People Changing Dilworth

The People Changing Dilworth - Dan Reddiex, Headmaster

“The mission has always stayed the same. The question was, how do we give that oxygen and bring it to life?”

“Dilworth’s mission is remarkable - to provide fully funded scholarships for students from families who have an aspiration for their son to excel, but whose circumstances may be a barrier to him fulfilling his potential. There’s nothing like it on the New Zealand educational landscape,” says Dilworth’s Headmaster, Dan Reddiex.

He says it’s been challenging “ We invested first and foremost in student safeguarding and the school became Child Wise Accredited in September 2022.  We have also completely overhauled the academic curriculum, and redesigned our Learning in the Outdoors programme, which has now achieved a commercial-level safety qualification. The third strand of our new curriculum, Ako Puāwaitanga, is based around student well-being.  It has been designed to help our students develop emotionally and as people, to help them flourish beyond the school gates through learning essential life skills in an intentional way. We’ve infused that into every part of the school, and it’s remarkable. I haven’t seen anything quite like it anywhere else in my travels.”

Dan says the progress over the last six years has been thrilling: “It’s the whole purpose. It’s the bit that gets me out of bed in the morning and stops me from going to bed early at night. We’re trying to effect a change in our students that will flow on into their lives, into their families, and ultimately into our communities. We’re starting to see our students truly fulfilling their potential, and that’s our collective success.”

 

The People Changing Dilworth - Mattie Naseri, Safeguarding Officer

“The Child Wise review and our journey to accreditation have given us a clear roadmap and an ongoing plan of continuous improvement.”

Growing up as one of two Pasifika children in Mount Roskill, Mattie Naseri learned strong values at a young age. Her parents immigrated from Samoa in the 1970s, with both working multiple jobs to help provide for the family and create a space that was safe, warm, and one where the children knew they came first. “Faith is a big thing in our family,” Mattie says. “Faith is how I learned that service and giving are incredibly important values to hold. They are family values, and values I believe align me with Dilworth.”

Achieving Child Wise accreditation (Child Wise is part of the Australian Childhood Foundation) in September 2022 was a key milestone for Mattie and the entire team at Dilworth. “It was a major piece of work and one that we’re really proud of,” Mattie says.

“The Child Wise review and our journey to accreditation have given us a clear roadmap and an ongoing plan of continuous improvement. Dilworth now has systems in place to ensure students can easily speak up about any issues that matter to them, they can do this anonymously and in many ways. We have embedded a culture of safeguarding, and we have zero tolerance towards any abuse at Dilworth. We have a parent safeguarding committee, where we gather parent and whānau input. It’s become part of our cultural DNA.”

 

The People Changing Dilworth - Tom Murdoch, Head of Senior Campus

"The expectations are high, and they should be. This is a place where you can belong, but you’re also expected to contribute. Our school values are truly lived here.”

Tom Murdoch has had a great career in education. Starting out as an English teacher at Auckland Grammar School, he has worked at both state and independent schools, including six years at the highly regarded Reed’s School in the UK, time as a House Leader at Macleans College, and then Deputy Principal at Mount Albert Grammar. Now Dilworth’s Head of Senior Campus, Tom has been part of the critical change happening at the school since 2022.

Tom says. “I’ve been lucky to work in really good schools, that have been well run, with a vision, a strong direction and educational philosophy, where student safety has always been the priority. So I know what good looks like, and here at Dilworth we have a Headmaster in Dan Reddiex leading essential change and rebuilding the school from the ground up. We have enormous resources we dedicate to our students to help them fulfil their potential, both academically during the school day, and more holistically, in boarding. This removes so many of the obstacles to educational progress that exist elsewhere - if that doesn’t give you meaning and purpose as a teacher, you might be in the wrong profession.”

In describing the ground-up rebuild of Dilworth School undertaken by Dan, the leadership team, and staff, Tom says the foundations have now been laid: “The expectations are high, and they should be. This is a place where you can belong, but you’re also expected to contribute. Our school values are truly lived here.”

 

The People Changing Dilworth - Justine Scott, Head of Junior Campus

“Class sizes are small so we can really engage with the students in their learning.”

Formerly the principal of Sunnyhills School in Pakuranga for eight years, Justine Scott joined Dilworth as Head of Junior Campus at the start of 2024. Highly regarded as a passionate and innovative educator, one of the key reasons she joined the school was to support Headmaster Dan Reddiex in transforming Dilworth. Now, a year into the role, she’s spearheaded a change in the culture on the junior campus, making it a warm accessible place for parents and whānau.

“I’m very much a people person, and having more chance to engage with whānau is incredibly important to me,” Justine says. “I noticed I was mostly only seeing parents at pick-up and drop-off, as well as sporting and other events. Being a boarding school for most of our students, I didn’t really have the daily contact with parents that you get at a regular intermediate school. So right from the start of Term One, I was out there introducing myself, starting to build relationships.”

Justine says she’s been hugely impressed with the quality of teachers and the resources available at Dilworth. “Class sizes are small so we can really engage with the students in their learning. We also have specialist staff, like our own dedicated Learning Support Teacher which is incredibly rare, as well as specialist mathematics extension support from senior campus staff.”

One of the changes Justine has overseen is the move to include a day school option at Dilworth’s junior campus for both Year Seven and Year Eight students. She says this met a gap for parents in the area looking for an intermediate school and has been successful as some parents and students prefer not to board while others prefer to delay their boarding experience until Year Nine.

Justine says Dilworth students are “all good young men. They’re just lovely students and the cultural feel of the place is unique. We have a wide range of students from different backgrounds.”

 

The People Changing Dilworth - Asha Tupou Vea, Special Projects Lead

“Being able to witness the growth and development of our students, and seeing the impact on them and their families, is completely intertwined with my purpose - in my career as an educator, as a woman, and as a mother.” 

Project Reset is a fundamental redesign of Dilworth in the wake of historical abuse. The most significant programme of change in Dilworth’s lifetime, it is acknowledged as being a critical piece of work that has transformed the school, placed learners at the centre of decision making and has contributed to the safest possible environment for students today.

Asha Tupou Vea is the Special Projects Lead, with Project Reset as a core part of her role. She brings an extraordinary depth of knowledge in strategic and curriculum design, wide experience of the school, and a proven track record of outstanding commitment to students and their learning and welfare. The remarkable progress and impact achieved over the past four years have shown she was the right choice.

“We had to listen to our community, go right back to our ‘why,’ our core purpose, and completely reset our shared direction and priorities,” Asha says. “The focus that drove us was simple: what would it look like if our students were truly at the centre of the school’s aspirations, decisions, and direction?”

Asha says seeing the growth of the students because of their learning and experiences has changed her, too. “The positive change that happens? It’s real. Being able to witness the growth and development of our students, and seeing the impact on them and their families, is completely intertwined with my purpose - in my career, as an educator, as a woman, and as a mother. All of the parts that make up me are being shaped by the impact that I’m seeing.”