Rock and Water Programme New Zealand

The Rock and Water Programme:

evidence-based, scientifically proven programme (latest research published April 2019, further research (2016-2020) awaiting publication (details below))
used to develop social skills, self-control, self-confidence, emotional awareness, resilience, self-respect and self-realisation for students and adults, using a holistic approach.
Used in at least 30 countries and has been delivered to an estimated 2 million young people.
Physical in nature, the programme uses games and exercises to develop wellbeing through strong physical and emotional awareness (mindfulness and much more!), mental strength (including practical and effective strategies for developing and maintaining positive mental health, reduction of anxiety, resilience) and social competency (communication skills, assertiveness, dealing with bullying/violence, acceptance of others etc).

Rock and Water New Zealand Ltd provide training workshops for educators (teachers, teacher aides, RTLB, Special Education professionals, social workers, police officers, youth workers, counselors etc), specialise in training whole staff and deliver Rock and Water programmes to schools, organisations, individuals and families.

Comprehensive scientific evaluation of the Rock and Water Programme consistently finds that students (aged 7-14)

showed decreases in bullying and being bullied,
increases in self-esteem, self-regulation and social interaction
decreased feelings of depression.
show better development on multiple outcomes in both the interpersonal domain (aggression) and the intrapersonal domain (psychological well-being, sexual autonomy, internalizing behaviour) and on secondary outcome measures (self-control and emotion regulation), compared to the students who did not receive the R&W intervention

Research by Rutgers WPF and the Trimbos Institute (peer reviewed and published in the international Journal of Sexual Aggression, April 2015) has shown that the psychophysical resilience programme Rock and Water helps to boost self-confidence, curb impulsive behaviour and deter sexually transgressive behaviour in boys. The whole article can be found HERE

The Office for the Commissioner in New Zealand has produced a report about bullying and anti-violence programmes in New Zealand. Rock and Water is featured in their publication, School Safety (see page 121 of the report).

Rock and Water New Zealand Ltd is proud to work in conjunction with the international Gadaku Institute. We are the sole providers of training for educators wanting to run Rock and Water Programmes in New Zealand.

LATEST RESEARCH 2021

A four year study of the effects of Rock and Water delivered to students (age 11-13) at pre-vocational colleges in The Netherlands. Students at pre-vocational colleges are considered to have a higher propensity for behavioural, social skill and risk-taking problems. The study, in which 1,299 students participated, took place between 2016 and 2020 and was carried out by the University of Utrecht (in the Netherlands).

Results show that students who have had the R&W intervention show better development on multiple outcomes in both the interpersonal domain (aggression) and the intrapersonal domain (psychological well-being, sexual autonomy, internalizing behaviour) and on secondary outcome measures (self-control and emotion regulation), compared to the students who did not receive the R&W intervention.

The outcomes were strongest when a core team of teachers was involved in the implementation of the intervention. The dissertation can be found here.

Primary School research 2019:

A comparison study focusing on children aged 7-14 and carried out by the University of Utrecht (published April 2019) can be found here.

A happy girl sitting on top of a bridge made of three other girls - strength and willpower needed

Students and teachers playing a Rock and Water game

Girls learning to trust others by following the leader with their eyes closed

Happy trainees with their Rock and water Accreditation certificates

Adults learning to balance together by holding wrists and leaning away from their partner

Boys showing self-control by calmly controlling their partner

Social Safety Development

Self-Confidence • Self-Awareness • Self-Realisation

Rock and Water develops empowerment for the participants; connects them to their own strength and feelings, beliefs and values. Participants develop self-confidence and understand they always have a choice in any situation – a Rock action or a Water action – and that the outcome will be influenced by their choice. The programme develops respect (manaakitanga), caring (whanaungatanga) and solidarity (kotahitanga), using exciting games and exercises to engage, enlighten and empower. Rock and Water is an incredibly flexible programme and is used in a multitude of ways to meet the specific needs of whole schools and organisations, classes, small groups or individuals:

a powerful social skills/relationship/resiliency development programme
focus on emotional awareness and mental health
to develop a very effective anti-violence / anti-bullying toolkit
can help all students (including those with ASD, special needs etc) to reduce anxiety
to develop positive, healthy education and work environments
to further enhance the progress made with programmes such as PB4L in schools (bring your values and expectations alive for your students)
it creates a real awareness for educators about how they interact and communicate with our young people.