Strategic Direction — 2026
Where we're going
and how.
Four priority workstreams designed to deepen impact at current sites while building institutional infrastructure for responsible, quality-assured inter-school expansion.
Four priority workstreams designed to deepen impact at current sites while building institutional infrastructure for responsible, quality-assured inter-school expansion.
Each workstream has been developed to ensure that growth does not compromise the quality, integrity, or inclusivity of the campaign's core activities.
Formalise the campaign's internal operating procedures — from volunteer onboarding and role documentation to activity delivery consistency and impact measurement protocols. Establish a clear governance structure that can support multi-site operations without compromising the quality of the student experience at any individual site. This includes developing a standardised activity delivery guide, a volunteer training framework, and a formal impact reporting template aligned with school pastoral care requirements.
Initiate a carefully scoped expansion to one or two additional school sites in the East Auckland area, beginning with formal stakeholder consultation, school leadership engagement, and site readiness assessment. Expansion is contingent on the continued health of existing operations at Macleans College — Principle V (Core Stability Before Expansion) governs this workstream entirely. Pilot sites will receive full implementation support, documented guidance, and ongoing oversight from the founding team throughout the initial term of operation.
Grow the campaign's digital presence in a way that genuinely reflects and extends the values of in-person engagement. This means investing in the quality of Instagram content, developing a more consistent publishing cadence, and building a digital community that students feel connected to — not just a viewership. The campaign website will be developed as a full institutional resource, not merely a landing page, providing stakeholders with transparent access to all documentation and data.
Build formal relationships with the institutions whose support enables long-term sustainability: school administration at current and pilot sites, Auckland Council youth wellbeing initiatives, the Ministry of Education, and potential media partners such as the Education Gazette. Pursue documentation of the campaign's impact in formats appropriate for institutional audiences — including a formal impact report, case study materials, and a media pack for press engagement. Recognition from institutional stakeholders validates the campaign for future expansion conversations.
Strategic Direction — 2026
"Growth is never pursued at the expense of integrity. The core comes first."
Our Term 2, 2026 survey of over 300 students shows the campaign is doing what it was founded to do.
The survey asks general wellbeing questions before it mentions the campaign, so the answers are not influenced by it, and we only share what the evidence supports. More than half of the students who haven't participated yet simply hadn't heard of us. Therefore our main focus for Term 3 is reaching more students.
92% of students who participate feel a sense of belonging (183 of 198), which is the campaign's central aim and its strongest result. 87% look forward to their mornings more when the campaign is running, and 73% would recommend it to a friend.
Students who participate tend to rate their mornings more positively than students who haven't joined yet. This shows a link rather than proof. As such, our next step is to follow the same students over time to see whether the campaign is the cause.
Some participants still arrive at the stand having a hard morning. The campaign is reaching students who need it, not only the ones who already feel good.
This term, 20 student volunteers ran 11 Thursday mornings across Batten and Snell.
In Term 2, 2025, some students started coming to school early on Thursdays just for the stand.
"Growth is never pursued at the expense of integrity. The core comes first."Principle V — Core Stability Before Expansion
We have prepared a complete impact report covering all Term 2, 2026 operations — including delivery and reach, survey methodology and results, volunteer and staff perspectives, safety governance, and our priorities for Term 3. The report is available on request to school administrators, Ministry of Education representatives, council partners, and accredited journalists.