Nau te rourou, naku te rourou, ka ora te manuhiri.
With your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive.
Module Objectives:
- Understand the importance of strong stakeholder relationships in school improvement.
- Identify your key bicultural stakeholders in the community.
- Develop and implement strategies for effective communication and engagement with stakeholders.
- Build trust and foster collaborative partnerships with parents and whānau.
- Utilise community resources to enhance student learning and well-being.
- Develop and implement a stakeholder engagement plan for the school.
The NZ Education Code of Practice 2021 describes stakeholders as “learners, staff, whānau, local communities, employers, iwi, and others who share a meaningful interest in the wellbeing and safety of learners enrolled with the provider.”(p.10) A key principle for forming stake-holder relationships is mahi tahi and kotahitanga: collective benefits and shared aspirations. This module dives into developing culturally responsive practices and engaging with whanau, hapu and iwi. However, the principles explored can be applied to many stakeholder groups.
We are aware that there is a continuum of experiences and expertise among our delegates so please explore the area(s) most relevant to you below.
Defining Culturally Responsive Leadership
Culturally responsive leadership refers to a leadership approach that recognises, respects, and integrates the diverse cultural backgrounds and identities of students, staff, and the community within the educational environment. This approach prioritises inclusivity, equity, and culturally sensitive practices.
Key Components of Culturally Responsive Leadership:
- Cultural Competence: Culturally responsive leaders demonstrate cultural competence by developing a deep understanding of their own cultural biases and beliefs. They actively seek to learn about the cultures represented in their school community.
- Inclusive Leadership: Inclusive leaders foster an environment where all students and staff feel valued and included, regardless of their cultural background. They promote an atmosphere of respect and acceptance.
- Cultural Awareness: Culturally responsive leaders are attuned to the cultural needs and preferences of their students and staff. They adapt their leadership style to accommodate these differences, making the educational experience more relevant and engaging.
Culture Matters!
Culture significantly shapes our thinking, perception, actions, and communication. Learning is intricately linked to culture, meaning that even when the classroom’s teaching methods, resources, curriculum, and relationships remain the same, students’ experiences may differ due to their cultural perspectives and prior knowledge. Problems arise when educators are unaware of the diverse knowledge and experiences diverse students bring to learning. Even if a teacher shares the same culture as their students, understanding their backgrounds isn’t guaranteed as cultural understandings and behaviours vary within cultural groups, and teachers may miss cultural cues. It’s vital not to ignore these differences or treat all students uniformly, but instead, move from cultural blindness to cultural responsiveness.
Bias, Unconscious Bias and Racism:
Biases in educational leadership can manifest in various ways, often stemming from deep-seated societal prejudices. These biases may result in unequal opportunities, resource allocation, and disciplinary practices for students of different backgrounds. Educational leaders, whether consciously or unconsciously, may favour certain groups while unintentionally disadvantaging others. These biases can hinder the creation of inclusive, equitable learning environments, perpetuating disparities in academic achievement and student well-being. Addressing biases in educational leadership is crucial for fostering fairness and ensuring that every student has an equal opportunity to succeed academically and personally. It requires self-awareness, ongoing education, and a commitment to dismantling discriminatory practices to create a more just and equitable educational system.
In leadership and teaching positions we need to be aware of unconscious biases and how these might affect the way in which we operate in a school setting; towards children, colleagues and whanaū. An unconscious bias is more difficult to overcome and can be defined as such:
“Refers to a bias that we are unaware of and which happens outside of our control. It is a bias that happens automatically and is triggered by our brain making quick judgements and assessments of people and situations, influenced by our background, cultural environment and personal experiences.” – Equality Challenge Unit UK: Unconscious Bias in Higher Education Review 2013.
In New Zealand schools students can also experience outright racism, as explored in this article on Mana College – https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/racism-in-schools-calls-for-cultural-competency-in-the-classroom/JNSGWAYUUQI5RH65F3535A7YII/
Our Responsibility as School Leaders in Aotearoa:
School leaders clearly have a responsibility to ensure schools are safe and equitable places for learners and their whanau. We know that culturally responsive pedagogies have the potential to narrow the disparities in our school communities, concurrently elevating the overall levels of achievement. Extensive research indicates that these culturally responsive pedagogical approaches boost student performance across diverse cultural groups, ensuring every student is motivated and has the assistance required to unlock their educational potential, irrespective of their social, economic, cultural background, or individual requirements.
In this video, Professor Mere Berryman explains the need and the opportunity to use evidence to make a difference in education in Aotearoa, and why a Tiriti o Waitangi partnership approach – Mana Ōrite – is foundational to success for diverse Māori learners and for all learners in English-medium education.
Task:
Research tells us that there are some key aspects of culturally responsive pedagogy:
- Reflect on your cultural knowledge and teaching assumptions related to culture
- Learn about your students
- Use students’ cultural knowledge, perspectives and skills as a resource for teaching
- Create a safe and supportive environment and build strong relationships
- Encourage a discursive curriculum and enable student self-determination
- Connect with families
- Connect with communities
Select one or two aspects from the list above and reflect on what your school does well in this regard and what next steps you would take to further develop your school’s cultural responsiveness.
Comment on a fellow delegate’s response, remembering that every school is at a different place in this journey. You might offer support if there is a next step you can help with, reassurance if you have been on a similar journey, help with a resource you have found useful etc.
Optional Resources:
Explore the resources most relevant to you.
Working effectively with iwi and hapū, Melanie Taite-Pitama: https://vimeo.com/242861287
Puketeraki Kāhui Ako: Culturally responsive practice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQusPg98GcQ
A website with many useful resources and links: https://elearning.tki.org.nz/Leadership/Culturally-responsive-leadership#js-tabcontainer-1-tab-5
Quality Teaching for Diverse Students in Schooling: Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration (BES): https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/series/2515/5959
“The real conspiracy is that education is for the rich” L. O’Connell Rapira – https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/24-08-2020/the-real-conspiracy-is-that-education-is-for-the-rich
“They didn’t care about normal kids like me”: Restructuring a school to fit the kids” A. Milne – https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/6234
“Colouring in the White Spaces: Reclaiming Cultural Identity in Whitestream Schools” A. Milne – https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/7868
Assessment:
- Completion of all relevant readings.
- Participation in the online forum discussion.
- Submission of reflection on forum.
66 Responses
For me, cultural responsiveness is closely connected to how well we know our students and how effectively we build relationships with their families and whānau.
One thing I think our school does well is putting relationships at the centre of how we work with students. As a Pasifika school, many of our students come from different countries, cultures and language backgrounds, so being culturally responsive is especially important. Even within the Pasifika community, students and families are not all the same. They may have different values, experiences, expectations and ways of communicating. This means we cannot assume that one approach will work for everyone.
A lot of time is spent getting to know students beyond their academic results and understanding what may be happening for them outside the classroom. Restorative conversations are also an important part of our approach. When there has been a behaviour issue, the focus is not only on the consequence but also on repairing relationships, understanding what has happened and helping the student move forward.
We also make an effort to involve whānau, particularly when there are concerns around attendance, behaviour or learning. In my own role, I have found that conversations with whānau can completely change my understanding of a situation. They often provide background, cultural knowledge and family context that we may not have if decisions are made only from what we see at school. I think this reflects the idea of *mahi tahi* — working together rather than seeing the school as having all the answers.
