As the field of Positive Education gains traction globally, there is a recognised concern around sustainability. Many schools utilise external providers to engage and educate schools on ‘wellbeing science’, which in the main is comprised of research from the field of Positive Psychology. This often involves a significant financial and time investment, and while most schools have good intentions for their desired end states, often the initial motivation for change is impacted by the many competing responsibilities occurring within a school setting. Those schools that have successfully implemented strategic and sustainable approaches often continue to work with an external consultant who guides the school to successfully apply their learnings. Many schools, however, are unable to fund ongoing consultancy and are required to utilise their own internal resources. In many cases, this is the inspired and motivated educators who are keen to support the initiative, yet who are generally time-poor, often with other learning and extra-curricular responsibilities. More often than not, the school counsellor has not been consulted or included in these initiatives. We explore the potential role of the school counsellor in providing guidance on the implementation of a Positive Education approach aimed at improving mental health and wellbeing and performance.

This paper reports on the preliminary findings of a study carried out in two English-medium primary (elementary) schools (years 1–6) located in the Otago-Southland regions between 2014 and 2015. The purpose of the study aimed to explore the educational aspirations whānau Māori (i.e., Māori family) want for their children, and to build better relationships for teaching and learning in these two schools. The opportunity to bring whānau Māori together using a school hui (i.e., formal school meeting) process, not only created a culturally safe space for whānau Māori to share their thoughts, ideas and concerns about their children's education, but it also provided an opportunity for constructive feedback, and a greater awareness of the success enablers for whānau Māori and their children. A key finding to emerge, is that, whānau Māori not only see the provision of schooling and education for their children as an extension of who they are as culturally connected learners, but also as a medium for learning more about their own cultural norms, values, beliefs, strengths and attributes.