Jigsaw Whanganui putting the pieces together for Māori whanau

Jigsaw executive officer Tim Metcalfe with Nicky Rees, who went on a Kaupapa Māori training programme. Photo / Jesse King

Jigsaw Whanganui programme facilitator Nicki Rees recently returned from training at The Incredible Years kaupapa Māori programme in Hamilton.

The Incredible Years is a programme developed in America by Carolyn Webster-Stratton in the early 1980s for children with high behavioural needs.

The purpose of the training in Hamilton was to teach facilitators how the programme could incorporate Māori without compromising the fidelity of the programme or tikanga Māori.

Ms Rees said Jigsaw had identified that the programme was important.

"We are responsive to what our community would like and noticed that we could be more responsive to our Māori family in our community," she said.

"Professionally the programme was hugely beneficial, but personally for me I'm always looking for ways that I can incorporate those te reo Māori concepts for our whanau."

Werry Workforce Whāraurau hosted the three-day programme at Te Kohina Mārama Marae based at the University of Waikato. A total of 28 people attended.

Ms Rees was the only Whanganui representative there and said the knowledge gained was hugely beneficial.

"We had a Māori facilitator there who is already practising, so she showed us what she does with her whanau and how responsive they were," she said.

"Watching the modelling of Māori facilitation alongside non- Māori facilitation, how we have that balance in a space, so then you're inclusive of anyone that's in that room culturally, that was really useful."

Ms Rees will become the fourth Incredible Years facilitator at Jigsaw. The programme is delivered in partnership with the Ministry of Education and she has agreed to participate in the international research of the programme.

"My understanding is that New Zealand is doing a lot of the work around indigenous participation and is taking leadership around it," she said.

"We were one of the first countries to develop our own resources in a native language, te reo. That's a driving force for me."