Victory Village comprising:

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1 1 Nominated Group comprising: Cnr St Vincent & Totara Sts, Nelson Ph (03) Vanguard St, Nelson Ph (03) Fax (03) Summary The offers a unique model of community-based support aimed at achieving positive health, social and educational outcomes, and increased social wellbeing. The model is a national first, with a comprehensive and integrated range of services and activities, provided out of shared facilities, and based on the Victory Primary School campus. The model is highly successful, building on existing social capital in the Victory community and resulting in adults and children that are more actively involved in education, health care, and social and recreational activities; families that are more stable and resilient; more effective service providers; and ultimately, a more sustainable community.

2 2 Development of Service This way of working has evolved from a few health and social services operating out of school meeting rooms, to a fully developed and comprehensive programme of health, social, recreational and other services and activities operating out of a shared, purpose-built space containing a school hall and community centre facilities. The has attracted considerable national attention and recognition for the way it responds and relates to community residents needs and aspirations. The cornerstone organisations are the Victory Community Health Centre (VCHC) and Victory Primary School (VPS). The centre and school have a highly symbiotic relationship, working side by side to offer a unique model of engaging with and supporting their community. Both organizations have a strong focus on the wellbeing of families, believing that good health and educational outcomes are dependent on inclusive and respectful support for families, and further, that healthy families are the basis of thriving and sustainable communities.

3 3 The Victory Catchment The Victory catchment has a large and culturally diverse community within a welldefined geographical area. The population of Victory is demographically stable but turnover of families has historically been high. The community has a broader range of ethnic diversity, religion, and languages spoken, than the general Nelson population. The Victory catchment includes about 2600 households although families attending Victory Primary School or accessing VCHC services come from all over Nelson. The Victory community has a high concentration of relative deprivation, with many households on low incomes and claiming benefits. Home ownership is lower and there are more multi-person and one-parent households. Many households don t have a vehicle or access to land lines or internet. There are higher than average rates of referral of youth offenders to CYFS and notifications to CYFS. Health-related problems are more common and include a high number of poorly insulated, damp and hard-to-heat houses, as well as localised air quality problems. Higher numbers of residents are not enrolled with a GP and do not access health care or seek treatment at hospital.

4 4 Victory Community Health Centre (VCHC) VCHC s vision is of health as the foundation for all other life activity. The centre practices a proactive, promotional approach with a mission to: provide community based, accessible, and appropriate services, activities and programmes to support health and wellbeing. VCHC operates as an Incorporated Society with a committee of nine, a host of volunteers, and 6 part time employees (3.75FTE). These include: a Centre Coordinator a Be Well Community Nurse and a Support Worker a Garden Coordinator/Educator a Centre Manager a Bookkeeper VCHC are a cohesive and professional organisation committed to providing high quality services and to facilitating positive outcomes for families that are often experiencing considerable stress and hardship. The most significant service provided by VCHC is the Be Well contract with the Nelson/Marlborough Primary Health Organisation (PHO). This service contributes to health promotion and prevention, links clients to services and activities with about 1000 client contacts per year. VCHC also acts as an information and referral portal for Nelson residents, and hosts a quarterly Victory Liaison Group (including representatives from key organizations 1 ) supporting the wider development of the Victory area. VCHC has an arrangement with Victory Primary School to manage all community services that are provided to the public from the Centre. Thirteen different agencies/groups offer services on a free, regular basis and include: Independent Midwives Plunket Te Kahui Hauora o Ngati Koata Healing Rooms 1 Nelson City Council, Ministry of Social Development and the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board