At the same time, I think there is more we can do. Too often, contact with whānau happens when something has gone wrong. A next step for us would be to create more opportunities for positive and informal engagement, so relationships are already established before difficult conversations are needed. I would also like to see students and whānau having a stronger voice in decisions about what makes them feel connected, valued and successful at school.
Another important next step is continuing to build staff understanding of the different cultures represented in our school. Being in a predominantly Pasifika school does not automatically mean we are culturally responsive. We still need to keep learning about our students, avoid making assumptions, and recognise differences within cultural groups. For me, cultural responsiveness is about listening, showing genuine respect, and being prepared to adjust our practice based on what our students, families and communities tell us.
I see this as an ongoing journey rather than something a school can simply say it has achieved. The more we understand the people in our community, the better placed we are to create an environment where students feel that their culture, identity and experiences are genuinely valued.
Hi there, I liked your comment “… being in a predominantly Pasifika school does not automatically mean we are culturally responsive.” We operate in a dynamic environment, with change seeming to be the only constant. As you mentioned, regardless of the school we work in, we need to keep learning about our students, avoid making assumptions, and recognise differences. It is a big task, with 25 individuals in front of you to focus on before broadening the focus to the rest of the school. In my experience, it is well worth the effort.
My role is slightly different to that of a leader directly responsible for developing the school’s cultural relationships. As a timetabler, I am often implementing decisions the school has already made. However, as I execute the will of school leadership, there is still ample opportunity within that implementation to demonstrate culturally responsive leadership.
A good example is when our school introduced Te Ao Māori learning for all Year 9 students. Once the school decided this was something every student should experience, my role was to make it actually work within the timetable. That meant finding space, staffing and time without simply creating problems elsewhere. On paper, it was a challenge to leverage the assets of the school, but I cracked it easily enough, and three years later the programme is still operating in essentially the same way. The real challenge was working with another department, seemingly disconnected from Te Ao Māori, such as Drama or ICT, to give up some of their assets without damaging the relationship or demeaning their mana. Just because they aren’t Māori doesn’t mean they don’t have mana too.
The next challenge on the horizon is Food Technology. The intention is again for every Year 9 student to have access to it, as well as opportunities for senior students. The whakataukī for this module, “Nau te rourou, naku te rourou, ka ora te manuhiri”, feels particularly appropriate. There are only so many rooms, teachers, timetable lines and hours in the school week. Adding something valuable means something else may have to move or change. Again.
In a school that is constantly evolving, we need to be careful that one department’s growth doesn’t damage the mana of another. It is easy for me to favour a larger department and allocate more resources to them if the data suggests that is justified. However, the overall goals of the school and its desire for cultural inclusivity must also be balanced. I have also suggested reallocating a classroom for prayer time, which is particularly important for our Muslim students. Again, just because they aren’t Māori doesn’t mean they don’t have mana too. I’m hoping this becomes a reality in 2027.
For me, this is where cultural responsiveness extends beyond simply providing culturally relevant experiences. It is about recognising that every decision affects someone else, listening to those perspectives, and finding solutions that protect the mana of the people and subjects already within the system while making room for something new. My role may be to implement the school’s decisions, but how I implement them matters. I don’t have to be the person setting the cultural direction to contribute to making that direction work.
I have chosen to reflect on connecting with families and communities and using students’ cultural knowledge, perspectives and skills as a resource for teaching.
One strength at Milford School is the importance we place on building connections with our learners and whānau. Our school community represents many different cultures, languages and family backgrounds. We give opportunities for students to share and celebrate their identities through kapa haka, mihi whakatau, cultural celebrations and classroom learning. As a kapa haka leader, I have seen how these experiences strengthen students’ confidence, identity and sense of belonging. Students are often proud to share their knowledge with others and take on leadership roles. Our recent centenary learning also encouraged students to explore a family taonga and the story connected to it. This invited whānau knowledge into the classroom and showed students that their family histories and experiences are valuable learning resources. It also provided a meaningful way for families to contribute to their child’s learning.
However, cultural responsiveness needs to be embedded in everyday teaching rather than being limited to special events or cultural celebrations. A next step would be to create more regular opportunities for whānau to share their knowledge, aspirations and feedback. This could include gathering whānau voice in different ways, such as informal conversations, translated surveys, small hui and opportunities for families to contribute to classroom learning. It is also important to notice whose voices we hear regularly and whose voices may be missing.
Another next step would be to continue strengthening genuine relationships with mana whenua, iwi and hapū. This would help ensure that our use of local histories, tikanga and te reo Māori is accurate, respectful and connected to our local area. These relationships need to be ongoing and reciprocal rather than only seeking support when the school needs something.
As a leader, I need to keep reflecting on my own assumptions and biases. I also need to listen carefully, respond visibly to what students and whānau tell us, and make sure consultation leads to meaningful action. The whakataukī “Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi” reminds me that culturally responsive practice is based on shared knowledge, collective responsibility and genuine partnership.
I am a big fan of the whakataukī “Nau te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te manuhiri”. In the context of NHS, it exactly reflects our purpose. Our mahi is about bringing together our collective “food baskets” of knowledge, skills, experiences, and support so that our students can thrive despite the challenges of illness. Every student is supported not only by their teacher, but also by their whānau, health professionals and enrolling school -it is through these shared baskets that the best outcomes are achieved.
NHS is well positioned to model culturally responsive practice because of our highly individualised and flexible approach to education. Relationships are at the centre. Becasue we work closely with students, whānau, caregivers, health professionals, and schools, we are able to use their valuable knowledge and perspectives in supporting a transition pathway. We understand that treating every student exactly the same does not necessarily create equity, particularly when learners have different cultural identities, experiences, strengths, and needs. By grounding our practice in whanaungatanga and manaakitanga, we prioritise building trust, connection, and a sense of belonging from the get go.
In a health school setting, many learners arrive having experienced significant challenges and times of vulnerability. This means we need to be aware of any assumptions we may hold about learning, communication, engagement, or success. Culturally responsive practice begins with self-awareness, a willingness to recognise unconscious bias, and a commitment to learning alongside students and their whānau. As Professor Mere Berryman highlights through the concept of Mana Ōrite, Māori knowledge and perspectives must be valued alongside mainstream educational frameworks. This means we need to to listen deeply, reflect honestly, and view education as a partnership where learning is reciprocal vs something simply delivered to students.
Culturally responsive practice is an ongoing commitment to learning, reflection, and partnership. At NHS, we can continue to strengthen this approach by making sure that whānau knowledge and cultural perspectives are valued alongside teacher skill, experience and knowledge. There will always be the need to better include cultural partners more deliberately in the planning, support, and transition of students back into their regular school or further learning pathways. Strengthening our relationships with iwi, marae, community organisations, and health networks can only help create a better support network around our young people which will better allow them to transition back into education.
At Cambridge Middle School, one aspect of culturally responsive practice that I see as a strength is the importance we place on knowing our ākonga and building strong relationships with them, their whānau and our wider community. Our focus on developing a localised conceptual curriculum and strengthening our connections with Te Ao Māori supports us to make learning meaningful and relevant to our students and our local context.
We are continuing to reflect on how we can use our students’ cultural knowledge, perspectives and experiences as a genuine resource for learning. The work of Ann Milne particularly challenged my thinking around whether students truly see themselves and their identities reflected in our schools, rather than simply seeing cultural elements added to an existing curriculum. I think this is an important distinction as we continue to develop our practice at CMS.
