Military Style Academy pilot evaluation

An independent evaluation about the initial three-month residential stage of Oranga Tamariki's Military Style Academy pilot has been largely positive.

Below is our statement on the findings, provided by Iain Chapman, Deputy Chief Executive of Youth Justice Services and Residential Care:

"The purpose of the MSA pilot was to trial a new approach for a small group of young people who all arrived with complex and challenging backgrounds, and a history of offending behaviour.

"While we’ve always had realistic expectations about what success looks like for these young people, the programme aims to give them a chance, and to not give up on them. We want to equip these young people with the skills and self-belief they need to make changes to their lives and their offending behaviour in the long run. Ultimately, any reduction in offending reduces the wider social and economic cost and improves safety for us all.

"This first evaluation says the participants seemed settled and engaged during this residential stage, with many excelling educationally and achieving NCEA credits. It notes the young people responded well to the structure, routine, and extended support from a multidisciplinary team including social workers, health, education and cultural professionals.

"Challenges included time and resource pressure, with the report emphasising the need for better kaimahi support, consultation, and a more considered te aō Māori approach.  

"Throughout the Pilot, Oranga Tamariki have engaged directly with iwi Rangitane o Manawatu, whose feedback and involvement has been instrumental and was identified as a strength in the evaluation.

"Given the complexity of the young participants’ backgrounds, we have always acknowledged the possibility of reoffending when back in the community. We can confirm, without giving details due to privacy, that alleged reoffending has occurred. 

"We are acutely aware of the impact the intense level of public scrutiny has already had on this small group of young people, together with the tragic passing of their fellow participant and friend. Our thoughts continue to be with this young person’s whānau.  

In the coming months we will release the next evaluation, and reviews, which will cover the community stage of the programme."

Oranga Tamariki acknowledges the work of all kaimahi and support teams dedicated to supporting these young people. We will continue to do our best to support them, and to learn from the findings for our future mahi with young people.