About

Mō
“We’re LOVING the fab activities! Our tamariki are enjoying learning about their brain and how they have the power to change it. It really ties in with our growth mindset statements.”
- Christchurch teacher
“There is no one child who doesn’t benefit from Sparklers.”
- Tamara Bell, principal at Southbridge School
“I think it’s really important, with so many stressors that our children have to face, that if they have these little skills now, that we just build on every day, that they do have these skills that they can take with them throughout their lives.”
- Kelly Sheppard, teacher at Shirley Primary
“I love the simplicity of Sparklers. It’s all there; it tells you what to do and anyone can use it. The activities are really hands on – they’re not just things for the children to listen to, they’re things the children can actually do and enjoy.”
- Kerri Narbey, teacher at Kaiapoi Borough School
“We got really positive change initially, but what was really cool was that they started a revolution and encouraged us to look at alternative ways to help get them ready for learning.”
- Tamara Bell, principal at Southbridge School
“The activities feel nice and calm us down.”
- Year 5 student, Christchurch
“Made me feel AWESOME!”
- Chisnallwood student (feedback on the Compliment Poster activity)
“Our tamariki really enjoy the activities. They build cultural confidence and pride, while helping tamariki get into a great headspace for learning.”
- Bernice Swain, Teacher at Haeata Community Campus

Noticeboard for Updates

Here's the latest with Sparklers:

An Introduction to Sparklers

Learn more about the Creation of Sparklers here. Looking back to how Sparklers emerged provides context for this mahi, our mission, and our vision.


Hear more about how tamariki and kaiako from Shirley Primary School are using Sparklers.

Informing Sparklers

Sparklers activities have been developed by behavioural specialists and are informed by the best available research and clinical expertise.

Sparklers is grounded in the theories of:

Any additional research or specialist input drawn upon to create individual Sparklers activities are noted as part of the activity itself.

2022 Sparklers Ministry of Education funded evaluation

The Ministries of Health and Education commissioned an external review of Sparklers, focusing on the alignment of the Sparklers resources to the National Curricula.

Read the full evaluation.

2020 Sparklers independent evaluation

This Sparklers evaluation was conducted by Ihi Research. This research comprised of two eight-week long qualitative case studies at Christchurch schools, and a nationwide online survey which was completed by 137 teachers, school leaders and school support staff.

The evaluation found that Sparklers activities had a positive impact on students’ social and emotional learning. The activities helped tamariki manage their emotions, feel good, be kind and build better relationships.

Key results include:

  • 99% believed Sparklers reduced anti-social behaviours, including bullying.
  • 93% said using Sparklers helped create an emotionally supportive classroom.
  • 90% agreed that Sparklers made a positive difference for students.
  • 88% said Sparklers helped to create an inclusive environment for learning.
  • 74% said Sparklers helped regulate energy levels in the classroom.

According to this research, one of the reasons behind Sparklers success is that the activities are for everyone in a classroom, and not just those who have typically required more intensive, one-on-one interventions. We know that over the course of our lives we all face obstacles, and the earlier we learn coping strategies, the better we’re able to respond. The Sparklers toolkit explicitly recognises that we all benefit from learning how to cope with life’s challenges.

Read the full evaluation

2018 Sparklers evaluation

This evaluation of Sparklers has found that it is easy to implement in the classroom and teachers and other professionals working in schools are overwhelmingly positive towards it.

According to the evaluation, Sparklers helps to:

  • Embed wellbeing: Interviews with school leaders found that Sparklers activities aligned with whole-school approaches to building wellbeing and creating culture change.
  • Build social and emotional literacy: All teachers interviewed spoke enthusiastically about the implementation of Sparklers with their students.

Overall, the availability of the Sparklers resource was highly valued.

Sparklers provided a common wellbeing language across students, teachers, school leaders and other professionals. Sparklers normalised talking about and promoting positive mental health and wellbeing for the schools involved in the evaluation.

Read the full evaluation

Read a two page evaluation summary

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