A next step for us is to keep strengthening the relationships and communication we have with our local iwi and working alongside them to continue developing our curriculum and school culture. This includes continually reflecting on our practice and considering how we can better incorporate student and whānau voice into everyday learning. For me, culturally responsive practice is not something we can consider “done”. It is an ongoing process of listening, learning, reflecting and improving together, with the shared goal of ensuring our ākonga feel a strong sense of identity, belonging and success at CMS.
The two aspects I have chosen to reflect on are:
Creating a safe and supportive environment and building strong relationships
Connecting with families and communities
At Milford School, we recognise that belonging is foundational to learning. Students are more likely to participate, take risks and experience success when their language, culture, identity and lived experiences are recognised and valued. Our Mana Team, Mātauranga Māori team, restorative practices and IB PYP framework support this by placing relationships, identity and student agency at the centre of learning. However, culturally responsive leadership requires more than celebrating diversity. It asks us to consider whose knowledge is valued, whose stories are told and whose voices have genuine influence over school decisions.
My recent work within the ESOL space, supporting the leadership in this area, has strengthened my understanding of the relationship between language, identity and belonging. Our multilingual learners arrive with significant cultural knowledge, experiences and language resources, even when they are at the Foundation stage of learning English. Part of my contribution has been advocating for these learners to be viewed through a strengths-based rather than a deficit lens. This includes exploring approaches that intentionally build oral language and vocabulary, value home languages, reduce cognitive overload and create emotionally safe opportunities for students to participate. It also involves strengthening communication with families so that we understand each learner more fully and whānau recognise that their language and cultural knowledge are valued within our school.
This connects closely with my Tūrangawaewae leadership work and our strategic goal of sharing the story of Milford School while ensuring that everyone experiences a genuine sense of belonging. Tūrangawaewae is more than knowing the history of a place; it is about understanding the relationships, responsibilities and stories that connect people to that place. This work provides an opportunity to explore the histories of mana whenua and the whenua on which our school stands, while also considering how the stories of our increasingly diverse community contribute to Milford School’s continuing story.
An important next step is to ensure that this story is not constructed by the school and then presented to the community. It needs to be developed through authentic partnership with mana whenua, whānau, students, former students and community members. Our bicultural responsibilities under Te Tiriti o Waitangi must remain foundational, while space is also created for the languages, identities and experiences of our wider cultural communities.
I would like to support the development of a more deliberate stakeholder engagement plan that identifies our key bicultural and multicultural stakeholders, how relationships will be established and sustained, and how their knowledge will influence curriculum and decision-making. This could include whānau hui, culturally appropriate and multilingual communication, opportunities for families to share their aspirations, and regular reflection on whose voices are being heard and whose remain absent. We also need to close the feedback loop by showing stakeholders how their contributions have shaped our actions.
For me, the next stage of culturally responsive leadership is moving from inclusion to genuine partnership. It is not enough for families to feel welcomed into our school; they need to experience that they belong, that their knowledge matters and that they have agency in shaping the learning community. This is where mahi tahi and kotahitanga become visible, not simply through participation, but through shared aspirations, reciprocal relationships and collective responsibility for the success and well-being of every learner.
I believe in our small, area Christian school, we build a strong sense of community and connection with our families.
We have big events where we celebrate our community and culture as a whole school. We have a cultural day, where we celebrate all cultures represented in the school through food, dance, musical items and craft activities. We also have a meet and greet event at the beginning of the year where we invite whanau to come and meet the teachers and share kai, to see the classrooms, school facilities etc. This is especially important for whanau new to the school and area. We have had feedback saying this has helped them to feel welcome, more settled, and a good way to make connections with other families at the school.
There are weekly and daily activities throughout the school where we celebrate our cultures and whanau in the classrooms. For example we pray in our native languages, say hello in their language as part of the roll, have class discussions about our cultures and differences, tamariki share news, and we sing waiata etc.
As a staff, we have also had a focus on clear, frequent communication with whanau in a variety of communication pathways. This is because we want our whanau to feel safe, heard and supported when we are getting to know their whanau, and when they are communicating concerns and information about their tamariki. This takes time and we are wanting to continue to build strong relationships with them as a long term consistent goal.
While cultural responsiveness shapes every aspect of our school, three closely interwoven priorities guide our daily life:
Honouring Diversity & Our Heritage: We are proud to be a smaller area school enriched by a beautiful tapestry of cultures, grounded in our special connection with Tāngata Whenua as our largest cultural group. As a staff and school community, we regularly integrate te reo Māori and tikanga into our assemblies, kapa haka, and Toi. With students and staff from across the world, we cherish this gift of bicultural and global diversity through our shared Biblical lens.
Creating Safe Environments & Building Relationships: Grounded in our Christian Special Character, we create a supportive environment where every student feels they belong. This spirit thrives during our lively Cultural Days—where we share art, food, traditional attire, music, and dance—and through our senior buddy system, where older students care for and encourage younger peers.
Connecting with Families & Communities: Deep, genuine relationships lie at the core of who we are. We regularly bring whānau together through picnics, productions, info evenings, three-way learning conferences, and weekly updates. Our presence extends well beyond the classroom as students serve at local community initiatives like Te Whare Kai and Raumanga Gardens, join council cultural events, compete in regional sports and academic competitions, and participate in local church youth networks.
Looking Ahead
We have recently redesigned our school uniform to incorporate meaningful bicultural design elements. Next, we are introducing student-led murals and reimagining our entrance and shared spaces to ensure our campus is warm, inviting, and reflective of our whānau and community.
I work at a smaller Christian school with a strong sense of community. My school is made up of many different cultures – Cambodian, Fijian, Maori, Chinese, Filipino, South Africans, Zimbabweans, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian, European New Zealanders to name a few. I think this is marvelous and makes it really interesting to teach in. My class is like a melting pot and we regularly chat about the different cultures we are from, the languages we speak and the countries we are were born in.
My school incorporates Te Reo Maori and Chinese lessons throughout the year and we hold a big multicultural day that is celebrated by the whole school. It involves dressing up in clothes from your culture, bringing in traditional kai and watching and listening to traditional dance, musical instruments and song. It is a wonderful day that brings staff, children, parents and the community together as one. We also invite the local pastors of the church to come and enjoy.
Our principal begins each assembly at the beginning of the week with prayer in Te Reo and English. We are a Christian school so we have incorporated Te Reo into our Christian songs. For example, Wairua Tapu which is a beautiful song.
At the beginning of the year our principal invites the families of the school to share in an outside picnic. This is a great event for teachers to connect with families, especially new ones to the school and also for whanau to look through the classrooms and school’s facilities.
A next step – Our school has a brand-new kitchen with great cooking facilities for the children to use. We could have more cultural themed cooking days where food is cooked and taken to classes or sold. This would broaden the taste buds for both teaching staff and the children.
One area of culturally responsive practice that we have been intentionally strengthening is our connection with whānau and our commitment to genuine partnership. Through our work with the He Pikorua Framework, we have reflected on what authentic whānau voice looks like and how we can move beyond consultation towards co-construction.
A significant shift in our unit of NHS has been in our enrolment and transition processes. Rather than focusing solely on gathering information about an ākonga, we now spend more time exploring aspirations, strengths, and what success looks like from both the learner’s and whānau’s perspective. We ask questions about what is important to the whānau, what support they believe will make a difference, and who else may be part of the learner’s support network, including iwi, hapū, church, and community connections. These conversations have provided much richer information and helped establish stronger partnerships from the outset. Feedback from ākonga is that they feel more empowered; they say that when there is so much happening ‘to them’ with their health, it is really valuable to feel that they have a say and what they say is important and valued.
