HIPPY: Facts & Figures

Great Potentials Foundation introduced HIPPY to New Zealand in 1992. There are over 28,000 children have benefitted since HIPPY was established in New Zealand 30 years ago.

is a home-based family literacy programme that lays the foundation for children’s success in school and later life.

The programme is designed specifically for those parents who may not feel comfortable in their own abilities to support their children’s education.

The programme builds the confidence and skills of parents to create a positive learning environment to prepare their child for school. HIPPY also offers some parents a supported pathway to employment and local community leadership.

Research has shown that HIPPY parents are more likely than their peers to seek further education opportunities for themselves. It is a true two-generation programme.

What Parents Say

What Hippy Parents Say

Outcomes (2020)

1,980	Children participated in HIPPY during 2020
1,068	Joined HIPPY because of the coordinator
813	Joined HIPPY on their own accord
225	Children graduated from HIPPY during 2020
1,068	Children currently doing HIPPY
1,114	New enrolments during 2020

What people say about HIPPY

Evaluation Reports

	HIPPY Annual Evaluation Report 2020
	HIPPY Annual Evaluation Report 2019
	HIPPY Annual Evaluation Report 2018

Published Reports

	ImpactLab GoodMeasure Report 2021
	HIPPY Book of Evidence 2020
	HIPPY Book of Evidence 2018
	Home Interaction Programmge for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) - an evaluation of the long term outcomes of the programme 2020

Latest

Congratulations! MATES Senior 2022

Congratulations to all MATES Senior Mentees 2022, and a massive thank you to the MATES Mentors, teachers and whānau.
My role as a Counsellor at the Papakura Family Service Centre

Sophie says she feels blessed with whānau sharing stories of their lives with her and finding strength through their self-awareness journey. The counselling service is accessible to anyone, with no limits on how many sessions, which allows her to do therapeutic work on a deeper level.
From Icao: Mentoring is about meaningful listening

MATES believes in the ecology of growth and positions itself in a very community-centric way. It is a familiar system that a lot of our Pasifika people have grown up with.
From Smita: My role as a HIPPY Data Administrator

I love coming across people in the community who say, “I did HIPPY with my children!” or “I was a HIPPY child!”. Hearing families identify so strongly and proudly with a programme they were involved in so long ago speaks to how significant HIPPY is in our communities...

FSC: Facts & Figures

Our Family Service Centres in Papakura and Takanini provide integrated health, education and social services for families, children and young people in low-income communities. Our centres support more than 1,000 individuals and 350 families every year.
MATES: Facts & Figures

MATES addresses the gap between those who do well in education and those who do not, in the context of the strong correlation between socio-economic status and educational outcomes. In 2019, 278 Mentors and Mentees participated in MATES.
Published reports

View or download published Evaluation Reports for each of Great Potentials' programmes, along with other relevant research.
Annual reports

View or download Great Potentials Foundation's Annual Reports for the last five years.

HIPPY Locations

Locations and contact details for HIPPY sites around New Zealand
Become a mentor

If you are a tertiary student in Auckland and are interested in becoming a MATES mentor, please complete the online application form...
Community Funding

We are immensely grateful to all of our supporters who contribute in various ways to Great Potentials Foundation. Your generosity truly impacts the lives of children, young people and families propelling them towards brighter futures.
HIPPY Programme

HIPPY is a home-based Early Learning programme that helps parents from disadvantaged communities lay the foundation for their children’s success in school and later life...
MATES Programme

MATES Mentoring and Tutoring programme addresses the underachievement in education of disadvantaged youth in New Zealand, intervening at key transition points to create pathways for success...
Contact Details

Address and contact information for Great Potentials Office and programmes
Our Mission

Working for and with children, young people and families to promote family function, relieve suffering, release potential, reduce disparities in New Zealand society, reduce crime and violence and break the cycle of disadvantage...
Family Service Centres

Our Family Service Centres assist the community with housing, food, health care, employment support and wellbeing services as well as offering early learning services, parenting programmes, playgroups, social workers in schools, counselling and more...
Takanini Family Service Centre

Family Service Centre Takanini opened its doors in January 2014. Our warm, colourful new Centre was established in partnership with the Counties Manukau Kindergarten Association, whose superb early learning centre provides a beautiful environment for the local children.
Papakura Family Service Centre

Papakura Family Service Centre & Early Learning Centre has been providing valuable services to the families in Papakura since 1992. We provide an early learning centre, the HIPPY programme, Plunket, social work and advocacy, counselling, parenting, budgeting and Social Workers in Schools.