Who is Travellers for?

Travellers is primarily designed for Year 9 students — their first year of secondary school — though some schools also run it with Year 8 and Year 10. It's most useful for students experiencing change, loss, or transition events, or who are in the early stages of emotional distress.

How are students selected?

Students are invited into groups based on the results of the Student Wellbeing Survey, in combination with information your pastoral team already holds. The survey screens for distress across multiple indicators and helps surface students who might otherwise go under the radar.

Who delivers Travellers in our school?

Two trained members of your own staff. Most often these are guidance counsellors, but school health nurses and youth workers are also a great fit.

How much time does it take from staff?

Two facilitators co-deliver each group. Plan for around 60–90 minutes per session over 10 weeks, plus prep time. Most schools run multiple groups across the year.

Can we run Travellers with year groups other than Year 9?

Travellers is designed for Year 9 but is being run successfully with Year 8 and Year 10 students in some schools. We're happy to talk through what would work for your context.

What happens if a student discloses something serious during the programme?

Facilitator training covers safe, ethical delivery and how to respond to disclosures. We provide clear guidelines for disclosure policies as part of onboarding, and ongoing advice is always available.

Is the Travellers wellbeing survey safe to run with students?

The survey is confidential and student safety is central to its design. Questions are carefully developed, facilitators are trained to respond appropriately, and clear guidance supports safe delivery. All data is stored securely on New Zealand servers.

Bring Travellers to your school

A wellbeing programme that helps you understand what your Year 9 students are experiencing and equips them with the skills to navigate life.

Register your interest

developed in Aotearoa for our young people

Starting secondary school is a turning point. New environment, new pressures, and for many young people, life events that no one outside their close circle knows about.

Travellers is a school-based wellbeing programme that helps you identify Year 9 students who would benefit from extra support, and gives them practical skills to make sense of what they're feeling, build resilience, and connect with the people who can help.

It's been running in schools across Aotearoa since 2001, is funded by Health New Zealand, and has been refreshed for 2026 in partnership with Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington.

Created in partnership with...

25 years

Proven in schools for over 25 years

1K+

School staff trained to deliver Travellers

250+

Schools across Aotearoa

$3.30 ROI

For every $1 invested (ImpactLab, 2024)

Why schools choose Travellers

Travellers gives wellbeing and pastoral teams something most schools don't have: an early, accurate picture of who needs support — and a clear way to provide it.

Understand what your students need

A short, confidential online wellbeing survey gives you a real-time picture of your Year 9 cohort within the first few weeks of the school year. Mental health, emotional wellbeing, resilience, self-regulation, life events — all in one place. Schools tell us this is the single most useful piece of information they get all year.

Identify students who would otherwise go under the radar

The survey screens for distress across multiple wellbeing indicators and groups students into low, medium, and high support categories. It surfaces the quiet ones who might never put their hand up — but who could really use the offer.

Build skills that last beyond Year 9

Travellers teaches practical life skills drawn from ACT, CBT, and nervous system informed practice. Students learn to notice and name emotions, challenge unhelpful thinking, develop coping strategies, and build self-compassion. These are tools they carry through school and well beyond.

Create early connections that last

Students form trusting relationships with facilitators and peers in a safe small-group setting. They learn who to go to when something happens — and they bring their friends in too. For many schools, Travellers becomes a gateway into stronger pastoral relationships across the whole of secondary school.

How Travellers works

The Student Wellbeing Survey

A short, confidential online questionnaire that gives schools a clear picture of how their Year 9 cohort is really doing.

It explores students' experiences of change, stress, and everyday challenges, alongside their sense of wellbeing, belonging, and connection. Schools receive accessible, school-level reporting through a secure digital platform — with clear visibility of common stressors, patterns, and the students who may benefit from extra support.

The survey informs invitations into Travellers groups, supports pastoral conversations, and over time helps schools build a long-term wellbeing strategy. All survey data is stored securely on New Zealand servers.

Quick facts

Confidential and online
Takes students around 20 minutes to complete
Designed in partnership with Victoria University of Wellington
Aotearoa-informed measures with benchmarking
Data hosted on NZ servers

The 10-week group programme

Selected students are invited into small groups of 8–10 to work through ten weekly sessions, co-facilitated by two trained school staff (typically counsellors).

Sessions are practical, interactive, and built around the metaphor Life is a Journey. Students explore where they've been, what they're carrying, and how to navigate what's next.

Quick facts

10 sessions per group
60–90 minutes per session
Small groups of 8–10 students
Co-facilitated by two trained staff
Run during school hours

Whakataukī

Grounded in Aotearoa, woven with Te Ao Māori

Travellers is built on Te Whare Tapa Whā — recognising the interconnected physical, mental and emotional, relational, and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing. Whakataukī sit at the heart of every session, creating space for young people to reflect on who they are, where they come from, what matters to them, and the people and places that support them.