As a staff, we have also developed reflective prompts to support genuine co-construction of goals with ākonga and whānau. Each term, we revisit our practice and consider how authentically we are involving whānau voice in planning and decision-making. This has become increasingly important as we respond to the growing complexity of needs within our ākonga population.
The next step for our school is to ensure these partnerships remain active throughout an ākonga’s journey, rather than being strongest at entry points or review meetings. I would like to see us develop more regular opportunities to revisit aspirations, evaluate progress alongside whānau, and strengthen our connections with wider community partners. This module has reinforced for me that culturally responsive leadership is not about having the answers but about creating genuine partnerships where everyone contributes their knowledge and strengths to support ākonga success.
Tasma, thank you so much for sharing your inspiring approach and responsive practices. Your focus on exploring aspirations, strengths, and success from both the learner’s and whānau’s perspective is deeply moving—it is a beautiful example of authentic care and true partnership in action. Highlighting an ‘active partnership’ with regular check-ins on goals makes complete sense. It brings everyone together, ensuring every stakeholder feels valued and actively involved in driving meaningful, big-picture growth and success.
Heya Tasma, This is so spot on, and it completely mirrors what we’ve been experiencing in our unit as well. Making that shift from just “data gathering” to genuinely sitting down with ākonga and whānau to map out their aspirations has been a total game-changer. Like you mentioned, when a young person is navigating major health challenges, giving them real agency right from enrolment—letting them define what success actually looks like for them—changes the entire dynamic.
We’ve seen the exact same great results on our end. Bringing in those wider connections early on, whether it’s iwi, community networks, or just identifying who their key people are, creates such a stronger safety net. It takes the relationship from a standard intake process to a true partnership.
Thanks for sharing this—it’s awesome to hear how this approach is empowering our learners across different parts of NHS!
I really like the shift from simply gathering information from whānau to genuinely involving them in deciding what success looks like for their ākonga. The point about keeping that partnership active throughout the learner’s journey also stood out to me. It is a good reminder that whānau voice should be ongoing rather than something we seek only at enrolment or when concerns arise.
Being a small, rural and boarding school, one thing our school does well is getting to know our students. The principal has an enrolment interview with every family, and parents are invited to her house at the start of the year to meet the deans and teachers. We have a guidance team who work closely with students and pass on information, especially regarding family concerns. Our staff are also great at building strong relationships with students.
For our boarding students, school is their home. The boarding staff get to know students on a more personal level as they navigate life both in and out of school. Our class sizes are small, which provides opportunities for relationships to develop and for teachers to gain a greater understanding of how individual students learn and what their challenges are.
Māori culture and language are evident daily through principal communication, chapel services and assemblies. Some staff are more confident than others when it comes to speaking te reo Māori in the classroom. One thing we could do better for our Māori learners is to engage with local iwi to ensure we are meeting the needs of their people and community.
We are predominantly New Zealand European, although there are students from a range of ethnic backgrounds, including Māori, African, Cambodian, Australian, Russian, Chinese, South African, Thai, Indian, Samoan and Japanese. While we do celebrate some of these cultures through cultural events and weeks, such as Chinese New Year, this is definitely an area that we could explore further. In particular, we could do more to celebrate different languages and cultures and increase awareness of the diversity within our school community. Linking with A. Milne’s case study at Clover Park Middle School- ‘The key is whanaungatanga – the interdependence of and connectedness to a network that will continue to support them and connect them to their futures. And we want all students to feel empowered, supported and included.
I liked reading your thoughts and could identify a lot with your school especially with the different cultures that attend your school. I liked how you stated that your school could do better at engaging with local iwi to ensure you are meeting the needs of the children that attend your school. I would be interested in looking into this as well for my school.
Two areas of cultural responsiveness that are important in our school are:
1. Using students’ cultural knowledge, perspectives, and skills as a resource for teaching
2. Creating a safe and supportive environment and building strong relationships
Milford School does well in bringing these two areas together through our IB PYP framework. We see our diversity, spanning NZ European, Māori, Pasifika, East Asian, South Asian, and international students, as a real strength. Our Mana Team and Mātauranga Māori team lead the way with inclusive, mana-enhancing practices and restorative approaches, keeping whanaungatanga and manaakitanga at the heart of how we build relationships. Working with Brenda at MAC has been brilliant for pushing our practice forward. In our day to day teaching, we focus on making sure our students’ identities and local histories shape their learning so every child feels safe, valued, and connected.
As a teacher and leader, my next steps are to build on this momentum. First, I want to take our PLD further by weaving local pūrākau, Te Ao Māori, and our students’ varied cultural perspectives right into all our PYP units of inquiry, so it’s fully embedded in everyday learning rather than just one-off events. Second, we are currently working with Melinda Webber to develop a Milford Mana model that raises student identity, cultural pride, and achievement across the school. Alongside this, I want to work more closely with our whānau from key cultural groups, like our Korean, Indian, Pasifika and Māori communities, to co-design learning opportunities with them, whilst our Mana Team keeps strengthening our restorative practices to make sure our environment stays safe and inclusive for everyone.
Well done on having a cohesive plan to further grow cultural responsiveness!
I think, as a school, we do pretty well at building a safe and supportive environment, as well as strong relationships with all of our different families. Being in a rural setting, our school is very much at the heart of our community.
Our principal is amazing at speaking fluent Te Reo and is very aware of the different cultures represented within our school. He really strives to make sure each and every one of these cultures is recognised and celebrated.
We recently celebrated Cultural Week, which was organised by our senior Kairahi group. It was a week full of events that engaged a range of students and celebrated the different cultures within our school. This included activities, a cultural shared lunch, and, to finish the week, a Cultural Evening in the gym. Many of the different ethnic groups within our school put together performances involving dance, music, poetry and sharing of kai. We also hold a similar evening to celebrate Matariki, which has a huge turnout of community members and families.
If you look around our kura, you will find huge murals that were sponsored by the Hurunui District Council. They showcase a range of children, ages and cultures, with the banner stretching across them saying, “We are Amuri.” We also have our class names named after local mountains and rivers, which helps connect our local area and environment to our students.
Our school is made up of approximately 25% Filipino students, largely due to the nature of our rural farming community. Our Filipino families are incredibly supportive of their children’s education and have built strong relationships with the school. Each of the nationalities represented within our school has their own flag displayed in the gym for everyone to see during assemblies and other school events.
We also hold pōwhiri to welcome new students and staff into our school. Each year, we are lucky enough to have Chinese delegates visit our school, and we are hoping to build strong relationships with some of these schools in China.
Each year, we are also fortunate to have two international volunteer students who work within our school. Currently, we have one student from the USA and one from Germany. They often become a very much loved and valued part of our school culture while they are here.
Hi Kristen, The cultural week and celebration sounds like a great way to celebrate your community and a fun way for people to express their own culture. This is a great idea, thanks for sharing.
Hi Kristen, I really like how the mural showcases the tamariki, and how your kura has used the class names to emphasize the connection to the environment they live in. It is such a unique, beautiful and special place! Thank you for sharing.
