Life Education Trust
Life Education Trust is a New Zealand charitable trust delivering health, wellbeing, financial literacy, and substance-awareness education to children through 32 regional community trusts and 44 mobile classrooms, reaching 86% of NZ schools with the Healthy Harold programme and related offerings.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1988
- HeadquartersWellington, New Zealand
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Life Education Trust does
Life Education Trust is a New Zealand-registered charitable trust (CC10320) founded in 1988 in Christchurch and headquartered in Wellington, operating as the country's largest dedicated health and wellbeing education provider for children and young people. The trust delivers curriculum-aligned programmes primarily through a fleet of 44 mobile classrooms staffed by specialist registered teachers, organised across 32 regional community trusts that maintain local governance and fundraising. Its core product, the Healthy Harold programme, covers five strands — food and nutrition, human biology, relationships and communities, identity and resilience, and substances — and is used by 86% of New Zealand schools. Supplementary programmes include SMASHED (alcohol awareness theatre-in-education for Year 9-10), SMART$ (financial literacy theatre-in-education for Year 9-11), Behind the Scenes (vaping and social media), Two Raw Sisters and a Giraffe (nutrition), and Teacher Professional Development workshops.
Underlying delivery infrastructure comprises mobile classroom units equipped with sight and sound equipment and digital interactive tools, supplemented by online learning modules hosted on the Stacks financial literacy platform and dedicated websites (healthyharold.org.nz, workshops.lifeeducation.org.nz). Programmes are evaluated by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) and are built around the Harold the Giraffe mascot, a registered trade mark recognised nationally across multiple generations.
The business model is donation- and grant-funded rather than transactional: schools are charged only a small portion of programme cost (or receive programmes at no charge, as with SMASHED and SMART$), and the trust receives no government funding. Revenue is assembled from individual donations (including Givealittle and workplace giving), corporate sponsorships (Mainfreight since 2007, Baker Tilly Staples Rodway, Apparelmaster), programme-underwriting charitable trusts (The Tomorrow Project for SMASHED, PMG Charitable Trust for SMART$, Herbalife Nutrition Foundation), and grant funders (Lottery Grants Board, The Lion Foundation, Pub Charity, Four Winds Foundation, Woolf Fisher Trust). Operational scale is supported by 300+ volunteer trustees and a staff headcount of 101-250. Jo Malcolm-Black was appointed CEO in May 2025, succeeding Mark Weatherall.
Life Education Trust firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Life Education Trust
- Legal name
- Life Education Trust
- Website
- https://lifeeducation.org.nz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1988
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Life Education Trust is a New Zealand charitable trust delivering health, wellbeing, financial literacy, and substance-awareness education to children through 32 regional community trusts and 44 mobile classrooms, reaching 86% of NZ schools with the Healthy Harold programme and related offerings.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Life Education Trust industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Health Education Services
- NAICS
- Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Health Services (8000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Physical Education & Health Instruction (EDAJAFAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Student Wellness & Prevention Programs (Substance Use, Sexual Health, Bullying) (EDAJAIAG), Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), Health & Wellbeing Curriculum (EDAGAAAF)
Keywords
Where Life Education Trust is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wellington
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Life Education Trust business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Donations and Fundraising: Life Education relies heavily on donations from individuals, community organisations, and businesses. Fundraising activities include annual Wear Yellow for Harold campaigns, charity events, and direct donations via Givealittle platform and bank transfers.
- Corporate Sponsorship: Support from businesses including Mainfreight, Apparelmaster, Baker Tilly Staples Rodway, PMG Charitable Trust, and others. Sponsors provide funding, in-kind services (transportation of mobile classrooms), and venue support.
- Grants: Funding from charitable trusts including Lottery Grants Board, Pub Charity, The Lion Foundation, Four Winds Foundation, and regional community trusts. Additional support from government community grants schemes.
