Every Child Deserves Empowerment Before Assessment.
Too often, tamariki are labelled before they’re truly seen.
By the time a child is described as “at risk” or “falling behind,” they’ve often already internalised a damaging message: I am not enough. These are not just labels — they are heavy cloaks that children begin to wear, long before they understand their own strengths, potential, or whakapapa.
We must ask ourselves: what would change if we chose to empower first, and assess second?
At 4E’s Consulting, we believe that empowerment isn’t a luxury reserved for children who are already excelling. It’s a right. He tāonga te tamaiti — every child is a treasure. And every child deserves to be nurtured in ways that affirm their identity, build their confidence, and uplift their mana.
The evidence supports what many whānau and kaiako already know in their bones: emotional support and identity-building in the early years are powerful predictors of long-term wellbeing.
The Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study (2021) found that tamariki who receive strong emotional reinforcement and early affirmation demonstrate:
- Higher cognitive flexibility
- Greater resilience
- Stronger academic performance
- Better mental health outcomes
Similarly, the AEDC (2022) found that a child’s emotional development and sense of confidence are better predictors of school success than early academic test scores. In other words — how a child feels about themselves often matters more than what they know on paper.
At 4E’s, one of our guiding values is Empower. This means:
- Seeing the spark in a child before we search for deficits
- Creating environments that uplift potential before measuring performance
- Partnering with whānau and communities to recognise strengths, not just struggles
It’s not that assessments don’t have value — they do. But when assessments come before empowerment, they can entrench inequity. When empowerment comes first, assessments become tools for support, not stamps of failure.
Victoria University of Wellington’s Early Learning Research Programme reminds us that early positive reinforcement leads to greater academic persistence and lower dropout rates in later years. That’s not just educational success — that’s intergenerational impact.
Before we diagnose, we must believe.
Before we assess, we must empower.
Before we label, we must uplift.
Let’s ensure every tamaiti is given the chance to stand strong in who they are — before the system tries to define who they’re not.