In 2016, the POET Head Start Scholarships were introduced, to support students attending schools in which the Perry Outdoor Education programme is run.
The POET Head Start Scholarships were first launched in 2016 to give a hand up to students as they move into tertiary study; since then 42 students from schools across the Waikato in which POET operates have been awarded scholarships to study subjects ranging from nursing to civil engineering.
In 2021, 7 students from POET schools were awarded POET Head Start Scholarships:
Caitlin Ward – Morrinsville College
Mollie Allison – Matamata College
Thomas Robinson – Raglan Area
Andrea Philip – Melville High
Ari’i James Kawamura – Melville High
Emma Irwin – Fairfield College
Faith Healey – Forest View High