Mitey – Bringing Mental Health Education to the Classroom
We caught up with Alistair Duff from The Sir John Kirwan Foundation – Mitey, to talk about the game-changing mental health education programme supporting Kiwi kids in schools across Aotearoa.
Generator is proud to support The Sir John Kirwan Foundation – Mitey, who use our spaces for meetings and strategy sessions.
We spoke with Alistair Duff from Mitey about the powerful work they’re doing to bring mental health education into Kiwi classrooms.
For those who haven’t heard of Mitey, what’s your elevator pitch? What do you do and why does it matter?
Mitey delivers free mental health education for primary and intermediate schools, equipping children aged 5–13 with the knowledge, skills, and understanding to navigate life’s challenges. Grounded in the New Zealand curriculum, our programme integrates mental health learning into everyday classroom life.
Mitey is currently in 271 schools across Aotearoa, reaching more than 90,000 tamariki.
How did Mitey get started, and what inspired its creation?
The Sir John Kirwan Foundation – Mitey was born from Sir John Kirwan’s vision to address New Zealand’s alarming suicide rate. In 2023, approximately 579 people died by suspected suicide. One in five Kiwis will experience mental health challenges by the age of 18, and in 2019, 23% of young people reported symptoms of depression—a figure that has nearly doubled since 2012.
What does Mitey’s approach to mental health education look like in schools?
Mitey coaches (who are senior, trained primary teachers) work alongside each school over three years, offering resources plus professional development across the whole school environment. Providing a stepped progression of learning and resources, together with coaching support from teaching and learning to governance, staff wellbeing, and community engagement, Mitey enables mental health education to be taught as an important but ordinary subject within a school environment that everyone wants to be part of.
What kind of impact have you seen so far from your work with tamariki? Any stories that you would like to share?
Mitey has normalised conversations about mental health and helped create understanding around the possibilities of quality mental health education. Impact Lab, an independent organisation, determined that for every $1.00 invested, Mitey delivered a social return on investment of $5.80—highlighting increased academic achievement, improved mental health, and reduced risky behaviours.
How can individuals or businesses support or get involved with Mitey?
We welcome discussions with individuals and companies to determine their objectives - mental health is an increasing focus for organisations, and explore opportunities to align and support funding initiatives, allowing Mitey to continue its growth throughout New Zealand schools.
What’s next for Mitey? Any big goals or projects on the horizon?
The key focus for Mitey is to continue increasing our presence within new and existing schools, implementing mental health education for kids, schools, whānau, and the wider community.
How is Mitey using Generator spaces?
The Generator space provides a great base for the team - both as a collective and as individuals, to meet and work in a fantastic environment with brilliant facilities that offer multiple usage options.
What does having access to Generator’s spaces mean for your team and mahi?
Generator provides the space and environment for the Mitey team to connect, engage face to face, invite clients, have fun, and meet other Generator clients in a relaxed and productive setting.
Learn more about Mitey
