We Can Keep Safe programme expands in Bay of Plenty, Waikato after funding boost

Tautoko Mai teacher Tiffany Matthews delivers the programme to children at Elm Tree in Tauranga. Photo / Aleyna Martinez

An “invaluable” personal safety programme for preschoolers will expand in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato after a nearly $1 million funding injection from a charitable trust.

We Can Keep Safe was started by the HELP Auckland charity about 30 years ago, aiming to address sexual abuse against children.

It uses puppets to teach, in an age-appropriate way, lessons such as bodily autonomy and how children can say “stop” if they don’t like something.

The programme took a funding hit in 2023 when ACC ended its investment, but was revived last year in Tauranga by sexual harm support organisation Tautoko Mai.

A pilot was funded by Tauranga City Council, which gave Tautoko Mai $36,400 to deliver a six-session programme in 10 preschools during term three last year.

Now the Tauranga-based Wright Family Foundation has invested $938,400 in the service, enabling Tautoko Mai to offer the programme in 80-100 Waikato and Bay of Plenty early childhood education centres – including in Rotorua and Eastern Bay – over three years.

Tautoko Mai chief executive Julie Sach described the funding as “a miracle”.

She said it would allow them to run 408 programmes reaching 12,000 children in the two regions. Two new facilitator roles would also be established.

Julie Sach, chief executive of sexual harm support service Tautoko Mai.

A first-time parent with a preschooler told the Bay of Plenty Times she found the We Can Keep Safe programme “invaluable”.

Ashleigh Mansell said her family were taught new approaches to broach the subject of bodily autonomy with their 3-year-old daughter.

“The terminology and the way to approach it with a 3-year-old, if you google it, there’s so many things out there and we don’t want to be doing the wrong thing or scaring her.

“We found it really great that it was being reinforced at preschool, so she’s hearing it from Tiffany [the tutor] and then we can use it at home.

Mansell said she was initially hesitant about the programme because she did not want to scare her daughter, but the parent information session beforehand eased her mind.

She hoped her daughter would continue the programme this year because of skills gained around being “assertive”.

“I know that repetition is so important in it as well, so I’m hoping that it carries on this year because she would do it again.

“It’s great that she knows a bit more about when she should be assertive ... because she is the kind of kid that would just be like, ‘oh, someone’s hit me, that’s fine I’ll just carry on, and I’m still happy’.

Tiffany Matthews (left) and Biran Dorey, specialist teachers in the We Can Keep Safe programme. Two new roles would be established to deliver the programme to ECEs throughout Waikato and the Bay of Plenty this year.

“For her to be able to be like, ’no, stop’, that is really cool for us to see because I don’t want someone to hit her,” Mansell said.

The Tauranga-based Wright Family Foundation is a charitable trust and owns the BestStart childcare chain founded by Chloe and Wayne Wright.

Chloe Wright died in September 2023, but the We Can Keep Safe programme aligned with her values, foundation spokeswoman Traci Fricker said.

“When you look at the statistics for the Bay of Plenty, and I know they’re the same around the country, but the number of active or open cases of reported abuse, it is just outrageous,” Fricker said.

Police recorded 56 cases of sexual assault against children aged 9 and under and 269 against children aged 10-19 in the Bay of Plenty in the 12 months to October. In the year to July, Oranga Tamariki had registered almost 200 open cases of sexual assault against children in the region.

New research shows nearly nine in 10 Kiwi kids endure some kind of trauma before turning 8 – be it bullying, parental drug or alcohol addiction, violence or family break-ups.

“Chloe was absolutely passionate about education, empowering people and empowering families and communities to thrive,” Fricker said.

Tautoko Mai senior training lead, Helen Nijssen said she wanted early childhood centres in the Bay of Plenty to know they could contact Tautoko Mai if they wanted to include the programme at their centre this year, including Rotorua and as far east as Te Kaha.

“This [funding] will give us the ability to service those areas.

“Just because they’re rural or an early learning service or kōhanga reo out in those more rural areas, we’ll be able to bring this to them still free of charge,” Nijssen said.

Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.