Two areas of cultural responsiveness that are important in our school are building strong relationships with our students and getting to know them, and connecting with families, whānau and our wider community. Our school has a large Māori community, and most of our students identify as Māori. We also value and celebrate all cultures within our school. Our Student Council has done a great job celebrating different cultures through language weeks and activities. This year they have organised colouring-in competitions and even hosted our first Tongan sports and activities afternoon. These opportunities allow students to share their culture, learn about others and develop a sense of belonging.
Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is another important part of our school. Teachers plan whole-school activities including waiata, pūrākau, Māori games, arts and sharing kai. This means Māori culture is not just talked about but experienced and celebrated. With 20+ years of teaching experience across Kura Kaupapa, bilingual and mainstream settings, I have seen how important relationships are. For me, being culturally responsive is about getting to know our students, understanding their backgrounds and strengths, and making sure they feel valued and respected. A next step for our school is to strengthen our connections with the wider community by building positive and meaningful partnerships. These partnerships can create more opportunities for our students to connect, participate and contribute beyond the classroom. I believe this will help our students develop a stronger sense of belonging, identity and pride in who they are, while also allowing our wider community to see and celebrate the positive things happening within our school.
What an amazing environment you are in Caroline. I love how your school celebrates other cultures as well as fostering and maintaining it own in the use of Te Reo Mori and culturally responsive games, art and sharing of food. I think it is very important to celebrate all cultures especially when there is one dominant culture that makes up the school. It is wonderful that your Student Council was given agency to successfully celebrate these other important cultures and foster a sense of belonging for those students as well.
At Cambridge Middle School, fostering relational trust across our community is central to our growth. Guided by the whakataukī “Nau te rourou, naku te rourou, ka ora te manuhiri,” we know that true school improvement relies on mahi tahi (working together) and kotahitanga (shared purpose and unity) with our students, teachers, support staff and whānau.
Reflecting honestly, our early consultation attempts with our Māori community often missed the mark and resulted in low engagement. To address this, leadership took deliberate steps to employ a dedicated Kapa Haka tutor, creating a far stronger connection and building a positive, culturally inclusive environment across the school.
Alongside this, we introduced compulsory performance tasks into our Conceptual Curriculum. This has transformed whānau involvement—bringing a massive turnout to our school events. In my own team, these celebrations provided a welcoming, low-pressure space that brought in whānau we had never seen on site before. Seeing students share their successes with teachers, peers, and family in this way visibly boosted their well-being, pride, and sense of belonging.
Connected to Professor Mere Berryman’s research on Mana Ōrite (equal mana and partnership), our next strategic step is to ensure that whānau engagement moves beyond viewing performance tasks to actively shaping everyday classroom learning. We aim to deepen curriculum integration by using student and whānau voice to co-design learning contexts, ensuring Māori perspectives are embedded daily rather than just during performance events. Wherever possible, we engage in staff-wide professional learning to reflect on our teaching assumptions, dismantle unconscious bias, and ensure high expectations and equitable opportunities for every learner across all areas of the curriculum.
Georgia, your school is taking some great proactive steps towards being culturally responsive and connecting with otherwise distant whanau. I really like how your school identified an issue, took initial steps to make a connection and created a plan to cement relations by shaping everyday classroom learning by involving student and whanau voice to create culturally responsive pedagogy.
Ngā mihi nui Georgina,
I applaud the progress your Kura is taking in regard to cultural inclusiveness and fostering relational trust!
I agree with other NHS kaimahi in this thread that NHS is recognising and responding to the cultural and language needs of our tauira. The establishment of Te Puāwaitanga is a great example of not just talking about our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, but actually walking the walk. By providing opportunities for ākonga from Māori-medium settings to continue learning and receiving support in te reo Māori, NHS is valuing their language, identity, and culture. This strengthens students’ sense of belonging and mana, while also reinforcing our school’s connection and commitment to the communities we serve.
Within our Tauranga unit we are continuing to strengthen iour practice in creating safe and supportive environments and building strong relationships with tauira and whānau. Through the mahi of the NHS Hauora group, an Initial Hui Guide grounded in He Pikorua principles has been developed. As a unit, we are using this as a Professional Growth Cycle goal and are currently focusing on the whakawhanaungatanga and kohikohi stages of the He Pikorua framework.
While NHS teachers already place a strong emphasis on relationships, this guide helps us to be even more intentional in our practice. It supports thoughtful preparation before hui, provides guidance during conversations, and encourages ongoing reflection afterwards. By taking this approach, we can develop a deeper understanding of each young person’s story, strengths, and needs, ensuring they feel valued, heard, and supported throughout their journey with NHS
At the end of the day, creating a safe space for learning always comes down to relationships – and this is an area that I know our school prioritises as it is essential for us to be able to do our work. My absolute baseline as a teacher and leader is the old educational adage: you’ve got to reach them to teach them. This really hits on Russell Bishop’s work in Teaching / Leading to the North-East and Te Kotahitanga. His focus on whanaungatanga—building genuine, family-like connection—reiterates that you can’t get to the learning until that trust is firmly in place.
Whānau connections are something I think our school does really well. We make a point of running regular 1:1 hui where we step back and listen. Instead of coming in with our own checklist or agenda, we ask whānau about their aspirations for their tamariki and rangatahi, and what strengths they see at home. It puts the student right at the center and shows parents we’re genuinely on the same team.
Looking ahead, our biggest area for growth is deepening how we connect with local iwi.
Because our school is spread across the Upper North Island, we don’t just have one mana whenua group to connect with—we have dozens of different iwi and hapū across a massive area. Right now in West Auckland, we’re working on building a real partnership with Te Kawerau ā Maki.
These relationships can’t be rushed or treated like a box-ticking exercise. It takes time, actual kanohi ki te kanohi connection, and true reciprocity.
I completely agree, that point about taking the time to build genuine, face-to-face connections with mana whenua and avoiding a box-ticking approach captures the absolute heart of true relationship-building.
1. Use students’ cultural knowledge, perspectives and skills as a resource for teaching
2. Create a safe and supportive environment and build strong relationships
Milford school has a multicultural student body (New Zealand European majority alongside students from Korea, China, Taiwan, India, Tonga, Fiji, NZ Māori, and many other nations, plus international students). The school sees this diversity as a strength and runs as an authorised IB World School delivering the New Zealand Curriculum via the PYP framework, which emphasises inquiry, identity, intercultural understanding, and holistic development.
Milford School connects the above two principles by leveraging its cultural diversity and IB/Te Ao Māori frameworks so that students’ knowledge and identities actively shape teaching, while deliberately building mana-enhancing, inclusive relationships and environments that create safety, belonging, and high achievement for all.
Next two steps:
1. Expand professional learning on culturally responsive pedagogy and Te Tiriti, focusing on embedding student perspectives into PYP inquiries.
2. Strengthen partnerships: co-design units with families from key cultural groups (e.g., Korean, Indian, Pasifika).
Kia ora Duane, I like your proposed next two steps. All the best with the implementation of these strategies!
Ngā mihi nui
My school has been particularly successful at using students’ cultural knowledge, perspectives and skills as a resource for teaching and creating a safe and supportive environment. Over the years, we have established a Māori tutor class, which was elevated this year to a student council overseeing the inclusion and celebration of Te Ao Māori at our school. These students have driven programmes aimed at both staff and students to increase cultural competency at our kura, and there has been a really noticeable improvement in the way this is done. The school also celebrates its diversity, with hundreds of distinct groups represented within our student and staff communities. With events such as the Food Festival, Cultural Week, and Cultural Dance Night, students have found opportunities to showcase and take pride in their own identities at our school.
