Social workers bring "pride and courage" to school
As the dynamic duo Phil and Conway walk around the school grounds, they are constantly greeted by pupils at the College.
“I’ll see you at Saturday School eh,” says one young man as he shakes Phil’s hand. Another comes up and hassles the pair about their popular radio show 2mekemaoriZ on Holla FM. Phil, the Social Worker in School, began in 1999 and brought in Conway, the Community Liaison Worker, a year later when he “realised the job was too big for one man”.
When they began, the school had some gang and drug problems and was in danger of being shut down. Today it is the highest achieving school in the Porirua area, is thriving with 600 students, and has just received a state-of-the-art building as part of the Schools Plus pilot. “P.C. [Porirua College] now it means Pride and Courage,” says Phil.
Kids used to want to be in gangs, now the majority say ‘No way, I’m going to uni or polytech.
The pair introduced a restorative justice system to the school, and committed to work with any student that went through the system for their entire school life and even beyond.
One young man, who stands out to the pair, had serious behavioural problems and caused thousands of dollars in damage. Phil and Conway worked hard with Police to divert him from prosecution. “By the time he was a senior, he was a leader in the school. He even went to Taiwan as part of the kapa haka group. His family saw the huge change in him too, which was beautiful to see,” says Conway.
At the heart of their approach is the Saturday School, where Phil and Conway give of their own time every weekend. If a young person needs to be given clear messages about appropriate behaviour, the pair will work with them in a way that relates to the ‘wrong doing’ - so if they have damaged school property, they will repair it. If they have skipped school, they do academic work .
“When the kids start getting into the job with us, they start chatting and talk about themselves without realising. Like one young guy the other day who is pretty staunch, told us ‘My old man beats me up’, so you get a chance to talk.”
“They know we’re there for them and that’s what makes the difference,” says Phil. “Seeing the growth in the young people is payment in full that is how we earn our riches.”