- Minimal School Contributions: Schools are charged only a small portion of the cost to run programmes, ensuring accessibility. The difference is met by trustees' successful grant applications, fundraising and donations. Many programmes are provided at no charge to schools.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | SMASHED programme - provided at no charge to schools |
| Other | Multi-year contract | SMART$ programme - provided at no charge to schools |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Healthy Harold programme - highly subsidised |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Life Education Trust product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Life Education Trust delivers health, wellbeing, and life-skills education programmes to schools across New Zealand via a fleet of mobile classrooms and in-school theatre-in-education performances. Its core offerings include the Healthy Harold health curriculum for primary students, SMASHED alcohol-awareness theatre for secondary students, SMART$ financial literacy theatre and online modules, and Behind the Scenes on vaping and social media. Specialist registered teachers deliver programmes directly to schools, supported by take-home resources, online learning platforms, and teacher professional development workshops.
Product overview
Life Education Trust offers a portfolio of theatre-in-education and digital learning programmes delivered primarily through mobile classrooms that visit schools nationwide. The core product is the Healthy Harold Programme, a comprehensive health education offering covering five subject strands. Secondary programmes include SMASHED (alcohol awareness for secondary schools), SMART$ (financial literacy for Year 9-11 students), and Behind the Scenes (vaping and social media). Supporting digital products include SMART$ Online learning modules on the Stacks platform, the Healthy Harold kids website, and Teacher Professional Development workshops. The organisation operates as a network of 32+ community trusts across New Zealand.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Healthy Harold: The main health education programme featuring the organization's giraffe mascot, covering food and nutrition, human biology, relationships and communities, identity and resilience, and substances.
- SMART$
- SMASHED
- Behind the Scenes
Products and services
- Healthy Harold Programme A comprehensive health education programme delivered via mobile classrooms by specialist registered teachers, covering five strands: food and nutrition, human biology, relationships and communities, identity and resilience, and substances. Designed for primary and intermediate school students (Year 1-8).
- SMASHED A live theatre-in-education programme for Year 9-10 secondary school students that combines a 30-minute performance with a 30-minute interactive workshop to address underage drinking, peer pressure resistance, and informed decision-making. Provided at no charge to schools.
- SMART$ A Theatre-in-Education programme for Year 9-11 students exploring everyday financial decisions including budgeting, banking, savings, debt, insurance, KiwiSaver, and deferred payment schemes. Provided free to schools.
- SMART$ Online Free online learning modules with seven topics (Budgeting, Banking, Deferred Payment Schemes, Savings, Debt, Insurance, KiwiSaver), each featuring a 2.5-minute video followed by quiz questions. Available on the Stacks financial literacy platform and usable standalone or alongside the SMART$ theatre programme.
- Behind the Scenes A theatre-in-education programme addressing vaping and social media influences on young people.
- Teacher Professional Development (Nurturing Healthy Minds) Online 90-minute interactive professional development workshops for teachers and learning support staff covering topics such as Anxiety, Neurodiversity, and Self-care for Educators (Nurturing Healthy Minds series).
- Two Raw Sisters and a Giraffe A nutrition education programme that inspires tamariki to create healthy and delicious meals.
Quantifiable outcome
- 86% of New Zealand schools use the Healthy Harold programme (Ministry of Education research)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Life Education Trust
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Life Education Trust technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Life Education Trust partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.
- Save the Children New ZealandsupportingAspects of Save the Children New Zealand's child rights education programme have been integrated into Life Education Trust resources. The organisation also provides financial support for Life Education's Far North Trust.
- Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZsupportingJoined forces with Life Education Trust to tackle youth vaping. New initiatives to educate students, teachers and whānau about the risks of vaping will be reviewed by the Foundation's respiratory health team. Don't Get Sucked In vaping education website is referenced as a resource for schools.
- Anxiety New ZealandsupportingNon-profit providing transformative support to tamariki, rangatahi, pakeke and whānau experiencing mental health challenges. Life Education works with Anxiety NZ to ensure programmes follow best practice and offer greater support to children and teachers.
- Sexual Wellbeing AotearoasupportingNew Zealand's largest provider of sexual and reproductive health services. Life Education works with Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa to support schools to educate rangatahi about sexuality and relationships.
- NetsafesupportingNew Zealand's independent, non-profit online safety charity. Works with Life Education to provide practical tools, support and advice for managing online challenges as part of digital citizenship and wellbeing education.
