experience material hardship during the middle childhood/early adolescence period (Grant et. al, 2023).

Recent reporting on child poverty statistics indicates that while the rate of material hardship decreased from 13.3% in the year ending June 2018 to 10.5% in the year ending June 2022, it has
increased to 12.5% in the year ending June 2023. Similarly rates of severe material hardship decreased from 5.8% in the year ending June 2018 to 4% in the year to June 2022, but increased
to 5.5% in the year to June 2023 (Statistics New Zealand, 2024).

Click to Download and view JPEG

Material deprivation is measured in Aotearoa using the DEP-17 Index which includes the following indicators of poverty, as reported by an adult in the household:

• Material hardship = experiencing six or more of these measures
• Severe material hardship = experiencing nine or more of these measures

In addition to the primary material hardship measure, the government must report on six supplementary measures of child poverty, including reporting on children living in households experiencing severe material hardship, and children living in households that are considered lowincome* and experiencing material hardship.

Children living in households experiencing severe material hardship during the year to June 2023:

**This figure refers specifically to children with disabilities however this percentage would be higher when considering children living in households impacted by disability (e.g. living with a disabled family member).

Rates of children living in households considered to be low-income and in material hardship are provided below for the 2020-2023 period:

*Low-income is defined as having less than 60% median-equivalised disposable household income after deducting housing costs (AHC) for the financial year.

Source: Statistics NZ, 2024

A 2010 report published by Mana Mokopuna asked children to define poverty and its impacts.

Children’s views and experiences centred around the following themes:

(Egan-Bitran, 2010, p.10)

Statistics New Zealand notes that

— Find out more:

• See the full report of recent Child Poverty results from Statistics New Zealand.
• Read the Growing Up in New Zealand Now We are Twelve Snapshot: Material Hardship
• Mana Mokopuna’s ‘This is how I see it’ Children, young people and young adults’ views and experiences of poverty (2010)
• Read the latest Annual Report on the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy and Child Poverty Related Indicators