Since 2005, Sport Northland’s Active Families Programme has partnered with the Child Health Centre (CHC) to support whānau in leading healthier lifestyles. Together, they provide holistic guidance around physical activity, nutrition, and overall wellbeing for children and their families, making a meaningful impact in the community.

Sport Northland's Active Families Programme is a free initiative designed to support, encourage, and motivate whānau to make healthier lifestyle choices. The programme focuses on increasing physical activity levels and improving eating habits. It offers regular one-to-one family sessions to set goals, review progress, and support positive lifestyle changes. The Active Families Programme is available for any school-aged child (5-17) who would benefit from increased activity and improved eating habits.

The Child Health Centre's Healthy Lifestyle Programme provides information and support for children and their whānau to make long-term changes, especially for children with an increased BMI. The programme focuses on educating whānau about healthy lifestyle habits, including nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and screen time. It emphasizes SMART goal setting to encourage children to maintain their health goals. The programme requires full commitment and support from whānau to be good role models and provide encouragement for making positive changes.

The Healthy Lifestyle Programme runs twice a year, each cohort consisting of a year-long programme, beginning with 8 consecutive weekly group sessions. As part of this collaboration between the two programmes, Sport Northland runs one of the sessions specifically focused on physical activity and play. This collaboration ensures that families receive comprehensive support to continue their healthy lifestyle journey beyond the programme. Many families choose to stay engaged with their healthy lifestyle journey by joining the Active Families Programme after completing the Healthy Lifestyle Programme, benefiting from its holistic approach to health and wellbeing.

The Active Families Programme mirrors the Healthy Lifestyle Programme's commitment to supporting whānau. It provides tailored advice on nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and screen time, ensuring that families have the tools they need to lead healthier lives.

Healthy Lifestyle Lead Claudia Ashby says, "It is a great collaboration in providing support to whānau in our community. It can be difficult to know where to start, and both of these programmes provide incredible support to whānau who are on their wellbeing journey."

This partnership between Sport Northland and the Child Health Centre is an excellent example of how community organisations can work together to create lasting positive change. By empowering whānau with knowledge and support, they are helping to build a healthier future for everyone involved.

At Sport Northland we exist to enrich Northlander's lives by inspiring and enabling more movement and one of the ways we do this is through Active Families – supporting whānau on their journey.  If you would like some support with your activity goals, give us a call on phone 0800 ACTIVE …..we are here to help.     

Article written by Erin Taylor and Claudia Ashby, Healthy Lifestyle Team Members