- Barnardos New ZealandsupportingChildren's charity working across social services, early learning services and advocacy for children's rights. Partnership focuses on supporting mental wellbeing of tamariki, including raising awareness of 0800 WhatsUp free counselling helpline through school programmes.
- Idea ServicessupportingSupports people with intellectual disabilities to enjoy great lives as part of communities. Together with Life Education developed My Best Life programme to empower adults with intellectual disabilities with knowledge and skills for wellbeing.
- Feel BravesupportingPartnership brings Feel Brave books, strategies and resources into Life Education's mobile classrooms. Features award-winning UK-based NZ author Avril McDonald's expertise in delivering self-regulation strategies and emotional intelligence through characters and stories.
- Stacks Financial Literacy PlatformcorePlatform hosting SMART$ Online learning modules. Life Education's free online financial literacy resources for rangatahi are available through Stacks, which can be used stand-alone or alongside Life Education's theatre programmes.
- Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement CommissionsupportingDeveloped Financial Education Implementation Guides for schools in collaboration with Ministry of Education and financial education providers. Life Education Trust Chief Executive was part of the review committee. Guides help align programmes to new curriculum.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Life Education Trust competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Life Education Australia: Australian sister organisation operating the same mobile-classroom health education model featuring Harold the Giraffe. Closest functional peer, sharing programme DNA, mascot, and delivery approach but operating across Australia rather than New Zealand.
- Coram Life Education: UK-based charity operating the Life Education mobile classroom model for children's health and wellbeing education. Closest international peer by model and method, although now under the Coram children's charity umbrella.
Regional players
- NZ Drug Foundation: New Zealand organisation focused on drug and alcohol harm reduction, including school-based education. Comparable in addressing youth substance-use education via curriculum-aligned programmes and as a potential content partner or competitor to SMASHED.
- Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand: NZ charity delivering mental health promotion, resources, and school-based wellbeing programmes. Overlapping remit with LET's Teacher PD workshops and identity/resilience curriculum strands.
- Graeme Dingle Foundation: New Zealand youth development charity running school-based programmes on resilience, life skills, and mentoring. Comparable as a NZ charity delivering in-school youth programmes with regional partner networks and similar funding model.
- Plunket Society: New Zealand's largest provider of child health and wellbeing services for under-5s and their whānau. Comparable as a nationally federated NZ charity addressing children's wellbeing with regional trust-style structure.
- Youthtown: New Zealand charity providing youth development programmes in schools and communities. Comparable as a NZ-based, school-delivered youth programme operator relying on community trust and fundraising structures.
Others
- Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand: Government health agency providing public health education, including school-based programmes. Comparable as a large-scale provider of health education in NZ, but as a government entity rather than a charity peer.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Life Education Trust social profiles
Digital presenceLife Education Trust financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Life Education Trust leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Life Education Trust funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Life Education Trust M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Life Education Trust
What does Life Education Trust do?
Life Education Trust delivers health, wellbeing, and life-skills education programmes to schools across New Zealand via a fleet of mobile classrooms and in-school theatre-in-education performances. Its core offerings include the Healthy Harold health curriculum for primary students, SMASHED alcohol-awareness theatre for secondary students, SMART$ financial literacy theatre and online modules, and Behind the Scenes on vaping and social media. Specialist registered teachers deliver programmes directly to schools, supported by take-home resources, online learning platforms, and teacher professional development workshops.
Is Life Education Trust a public or private company?
Life Education Trust is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Life Education Trust founded?
Life Education Trust was founded in 1988. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Life Education Trust based?
Life Education Trust is headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Life Education Trust make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Donations and Fundraising is the primary driver. The others are corporate Sponsorship, grants and minimal School Contributions.
Who are Life Education Trust's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Life Education Australia and Coram Life Education. Regional players are NZ Drug Foundation, Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, Graeme Dingle Foundation, Plunket Society and Youthtown. Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand is listed as an others.
Does Life Education Trust have an API?
No public API is recorded for Life Education Trust.
What industry is Life Education Trust in?
Life Education Trust's product category is Health Education Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJAFAL, Physical Education & Health Instruction, with a secondary code of EDAJAIAG, Student Wellness & Prevention Programs (Substance Use, Sexual Health, Bullying). Its NAICS code is 6111 and its SIC code is 8200.