Paying it forward- Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award makes an investment in tamariki and early learning environments

The Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award programme helps early learning services across Aotearoa create an environment that promotes nutritional health and physical activity. It achieves a sustainable change to the environment by using a ‘whole-service’ approach, through governance and management, learning and teaching, collaboration and professional development. The programme aims to foster happy tamariki with awareness of how to have hearts fit for life, ensuring healthier futures for whānau across Aotearoa New Zealand. To evaluate and understand the impact and social value of the Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award programme on fostering healthy habits and creating supportive environments in early learning settings across Aotearoa New Zealand the Heart Foundation undertook this evaluation with ImpactLab. Two hundred and fifteen early learning services and 33,717 tamariki across Aotearoa New Zealand, who were enrolled in or had achieved a Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award, were used to determine the impact and social value of the programme. This was achieved through using a social value calculation which integrates multiple data sources and analytical methods. Firstly, impact values derived from the programme were combined with evidence from global literature on the effectiveness of similar health promotion programmes. Secondly, the size of the opportunity for participants—early learning services across Aotearoa New Zealand—to achieve more positive health outcomes was assessed. Thirdly, the number of people supported by the programme was considered. Every year, the Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award programme delivers $6,163,581 of measurable good to society in New Zealand. Outcomes for tamariki of improved oral health, physical activity and reduced diabetes and improved physical activity for whānau directly contribute to the social value. Improved health equity, nutrition, increased food exposure and physical activity, promotion of lifelong wellbeing and positive health behaviours, reduced cardiovascular disease and sugar consumption indirectly contributed to the social value. This means that every dollar invested in the Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award programme delivers $4.50 of measurable good to New Zealand. The Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award programme delivers significant measurable social value to Aotearoa New Zealand. Growth, development and continued funding of the programme should continue to further positively impact the future of tamariki and their whānau in Aotearoa New Zealand.