One thing that the school needs to work on is the relationship with the local community. The school had a less than stellar reputation in the past, and while the school has worked hard to reduce the issues that caused these, the messaging and communication to the community has not happened as effectively as it could have been, which has meant that the surrounding area still views the school in a negative light. The school is also trying to improve its relationship with Pasifika students and families. We have had a significant increase of Pasifika students over the past couple of years, and the school has now held three fono to engage with families, but at this stage, it feels a little tokenistic. I think the staff need more professional learning opportunities to improve cultural competency, so that we can address underlying biases and actually learn about our students and their identities more authentically.
Your school has some great ideas of ways to celebrate the culture of the students. I particularly like the Food Festival and Cultural Dance Night events you hold. We have cultural leaders at our school, however having a council is a great idea and I like how your student council create staff programmes too.
Our school does well in creating strong home-school-community connections with our community. They have appointed a cultural lead teacher, who works in conjunction with our te reo teacher, building relationships amongst our students, teachers, and whānau. Celebrations happen throughout the school throughout the year whenever a significant cultural celebration is happening or there is a language week, our waiata group has grown to over 100 students this year with the support of our two cultural leads, and te reo is taught throughout all year levels in the school. Evening whānau meetings and te reo language sessions have been happening, inviting our community into the school to connect.
For me as a teacher and team leader, we try ensure that our students cultures are all celebrated and recognised. We have some students who are passionate about their cultures and we use them as ‘experts’, encourage them to make connections between their culture and their learning such as their speeches or through inquiry. My next step is to continue on this path, creating more authentic opportunities for students to share their cultures and also learn about other peoples cultures, and share these with their whānau whether it be through learning share-back or student-led conferences.
Hi Keryn, using students are experts is great and no doubt gives them a sense of belonging.
Thank you, Karyn. I really like your point about the wealth of knowledge within your community. There is so much opportunity to use families’ cultures, languages and experiences as a genuine resource for learning. I also love the connection you’ve made to students seeing their identities and knowledge valued 🙂
I believe one thing my school does well is to have good connections with families. Our school is big on the idea that having strong home school partnerships are crucial to the support of a students education. We maintain constant open communication with parents through email, hero posts and in person conversations. We provide lots of chances for parents to come into the classroom and see their students learning, as well as providing students the skills to talk about their learning with their parents. Having this strong connection with parents means we can then build a safe a supportive environment as we have a deeper understanding of our students and their lives, not just at school but all around. One thing i would love to further develop within my school is bringing in the wealth of knowledge from our community. Our school is incredibly multicultural and with that brings such a wide range of knowledge about different things, often things that we may not have access to ourselves. Bringing in parents for language weeks, cultural celebrations and other learning opportunities would be a great way to continue to build these relationships with families, and show students that their identities and cultural knowledge are valued.
Brilliant idea for a next step, Arima.
Building connections with our school community has been a focus for our school for some time. We work hard to make whānau feel welcomed to our kura and feel they have an important role in the education of their students, at home and school. We have tried many different ways to consult with our Māori community and have at times missed the mark, with relatively poor results.
The decision of school leaders to appoint a Cultural Lead teacher to prioritise the learning and connection of our Māori and Pasifika community has led to a much improved connectedness between school and these whānau.
We have had for many years, run Kapa Haka groups. This is becoming more enmeshed with local iwi rather than simply a school group. This led to a hugely successful Matariki celebration, where iwi connections allowed us to run a hangi for the first time at our school. This brought together all school whānau, not just our Māori families, donating kai, and joining in sharing the meal on the day. The Iwi group were able to teach the tikanga around the preparation, cooking and sharing of the delicious kai, with whānau helping to serve the kai to the 400 students and 150+ whānau members who came to share in the celebrations. It was amazing to see the school community connecting in this celebration of our Maori culture, and seeing whanau of Māori students, who we hadn’t seen before, volunteering their time to come in and help out.
We also have a successful Pasifika performance group, with talented instructors leading the way. This group is also growing in size and mana, as students see the value that we as a school and community place on these cultural groups.
On an individual level, a strength of our school is the relationships we build with our students, regardless of backgrounds. We recognise the differences each brings into our classroom and work hard to ensure all have the best opportunity to learn and know that they are appreciated. Regular school ‘Whānau Connect’ meetings, and individual whānau meetings when needed, help to build this level of trust between home and school. Teachers go out of their way to build these relationships, for example by supplying kai, going to students’ club games after school, or on the weekend, etc. This commitment by staff to learn about and celebrate our students and their whānau helps to make school a welcoming place for all.
Murray it is great to hear that your school is working alongside your local iwi and building these outside connections. it sounds like it has been working wonderfully, supporting your students and their families to feel welcome and together within your school community.
Kia ora! Love this reflection. Connecting your Kapa Haka group with local iwi and hosting that Matariki hāngī is such an awesome example of kotahitanga in action. It’s so rewarding when deliberate leadership decisions lead to seeing new whānau actively engaging and celebrating on site!
Two aspects of culturally responsive pedagogy that I believe our school does well are creating a safe and supportive environment and building strong relationships and connecting with families and whānau.
At NHS, relationships are at the heart of our mahi. Because we work with ākonga who are experiencing significant health challenges, we recognise that learning can only occur when students feel safe, valued, and understood. We have the time to get to know each ākonga, their strengths, interests, and aspirations, and we work alongside them to support both their wellbeing and educational progress. This personalised approach helps our ākonga to have a sense of belonging and identity, while they are only with us for a short time.
We also focus on connecting with whānau. Regular hui helps us to understand the wider context of each ākonga’s life. Whānau are partners in the learning process, and their knowledge of their child is respected and valued. These relationships help us develop learning programmes that are meaningful and responsive to individual needs.
While these are strengths, there are opportunities to further develop our cultural responsiveness. 90% of our ākonga in Taupō have a mental health challenge, most of the time anxiety related. In addition our ākonga (on average) are with us for about 2-3 terms only. This means that it isn’t always easy for them, nor their whānau, to talk about themselves, and have their own voices and culture be heard. We need to continue to work on our own knowledge of eg tikanga, te reo Māori, and local stories and histories as well as NZ histories nationwide. To make sure we can respond to our specific ākonga and make culturally responsive relationships with them and their whanau.
Thanks for sharing Maaike! I really liked your point about the challenges within our school context, namely how hard it can be for whānau who are often with us for such a short amount of time to build trust and relationships with us as individuals and our organisation. It means we have to be all the more intentional with our CRRP so that we can connect effectively and provide the best outcomes possible for our ākonga.
In connection to Kelly Middleton’s post, an overarching aspect of our kura’s mahi is a focus on improved reciprocal relationships leading to Māori, whānau and community partnerships for improved learning, systems and processes. This focus aims to develop an approach to cohesion across the NHS in relation to culturally responsive and relational practise.
In support of our strategic goal “NHS gives effect to te Tiriti, leading to equitable access and outcomes for ākonga / students” our kura has appointed new across school positions, supported by our Board. Our Pou Ahurea (Cultural Leader) supports the NHS cultural team, the Kaiako and Kaiāwhina to ensure that the Te Kura Āwhina Ora o te Raki is a place where Māori identity, language, and culture are valued and actively nurtured. NHS has created a new Unit Te Puāwaitanga, and this units’ Kaiako and Kaiāwhina support the learning/transition of ākonga from Māori medium settings.
