14/06/2026
Ngā mihi ki Pākohe, a great write-up on a fabulous kaupapa
YMCA expands its Alternative Education Programme
The YMCA has been running alternative education programmes for secondary school aged students for over 20 years. They have recently opened a new site in Fox Road – Te Whare o Pakohe.
Andy Savage, YMCA’s Regional Manager - Whanganui & Manawatu, explains that the Alt Ed. programme is “for students 13 to 16 years who are disengaged or at risk of dropping out of school altogether.” Manager and teacher Bronwyn Joseph advises that “our highest referrals come from whānau. We are currently at capacity with the Ministry of Education recently increasing our contract numbers to 35.” The teacher/student ratios are kept low at 1 to 7.
The YMCA receive funding from the Ministry of Education; however, their operating expenses as well as the low staff/student ratio, are considerably higher than a normal school. These expenses include running a fleet of three vans used to pick up and drop off students each day.
It can be challenging. As Bronwyn says, “If there is an incident you normally need two staff to manage the issue, which might involve taking the student home, debrief with whānau and social support agencies.”
Te Whare o Pakohe is on Council-owned leasehold land, and the building, previously used as a school by the Plymouth Brethren Church, was purchased from them for “a very generous price.” However, as Andy points out, “We needed a mortgage to be able to purchase the building and then pay for alterations and some upgrades. MoE funding doesn’t cover this, so our team rallied around and helped us out, and of course we made numerous grant applications to support us in this endeavour.”
The end result is a very warm and attractive venue for young people with a great use of colour in the classrooms.
There are two classes as well as a Manaaki lounge/kitchen area. Staffing consists of a team of five with two classroom-based teachers, two youth workers and one part-time mentor. The focus for the teaching is on literacy and numeracy skills, and some students are able to achieve NCEA level 1.
“We make it clear that we are very much there for them,” Bronwyn says. “We help to take away the pressure to achieve which is placed on them in normal school settings.”
Staff are quick to follow up on absences, and if they haven’t had a response in a couple of days, or have had an unsatisfactory response, staff will visit. “We do everything we can to have students engage, which is important as so many others have given up on them before.”
The results in terms of achievement and attendance “is much better than the national average,” Andy points out. The Ministry of Education sings our praises and sees the YMCA Pakohe programme as leaders in the field.”
The students are asked to write about themselves, and some of these comments, minus any names, are displayed on a notice board. One person wrote: “I started isolating myself from a lot of my friends because I didn’t have the motivation to get out of bed and property take care of myself … I hated feeling this way and wanted to change but it was hard for me without w**d and all that stuff... Being at course helped me a lot, and made me realise not everyone’s perfect and its okay to ask for help sometimes when things get hard.”
Another wrote how he was told by his family that he was “a disappointment and good for nothing expect doing stuff they can’t be bothered with. Now I’m attending Pakohe, trying to become a better person and reach my goals I’ve set for myself.”
Another wrote, “Now I am a student at Pakohe. It gives me something better to do than sitting at home all day doing nothing.”
The recent formal opening of Te Whare o Pakohe was attended by over 70 people representing different parts of the community, including most of our secondary schools, Uncle John and supporting Iwi, government agencies and funders. “They clearly wanted to show their support,” says Andy. “It was an acknowledgement of the important work we do.”
The YMCA also runs a tertiary programme for those over 16 based in Parsons Street, an Early Years Child Centre off London Street and Camp Raukawa on the Parapara Highway.
Photo: Andy and Bronwyn
