Media Release
Gisborne, 6 August 2018: A two-year pilot programme teaching kids key life skills has been deemed a “huge success”,
capturing 85% of Gisborne’s primary school population.
According to a recent report by Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti, all schools that participated in the newly developed
Crackerjack Kids educational programme will continue their involvement beyond the pilot after seeing the positive impact
on their students.
“The two-year Crackerjack Kids pilot across 14 schools in Tairāwhiti (involving over 3,500 students from years 1 to 6)
can be deemed a success,” says the report. “This is evidenced by the desire of all the pilot schools to continue with
the initiative in 2018, the favourable responses from principals and teachers, observations of positive changes in the
behaviour and attitudes of children and, most importantly, the enjoyment of the participating children.”
Crackerjack Kids, developed by InnerFit NZ, is a sports-based programme linked to the Health and Physical Education
curriculum for primary schools. The material gives teachers an easy way to empower Kiwi kids to become leaders, positive
role models and well-rounded, stable individuals who are well equipped to achieve on and off the field.
With seven more schools signing up to use the Crackerjack Kids resource, the programme is gaining momentum across the
wider Tairāwhiti community.
Labour List MP Kiri Allan recently visited Te Hapara School, one of the pilot schools in her electorate, to see the
programme in action, and says she is impressed by the impact that Crackerjack Kids has had on the children.
“It was fantastic to witness Crackerjack kids being taught in the class and see a programme that incorporates health and
fitness, alongside teaching kids decision-making skills that can be carried into a broad range of areas in their lives.”
InnerFit NZ founder Ken Youngson, whose mission is to help individuals achieve their full potential in life, believes
that schools have a critical role to play in ensuring that children get a good start in life to set them up for future
success.
“We know that the life course is set at an early age,” says Youngson. “By partnering with schools, the one institution
that every single New Zealander has an experience of, we can reach every child to teach them how to make healthy life
choices.
“The Gisborne primary education network is showing real national leadership in instituting the Crackerjack Kids
programme so broadly in schools,” says Youngson. “After the proven success of the pilot, we are committed to supporting
teachers to empower Kiwi kids throughout New Zealand.”
InnerFit NZ partnered with Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti to run the pilot. The organisations worked together to provide
comprehensive training and professional development for the participating teachers, ensuring they had hands-on support
to effectively implement the resource in their schools.
For more information, visit http://www.crackerjackkids.org.nz/
See the full Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti report here: Gisborne CJK Report
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