5 5 La Leche League Cervical Screening Hearing Tests Asthma Society Work and Income Parents as First Teachers a Maori Diabetes Nurse a Maori Men's Health coordinator PATHS (Providing Access To Health Solutions) The Way2Go programme operates out of the Centre and has achieved high levels of improved physical activity via a diverse and energetic programme, attracting 160+ participants per month. The Centre Coordinator manages the Victory on the Move programme of 15+ recreational, social, arts and cultural groups and courses per term such as: Sit and Be Fit Walking & Cycling; Harekeke Nana Craft Storytelling café Lark in the Park The Centre s community garden provides opportunities for agencies like Y-Kids, Gateway Housing Trust, and others with allotment spaces, a garden club of Victory Primary School students, and a first Home Garden Coaching programme to create teams of coaches to help residents create edible home gardens. The Centre Coordinator coordinates the 3-monthly News. The Centre hosts a playgroup and has four voluntary counsellors. A more recent service is the provision of low cost GP care. VCHC coordinates the use of all facilities for use by service providers and a wide range of small and large groups and individuals. Frequently we have people come in for just one service, then they ll look at our program, talk to other staff, and then access other services. They may speak to Work and Income, join in the gardening program, start a cooking course - we offer a holistic set of services Gareth Cashin Centre Coordinator

6 6 Victory Primary School (VPS) VPS is a decile-3 primary school with a roll of about 400 students. The school has a strong academic focus providing Year 1 to Year 6 mainstream primary education and bilingual (partial immersion) Maori education. The school s belief is that: The purpose of schools is to help families and communities to educate young people. We are a village and together we will raise our children positively and successfully. VPS practices The Victory Pathway, an interactive approach to: produce positively achieving young people develop strong families build on social capital in the Victory community. VPS students begin their school life on average at or under the expected achievement levels for reading, numeracy and writing. By the end of their time at Victory Primary School 90% of students are on average performing at or above expected achievement levels. Success for students also means being better equipped to face ongoing life challenges through, for example, the development of values and leadership skills, or students making smart choices and managing themselves responsibly and consistently. Anecdotal evidence from other school principals suggests there is an overall improvement in the choices and behaviour of graduating VPS students who have experienced schooling under the Victory Pathway model. VPS places families at the centre of The Victory Pathway. The school Principal commonly phrases it: We don t just enrol the child, we enrol the whole family at our school. Success for students requires support for families within a resilient and healthy community so that families are more equipped to face their own life challenges. Support for families also results in greater involvement by families in their child s

7 7 education because of a greater valuing of the school experience and a strong sense of trust. VPS has gone from having high levels of student stand-downs and truancy to no standdowns and no truancy. Referrals of students to social services such as CYFS have dropped, levels of family turnover have dropped from 65% per year to about 9% as families are supported and empowered to manage hardship and crises within their local community. VPS achieves greater support for families through the provision of opportunities for families to access social, educational, and health, information and services, and actively promotes use of the school hall/community centre facility. VPS promotes a Home/School Partnership programme to provide opportunities for parents to learn ways to support children at school and to allow families to be more involved in the school. VPS has a Social Worker based on site two days/week. Outside school support for families include: Victory Homework Academy for refugee students aged from 5 to 14 years Parikarengarenga Trust for Maori students before and after school care OSCAR programme through the YMCA after school programme a dedicated Family Centre space for new NZ ers to take part in the Beginning English programme. VPS actively supports diversity within the community through its commitment to Tikanga Maori and Te Reo Maori through its bilingual (partial immersion) classes. In addition, school occasions reflect a Maori perspective and mainstream classes incorporate Tikanga Maori and Te Reo Maori. VPS and VCHC host an annual Matariki event supported by over 60 volunteers. The event involves a 5km lantern-walk up the nearby railway reserve with drumming and fire dancing demonstrations, and performances from school groups. The event finishes at the Centre with shared kai and storytelling in the hall. Matariki has become a key event in the Victory calendar.