The programme is culturally responsive for Māori and diverse students, and the content is accessible for neurodiverse learners. Activities are creative, embodied, and interactive — not worksheet-heavy — and reflect the real issues students are navigating today: social media, screen use, identity, body image, relationships, and pressure.

What students take away

Travellers teaches skills students use both to reflect on what they've already been through and to prepare for what's next.

Make meaning of their experiences — Use life maps and reflection to explore personal journeys and build a sense of agency.

Understand their feelings — Notice, name, and understand emotions, and recognise how feelings show up in the body.

Express emotions safely — Practise healthy expression through talking, movement, creativity, and reflection.

Notice and challenge unhelpful thinking — Understand the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and rethink unhelpful patterns.

Develop coping strategies — Learn grounding, self-soothing, problem-solving, and help-seeking skills.

Build self-compassion — Identify strengths and values, and practise supportive self-talk.

Strengthen relationships and help-seeking — Build communication skills, learn about boundaries, and identify trusted support people.

Help me support my child

Developed by Skylight Trust

Skylight Trust is a national not-for-profit that specialises in helping tamariki, rangatahi, and whānau navigate tough times.

We provide counselling (in person and online), group programmes, resources, and training for professionals. We believe no one should face grief, loss, or change alone. This guide is just one way we share that support.

24k+

Hours of therapy each year

400+

Families supported per month

130+

Schools running our programmes

Facilitator training

Schools select a minimum of two staff to attend Travellers facilitator training — usually guidance counsellors and youth workers.

Training that builds confidence and capability

Training is a two-day in-person workshop led by experienced Skylight trainers. It's highly experiential: facilitators experience the programme as a participant first, then learn to lead the group activities themselves.

By the end, they're familiar with the full set of programme resources, the online wellbeing survey, and the practical mechanics of running a group well.

What the training covers

The theoretical framework and key themes of Travellers
Group facilitation skills for small-group wellbeing work
Walk-through of every session, including activities and resources
The Student Wellbeing Survey and how to interpret results
Safe, ethical delivery — including how to respond to disclosures

Where training happens

Training is delivered nation-wide and we can come to your region. Click here to see upcoming trainings.

What schools receive

For a small participation fee, your school is set up with the resources, training, and ongoing support to deliver Travellers with confidence — year after year.

Facilitator training

Two-day in-person training for two staff members
Led by experienced Skylight trainers
Practical, experiential, and supportive

Travellers kit

Two facilitator manuals with full session plans
Student travel diaries and activity resources
Tools, games, slogans, and creative materials

Digital tools

Access to the Student Wellbeing Survey
Secure digital reporting platform for school-level data
All data hosted on New Zealand servers

Ongoing support

Monthly webinars with other schools
Programme materials (student diaries, sticker sets, pamphlets) re-stocked
On-going advice and support — we're a phone call or email away

Learn how Travellers is delivered

Proven, trusted, and grounded in Aotearoa

Proven over time Supporting young people across Aotearoa since 2001

Research-informed: Developed with Victoria University of Wellington

Early intervention focus Identifies need early and prevents escalation

Builds school capability Staff are trained to deliver sustainably

Culturally grounded Incorporates Te Ao Māori and Te Whare Tapa Whā

Jacob

School Counsellor

"We have 500 students in our Year 9 intake, and we get an enormous amount of valuable information — particularly on the high-risk group — within three weeks of starting school. The programme teaches valuable life skills that students apply both backwards, to what's happened in their lives so far, and forwards. They build a relationship with the facilitators, so they know where to come when something happens. They bring friends. They tell me about people in trouble. For me, the programme is an investment that pays a dividend for five years and sometimes longer."

Glenda

Facilitator

"We see Travellers as a very valuable addition to the work that we do, and early identification is really valuable. It allows counsellors to engage with young people in a more positive way to begin with — and then if they need to unpack some of their concerns, they've already got the relationships."

Noel

Student

"It has helped me approach situations differently. When my friend was talking to me about friendship problems, I was able to think back to our spiral thinking lesson and help her then. Travellers has also been a safe space to share and relieve some of the week's stress — by laughing and spending time with people I don't usually spend time with."

Getting started with Travellers

Getting started with Travellers is simple and fully supported. Schools are guided step by step, from first enquiry through to delivery.

Register interest

Get in touch to talk through your school’s context, needs, and timing.

Book facilitator training

Identify at least two staff members to attend the two‑day Travellers facilitator training and receive your kit.

Run the Student Wellbeing Survey

Gain a clear picture of your Year 9 cohort’s wellbeing to inform group invitations and planning.

Deliver the programme

Run small‑group Travellers sessions during the school day with ongoing support.

Frequently asked questions

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