Our kura held an understanding of the need for and development of these roles. Next steps will require a long-term commitment to transformation, and continuous learning and adjusting, to embed the goals of CRRP.
One aspect I believe or school is doing well is starting to recognise and responding to the cultural and language needs of our ākonga. An example of this is the commitment to te Tiriti through developing a way for students who come from full-immersion kura or Māori medium settings to continue receiving teaching and support in te reo Māori. This has involved establishing a new unit with a kaiako and kaiāwhina who will work with students in their reo. Where possible, students are supported kanohi ki te kanohi, while those in distant parts of our school regions can connect online. I think this is significant because culturally responsive practice is about more than including Māori content within teaching. It is also about recognising and valuing the language, identity and previous educational experiences that ākonga bring with them. Rather than expecting students to adapt completely to an English-medium setting, the school is adapting its practice to better meet their needs. This supports student identity, belonging and mana, and reflects the idea of Mana Ōrite, where Māori language, knowledge and perspectives are genuinely valued. A next step would be to continue developing this provision so it becomes increasingly embedded across the school rather than relying on a small number of staff with particular skills. This could include building staff confidence in te reo Māori and tikanga, strengthening relationships with Māori-medium kura, and seeking regular feedback from the ākonga and whānau who attend our school.
A second area we are focusing on within our unit is connecting with families and communities. We are making a deliberate effort to strengthen relationships with local iwi and create more opportunities for whānau voice. We have instigated whānau hui where we can kōrero about what is working, what could be improved, and how we can better support our ākonga. This is especially important in our setting because many students come to us for relatively short periods and may already feel disconnected from their usual school because of health issues. Strong relationships with whānau and community can help us understand the whole learner, rather than focusing only on academic needs. Whānau bring knowledge about their young person, their strengths, aspirations, whakapapa and circumstances that we cannot gain from school information alone. The whakataukī “Nau te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora te manuhiri” strongly reflects this approach for me. We do not have all the knowledge or answers ourselves. By bringing together the knowledge of the student, whānau, iwi, community and school, we are much more likely to provide meaningful support. Our next step is to ensure that we create genuine partnership and action, meaning we need to listen carefully, and be prepared to change our practice in response to what we hear and build reciprocal relationships that continue beyond formal meetings.
Kelly, you have comprehensively and eloquently captured aspects of CRRP that the Northern Health School are focusing on and strengthening. I echo your thoughts around next steps and the mahi that NHS can do, to ensure we continue to develop and embed recognising and responding to the cultural and language needs of our ākonga, and creating genuine partnership and action.
At our school we institute cultural responsiveness through the ‘Hikairo Scheme’: A culturally responsive teaching and learning framework. The Hikairo Scheme places Maori world view at the centre in a similar way that Durie places Mauri Ora at the centre of his model. The Hikairo Scheme helps teachers to build inclusive environments and collaborative goals with students and their families; reflecting the ideology behind the three interconnecting circles in Durie’s framework.
The two models also share the expectation that teachers are knowledgeable and have adaptive expertise, that they can adjust their teaching on the spot to address the needs of each learner in their care. An example of this at our school was to invite the local iwi to attend our river day and share with us their stories and history of guardianship about the local Tuna. Both models rely on adaptive expertise in order to improve success for Maori within the classroom; practitioners with lower levels of understanding of the curriculum and Ka Hikitia would struggle to make a difference in success levels of their Maori students.
The Hikairo Scheme also requires continuous reflection by drawing on past experiences to modify practice and become more culturally responsive. An example of this at our school are frequent 1:1 meetings with the Principal, centred around how we implement the scheme within our classrooms and discuss our successes and identify things we would change.
With a focus on Hauora through the lens of the Hikairo Scheme we shift the balance of power by offering student choice and student voice, for example, through a survey student voice was sought to help make EOTC decisions and student choice was given during our Christmas Market fundraiser on how the money raised would be spent by each classroom. We promote active citizenship in the classroom by designing engaging learning spaces for our akonga and freedom of movement within those spaces. At our school we have a shared open space called ‘the street’ this area is used during buddy reading, small group lessons and waiata.
We promote cultural identity for our Maori students through the use of Te Reo in the classroom, song, and recognising important cultural celebrations such as Matariki. Although it is important for us all to recognise how we celebrate these cultural experiences: being recognised in an authentic way to avoid ‘ticking a box’ and tokenism.
An area for improvement currently at our school would be to increase the frequency of home, school, and community collaborations. We do not utilise the school site enough and parents are visibly not using the school as a meeting place. By hosting these groups onsite, for example, sharing a meal (hakari) during important celebrations, this would help strengthening manaakitanga and whanaungatanga between the school, parents, and our community.
Leonie, I like your phrase ‘shifting the balance of power’. Your schools’ cultural responsiveness appears to be comprehensive and carefully constructed to use students’ cultural knowledge, perspectives and skills as a resource for teaching. Your next steps should indeed help strengthen manaakitanga and whanaungatanga between your school, your parents, and your community.
I really like how your school is using a schema schoolwide to support everybody with cultural responsiveness. It sounds like you made some great progress on this pathway already. I love the regular 1:1 reflections you have set up with the principal, where you look at strenghts and next steps of yourself (and your classroom) and not only as a school as a whole. This really puts some ownership on you as the kaiako.
Two areas of cultural responsiveness that are particularly important in our school are building strong relationships and learning about our students, and connecting with families and communities.
Our school has a large Māori community, with the majority of our students identifying as Māori. However, we also strongly value and embrace all cultures represented within our school. A great example of this is our Student Council, who have been working hard to celebrate and share different cultures through language weeks and cultural activities. So far this year, they have organised three colouring competitions, and they are hosting our first Tongan sports and activities afternoon for the whole school. This provides students with opportunities to share their culture, learn about others and develop a sense of belonging.
Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is also a significant celebration in our school. Each teacher takes responsibility for planning a whole-school activity connected to te reo Māori. These activities can include trips, visual and performing arts, music and waiata, pūrākau and myths and legends, Māori games and, of course, sharing kai together at the end of the week. These experiences help ensure Māori culture is not simply something that is talked about, but something that is experienced and valued across our school.
As an ECE-trained teacher, I strongly believe that relationships come first. Before students can be successful learners, they need to feel safe, comfortable and valued. When a new student starts in my class, I provide five morning visits before they begin full days. During their first visit, we focus on learning through play. This allows me to learn about their interests, personality and strengths, while also giving them an opportunity to become familiar with me, the classroom and their peers.
A next step I would like to develop is strengthening our transition-to-school programme by visiting students in their ECE or preschool setting before they start school, with parent and whānau permission. This would allow students to meet me in a familiar environment and help make the transition into school less overwhelming. I am also finalising a New Entrant starter pack that students can take home. This will include useful information for parents and whānau, as well as a visual booklet that introduces students to our school, classroom and teacher.
Another area for development is connecting more strongly with our wider community. I would like to see our school become more visible and actively involved in the community. This could include more consistent visits to local ECE centres, running transition-to-school sessions within those centres, visiting rest homes and participating in community events. We could also provide opportunities for our senior students to take part in community service and learn the importance of contributing to others.
