Our Student & Whānau Support Worker

Jesse O’Brien aka ‘Mr Jesse’ is Hamilton West School’s Student & Whānau Support Worker.This role is unique to Hamilton West School and was set-up by the board back in 2013 with a vision to better support our students and their whānau.

One of the keys to the role of ‘Mr Jesse’ is the flexibility to meet student and whānau where, how and as needed. Support for a new entrant that is missing their parent/caregiver is quite different to a year 8 student in the last weeks of their 8 year journey at Hamilton West.

From tying shoelaces to offering wellbeing strategies, from casual chats in the school yard to deeper conversations in the office. If Mr Jesse can’t offer the support that is needed he can help connect to those that can.

Mindfulness has become a vital part of the wellbeing approach at Hamilton West School and Mr Jesse runs the 8-week ‘Pause, Breathe, Smile’ mindfulness programme which is the first evidence-based, Aotearoa developed programme. He runs this in classes from Year 3 onward and was one of the earliest trained facilitators in the country. You can find more about this mind health programme here: https://pausebreathesmile.nz/    

Mr Jesse has worked in education for over 15 years and with young people for nearly 30 years. Over those years he has worked extensively engaging with NZ Police and Oranga Tamariki as an advocate for tamariki. He is trained in Child Protection including policy development and review.

You can contact Mr Jesse below via email at or by phoning the school office.