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17/07/2025 
Dan Tasman 
[FYI request #30771 email] 
 
Tēnā koe Dan 
 
OIA: [1348203]  - Awhi Mai Awhi Atu – Counsel ing in Schools Programme 
Thank you for your email of 20 May 2025 to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry) requesting the 
following information:  
1.  A list of all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) currently contracted to deliver the Awhi Mai 
Awhi Atu - Counselling in Schools programme in Te Tai Tokerau. 
  For each organisation: 
 
2.  The total value of the contract in the current financial year. 
3.  The number of schools or students each is contracted to serve. 
4.  A copy of the most recent audit, evaluation, or review conducted by the Ministry or any third 
party for that provider, including any findings or recommendations. 
5.  Any internal guidance, expectations, or performance indicators used by the Ministry to monitor 
the quality and effectiveness of these NGO contracts in the region. 
6.  Any documentation showing how providers are selected, evaluated, or replaced under the Awhi 
Mai Awhi Atu framework. 
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).  For ease of 
reference, I wil  respond to each part of your request in turn.  
1.  A list of all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) currently contracted to deliver the 
Awhi Mai Awhi Atu - Counselling in Schools programme in Te Tai Tokerau. 
 
The following NGOs are currently contracted to deliver the Awhi Mai Awhi Atu – Counselling in Schools 
(CiS) programme in Te Tai Tokerau:  
 
•  Caps Northland Incorporated - t/a Jigsaw North Family Services - Manaaki Whānau 
•  Erin Majurey Counsellor 
•  Far North Safer Community Council Society Incorporated - t/a Building Safer 
Communities – Indigo House 
•  Mauri Tui Tuia Creative Therapies Ltd. 
•  Positive Psychological Wellness 
•  Te Tai Mana Ltd 
•  The Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust 
Auckland Office, Level 3, 12-18 Normanby Road, Mt Eden, Auckland 1024 
Private Bag 92644, Symonds Street, Auckland 1149 Phone: +64 9 632 9400  

•  Del Bristow - t/a TPA Tipu 
•  Tuhiata Mahi Ora Trust 
•  Tuia Te Mātauranga 
•  Vision Coaching & Mentoring 
•  Matilda Bercic - t/a Matire 
 
For each organisation: 
 
2.  The total value of the contract in the current financial year. 
The total value of the contracts across all providers in Te Tai Tokerau in the current financial year is 
$1,919,420.64 (exclusive of GST). I am withholding the contract values for individual providers under 
section 9(2)(b)(ii) of the Act, to protect the commercial position of the individual providers concerned.  
3.  The number of schools or students each is contracted to serve. 
Individual contracts do not specify number of schools or students each provider is contracted to serve.  
This part of your request is therefore refused under section 18(e) of the Act as the requested 
information does not exist.  
However, I can confirm that 64 schools currently have access to, or are actively using, CiS in Te Tai 
Tokerau with 59 schools actively receiving CiS support in the 2025 year so far. 
4.  A copy of the most recent audit, evaluation, or review conducted by the Ministry or any 
third party for that provider, including any findings or recommendations. 
As outlined in our earlier response to you, the CiS programme as a whole was evaluated by the 
Education Review Office (ERO) over three years, with the final phase completed in August 2024. The 
evaluation reports are available on the ERO website here: Someone to talk to: Evaluation of 
Counselling in Schools. 
Our Regional Office’s processes for monitoring and evaluating the performance of individual service 
providers is frequent, ongoing and relational. Providers submit narrative to collected data and attend 
monthly status report hui with the Lead Advisor Student Support. Annual Delivery Summaries are 
collated for consideration and review by the Ministry. Alongside this, the Ministry conducts an annual 
survey of school principals inviting their feedback and giving an opportunity for the Ministry to note 
successes and concerns.  
Under the terms of their contracts, providers are also required to ensure all counselling practitioners 
and key personnel involved in the delivery of services are engaged with Supervision. Providers must 
consistently adhere to all legal and regulatory requirements, including The Children's Act 2014, Health 
and Safety at Work Act 2015 and the Privacy Act 2020. 
Evaluative material relating to individual providers is captured in a live contract management 
document/spreadsheet which is continuously updated.  As such, it is not possible to provide you with a 
discrete set of documents which comprise the “most recent audit, evaluation or review” of each 
individual provider and it is necessary for me to refuse this part of your request under section 18(e) of 
the Act as the information does not exist in the form you have requested.  
OIA: [1348203]  


We have considered whether it would be helpful to provide you with the Contract Management 
Spreadsheet in the alternative, however, this contains a large amount of commercially sensitive 
information and therefore any information able to be released to you (which would only be accurate as 
at the date of extraction) would be minimal and unlikely to meet the intent of this part of your request. 
We acknowledge the public interest in Providers being accountable for their performance and there are 
Contract Management processes that can be utilised when a provider is found to be falling short of their 
contractual obligations.  We can confirm that such no processes are underway in relation to any current 
provider.  
5.  Any internal guidance, expectations, or performance indicators used by the Ministry to 
monitor the quality and effectiveness of these NGO contracts in the region. 
6.  Any documentation showing how providers are selected, evaluated, or replaced under the 
Awhi Mai Awhi Atu framework. 
The Awhi Mai, Awhi Atu | Counselling in Schools New Provider Application Form sets out the 
information new providers must provide to support their application and the measures against which 
applications are evaluated/assessed.  
The Services Agreement template outlines the due diligence and service provider reporting 
requirements for current providers with Te Tai Tokerau, namely: 
 
•  the Service Deliverables and Service Levels current providers are expected to meet or exceed;  
•  the processes through which the Ministry wil  measure and evaluate the services provided; and 
•  the term of the agreement and transition support and exit of services processes applicable 
upon the conclusion of services or the agreement term.  
 
The Awhi Mai Awhi Atu Service Guide for Providers and Awhi Mai Awhi Atu Helping our Tamariki to 
thrive Counselling support in schools: A start-up guide also provide detailed information about the roles 
and responsibilities of both the Ministry and providers under the Awhi Mai Awhi Atu framework.  
 
I am releasing the above documents to you in full as Appendix One to this response.  
 
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my decision on 
your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to 
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143S. 
Nāku noa, nā 
 
Leisa Maddix 
Hautū (Taupua) | Deputy Secretary (Acting) 
Te Mahau | Te Tai Raro (North) 
 
 
OIA: [1348203]