8 8 Community Challenges & Responses VCHC and VPS succeed because they build on existing social capital, they recognise what is already in place in terms of social support, educational capacity, and community wellbeing, and consciously develop a local, safe and responsive set of services that people need and like to use. The services operating out of the school and community centre are open and inclusive when it comes to working with families. Service providers are less institutional and are much more collaborative and willing to take risks, linkages between providers are stronger, and relationships between all parties are based on trust and acceptance. Families feel more supported within the Victory community resulting in a significant drop-off in levels of transience. The flow-on effect of having families stay in one place is huge as health and social services are better able to access at-risk families access that is crucial in light of the need for a multi-sector approach to combat the effects of poverty on families. Outcomes and Achievements VPS and VCHC know that the model is working because families say so, but also because of the growing numbers of people using and participating in services and activities. Families are choosing to stay in the Victory area. Student achievement is high and has been steadily improving over the last decade. The Education Review Office (ERO) recently reviewed VPS and that review specifically comments on the strengths of the school/community partnership and the effect this has on student outcomes. 2 The Families Commission is currently researching the difference that a school and centre like this can make with results to be launched in (See Appendix 1 for preliminary research findings). The model has attracted considerable national attention since the Families Commission DVD ( Why Families Matter ) was launched at a national behaviour conference in Auckland earlier this year. (Appendix 5 includes a copy of the DVD). The reputation of the is such that within the last 18 months there have been visits from: then Prime Minister Helen Clark; MP s Paula Bennett, Winnie Laban, Kevin Hague, Sue Kedgley, and Maryan Street; Ministry of Social Development (MSD) Managers; Members of the Prime Minister s Executive Team; Staff from the Industry Training Organisation; and 2 At time of writing the ERO report has not been made publicly available. Feedback has been given to the school Board of Trustees in verbal form only.

9 9 GP trainees and students from Victoria University. The Principal of Victory Primary School has had two recent meetings with John Key to discuss Victory approaches to education. The model is now known and referred to at national conferences and hui and is being used as an exemplar of community development good practice in university courses. Recognition of the success of the model has also come through acknowledgement of individual achievements. Kindra Douglas, who is the VCHC Centre Manager, achieved Nelsonian of the Year 2007 and this year was awarded a Queens Service Medal for services to the community. In 2008, the Principal of Victory Primary School, Mark Brown was awarded a Woolf Fisher Scholarship in order to pursue ongoing study into leadership in education. Future Directions The future of the project is an exciting one. Suggested service improvements and ideas for new directions, continue to be put forward and the community continues to respond in ways that surprise and exceed expectations. The Centre and School are currently working on the following projects: A nurse-led clinical service to further address unmet need. More robust partnerships with Maori and iwi providers. Ongoing funding from the Tertiaries Education Commission for English language programs for refugee families. More stable and reliable funding through service development between VCHC and the PHO. A Men s Sheds model to engage men in health enhancing activity. The school and centre are consolidating systems, services, activities and programmes, and planning carefully for long-term sustainability. Just as importantly, the project is working on ways to evaluate the impact of work undertaken so far. The centre and school know they are impacting on health and social outcomes but these are difficult to quantify due to the time lag between intervention and its effect. What is apparent is that there are a number of people in the community who have not previously been accessing health and social services but are now doing so. The Families Commission research offers crucial insight into why the model succeeds. VPS is the subject of upcoming PhD research into the long-term effects of the Victory Pathway on the behaviour, choices and educational outcomes on children who have experienced this approach to education.

10 10 Notes on Referees Alison McAlpine Alison is a current city councillor for Nelson City Council with an interest in community enhancement. She is a keen advocate for the achievements of the Victory Community Health Centre and Victory Primary School. Alison has a long history in the education sector and prior to local politics was the Principal of Nelson Girls College. More information on Alison can be obtained from Trisha Falleni Trisha works as a Maori Diabetes Nurse Educator for Nelson based at the Victory Community Health Centre. Trisha has first hand knowledge of the effectiveness of the Victory model and the ways services are impacting on the lives of local residents. Trisha is often visiting residents at home so it s important to leave a message when trying to contact her. Some additional information about Trisha can be found on List of Appendices Appendix 1: Tentative Findings from Families Commission Research Appendix 2: List of VCHC Funders and In-kind Support Appendix 3: Newspaper Clippings Appendix 4: Sample School and Community Centre Newsletters Appendix 5: Families Commission Material Notes on Photos All photos are the property of VPS or VCHC except for the p3 photo sourced from