A Better Start: E Tipu e Rea
National Science Challenge 2016 - 2024
Better science together for a better start in life
Every child should have the best possible start in life.
A Better Start was one of 11 National Science Challenges that ran from 2014 to August 2024.
researchers created tools and methods to predict, prevent and intervene early on three key pillars, healthy weight, learning and mental health. with the with the goal that children have a healthy weight, are successful learners and they can access the tools they need to look after their mental health.
A Better Start is the National Science Challenge aimed to find practical, evidence-based solutions to make a measurable and impactful difference in the lives of our tamariki and rangatahi.
A Better Start article published: supporting the future wellbeing of our tamariki E tipu, e rea, mō ngā rā o tō ao: grow tender shoot for the days destined for you
CLICK HERE to read more and see the authors of the article
The individual article has been formally published online, the Special Issue: The current and future state of child health and wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand: Part 2 is yet to be published.
ABSTRACT: The majority of children and young people in Aotearoa New Zealand experience good health and wellbeing, but there are key areas where they compare unfavourably to those in other rich countries. However, current measures of wellbeing are critically limited in their suitability to reflect the dynamic, culture-bound, and subjective nature of the concept of ‘wellbeing’. In particular, there is a lack of measurement in primary school-aged children and in ways that incorporate Māori perspectives on wellbeing. A Better Start National Science Challenge work in the areas of Big Data, Healthy Weight, Resilient Teens, and Successful learning demonstrates how research is increasing our understanding of, and our ability to enhance, wellbeing for NZ children. As we look ahead to the future, opportunities to support the wellbeing of NZ young people will be shaped by how we embrace and mitigate against potential harms of new technologies, and our ability to respond to new challenges that arise due to climate change. In order to avoid increasing inequity in who experiences wellbeing in NZ, wellbeing must be monitored in ways that are culturally acceptable, universal, and recognise what makes children flourish.
About
The Science
Collaborative research and science excellence. Learn about our key research themes: Healthy Weight, Resilient Teens, Successful Learning, which is all underpined by Big Data.
News
Updates and events from A Better Start:
E Tipu e Rea
News and Events
Wearable technology to help adolescents with stress and anxiety
A pilot study of wearable technology to help young people sense and manage their anxiety is under way in New Zealand. The two-year project, which has been granted $400,000 in joint funding by A Better Start National Science Challenge and Cure Kids, will investigate...
Autistic students in NZ three times more likely to be stood down or suspended: new research
This story appeared in The New Zealand Herald. Click here to read the full story on nzherald.co.nz Autistic children in New Zealand are almost three times more likely to be stood down or suspended from school than children who aren't autistic, a major new study...
Meet The Researcher – Dr Stephanie D’Souza
Dr Stephanie D'Souza is a researcher with A Better Start's Big Data team. She talks about her current project which looks at whether Māori tamariki screened for ADHD concerns are less likely to receive medication than non-Māori, the best piece of advice she was given,...
Children falling through the cracks – new study reveals key insights into Hawke’s Bay tamariki’s nutrition and wellbeing
One in five Hawke’s Bay primary school students report being hungry because there is not enough food at home, a new study published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand reveals. The study – funded by A Better Start National Science Challenge – was...
NZ’s child obesity rates continue to decline: new study
New Zealand preschoolers have resisted the global obesity trend, with an important new study showing rates of child obesity continuing to decline across Aotearoa. The study, led by researchers for A Better Start National Science Challenge, looked at measurements of...
Webinar postponement
Thank you to all those who have registered for our webinar, Help Me Breathe: The RSV Epidemic, which was due to be held today. Unfortunately, due to a last-minute technical issue which is out of our control, we have been forced to postpone this webinar. This is the...
From the Director
A Better Start: E Tipu e Rea has more than 160 researchers delivering excellent science to give our tamariki a better start in life. They come from many different disciplines and organisations, but are united in their commitment. Our researchers share a collaborative approach and through the He Awa Whiria (braided rivers) model weave together knowledge from differing sources that flow together to progress the wellbeing of tamariki.
Ngā mihi,
Professor Wayne Cutfield
Challenge Director
The meaning behind, E Tipu e Rea – Grow Tender Shoot
E tipu, e rea, mō ngā rā o tō ao: grow tender shoot for the days destined for you
E Tipu e Rea is A Better Start’s Māori name.
In 1949, shortly before his death, Māori leader and scholar Sir Āpirana Turupa Ngata of Ngāti Porou wrote into the autograph book of schoolgirl Rangi Bennett a passage about his vision for Māori youth.
E tipu e rea mō ngā rā o tō ao
Ko tō ringa ki ngā rākau a te Pākehā
Hei ora mō te tinana
Ko tō ngākau ki ngā tāonga a ō tīpuna Māori
Hei tikitiki mō tō māhuna
Ko tō wairua ki tō atua
Nānā nei ngā mea katoa.
Grow and branch forth for the days destined to you
Your hands to the tools of the Pākehā
For the welfare of your body
Your heart to the treasures of your ancestors
adornments for your brow
Your spirit to god
Who made all things.