I believe these steps would strengthen relationships between our school, whānau and community. They would also help challenge assumptions about our school based on its past and allow our current students and kaiako to demonstrate the positive changes happening within our school. Most importantly, it would create opportunities for our students to become active, valued members of their community and develop a stronger sense of belonging, identity and self-determination.
Katleigh, I agree with your thoughts on creating a strong transition programme from ECE to school. We are trying to do that with our local kindy, inviting them to school events like our hangi, school visits to the new entrant class, and we also have some of our older students go to their centre once a week to run some activities and get to know the pre-schoolers. We have seen how having older students that the pre-schooler already knows when they come to school is hugely beneficial to helping them and their whānau settle in. We also invite the local sports club to come and run some ‘have-a-go’ sessions with the younger students to encourage them to become more involved in our local community.
Central to our schools approach to culturally responsive practice and leadership is whanaungatanga—the process of establishing deep relationships. We as a school recognise that student success requires whānau to feel a genuine sense of belonging. We have replaced top-down communication with diverse engagement opportunities. Formal platforms, such as Whānau Hui and strategic consultations, allow Māori voices to shape our direction. Equally vital are informal interactions—conversations at the school gate or shared coffee mornings—which build the trust necessary for true partnership. When whānau see themselves reflected in the school, the barrier between home and school dissolves, fostering collaborative student wellbeing.
Our schools’ commitment is evidenced through initiatives woven into our daily operations. The morning karakia and waiata during assemblies normalise te reo Māori, providing a cultural anchor that signals to Māori students that their heritage is foundational to our identity. Furthermore, our Matariki breakfast celebrates the Māori New Year through the sharing of kai and reflection. Similarly, International Week fosters a global outlook rooted in our local context through cultural performances and traditional foods, providing the “cultural oxygen” necessary for students to grow.
As a Māori educator, this work is deeply personal. I am driven by the experiences of my father, whose secondary education was marked by marginalisation. For his generation, Māori identity often had to be “checked at the gate.” This legacy of educational trauma informs my practice, serving as a reminder of the cost of cultural invisibility. I am also acutely aware that this is not the case for a number of my colleagues. My reflections are supported by the research of Professor Mere Berryman on culturally responsive-relational pedagogy. Berryman emphasises that for a child to succeed, they must first feel “seen” and respected. Our task is to ensure the “self” a student brings to school is nurtured in the classroom, moving beyond mere inclusion to ensuring they are truly “of” the school. As a leader, I do see it as my responsibility to lead my team and model culturally responsive practices. I am incredibly luck that my team members are already incredibly gifted in this area, and all are very relationship driven, passionate educators.
At our school we are working on implementing the changes of the new curriculum while ensuring our curriculum remains student-centred. This philosophy drives our curriculum implementation, placing students at the heart of decision-making. We curate learning experiences that resonate with the lived realities of our learners by utilising local links—pūrākau, local geography, and the histories of mana whenua. Using familiar contexts validates prior knowledge and empowers students as active participants in their education.
I have learnt that culturally responsive leadership is not a “quick fix” or a checkbox; it is a long-term commitment to transformation, and continuous learning and adjusting. It requires a willingness to engage in difficult conversations and ongoing consultation with staff and the community. As leaders, we model the vulnerability required for this journey, prioritising silenced voices to create an inclusive community where every student can walk with confidence in both worlds.
I really appreciated the personal perspecteve you brought to this reflection, particularly the experience of your father and how this has shped your understanding of culturally responsive practice. It’s a good reminder of why creating a genuine sense of belonging for our students matters so much. I also agree with the importance you place on whanaungatanga – building trust and authentic relationships with students and whānau is such an important foundation for engagement, wellbeing and success.
I really like how your school has replaced top-down communication with diverse engagement opportunities Maree. I also feel that informal coffee mornings and ‘at the gate’ chats are essential to building trusting relationships because these lead onto whanau engagement by way of installing a sense of belonging not only for the student but for family as well. I taught at an international school in Munich and family engagement was extremely high on the schools agenda, without it a lot of school support would never have happened. The school put on regular coffee mornings, productions, parent assemblies and other celebrations parents were invited to, even part of the curriculum was dedicated to celebrating our cultural differences. This school understood the value of supportive parents.
Kia ora Ann Maree, I wholeheartedly agree when you say that culturally responsive leadership is a long term commitment and not some KPI we need to check off.
The two aspects of culturally responsive pedagogy I am focusing on are connecting with families and connecting with communities.
What I think our school does exceptionally well with families and whānau is striking a balance between having parents/caregivers involved in their child’s school life without placing an expectation on classroom teachers for constant communication. At our school, parents receive regular communication about what the class will be focusing on each week, as well as general school information. Parents also share photos when learning has been transferred into the home environment, and families are always invited to school events.
Our connections with our local marae has been through kapa haka where the talented members come to teach our children. Recently we strengthened this by taking the students to the marae to experience and embrace Aotearoa’s cultural traditions and roots. Although Māori students make up less than 2% of our school population, I think there is still an opportunity to continue strengthening our relationship with our local marae and deepen our understanding of the Māori history, knowledge and perspectives of the community we are part of. This would allow us to strengthen our bicultural practice in a way that is relevant to our local context and benefits all of our students.
Looking at the demographics of our school, where over 50% of our students are Asian and mostly Filipino, we serve a community that’s mainly immigrants to NZ and largely ESOL. It takes a while for families who are fresh off the boat to engage in our school in the same ways as people who have grown up in a NZ school system, and see it as a partnership between home and school, which is very different from their home land. Being a Catholic school connected to an active parish helps with this transition. As a staff, we are also active members of our parish which strengthens this relationship.
In the past there have been instances where the school has had to help new families to find family friends and build their community. With community involvement, there are always certain families who put their hand up for everything, volunteering or are in communications regularly. On the other hand, there are families who see school and home as separate entities and would very much like to keep those lanes separated as that is what is the norm back in the home countries prior to moving to NZ. There’s also a third category where a small portion of families see home as the most important aspect and school is an optional extra – therefore this is reflected in the engagement as well as attendance. To get these families more involved there needs to be a cultural shift. My thinking would be that creating opportunities where families can see that their culture, experiences and ways of contributing are valued by the school could help them feel more comfortable and open to engaging. However, there is a huge barrier to this when it comes to immigrant families who are not yet established and are having to work multiple jobs to set themselves up – the time and energy available to them is significantly different to families who have grown up in NZ or have established themselves over the last decade or more.
Reflecting on my own experiences to date, as vital as these relationships are with whānau and community, there is a balance to strike which is very hard to achieve in my opinion. Having now spent the time either translating or having the 1:1 conversations with families, hearing their values and barriers to what we as teachers would expect from parents when it comes to their children has been eye opening. Prior to this, my beliefs have been on the similar wavelengths as my colleagues in the sense that parents need to spend more time with their children, parenting them, educating them (parent as the child’s first teacher). As most schools across the country are feeling, the economic pressures and societal pressures tagged along with any baggage a family may have impacts on the partnership, time/energy needed to parent effectively as well as ensure home-learning partnerships are aligned. I am particularly blessed to have been the child of immigrant parents, having attended the very school where I now serve – as this has helped me to fully understand the struggles that I never saw before. I want to continue advocating for this way of thinking by challenging deficit assumptions, helping staff to understand the wider context and barriers families may be facing, and supporting practical solutions that are built on genuine relationships rather than simply expecting families to engage in the ways we traditionally expect them to.
I think the most logical way to get more families involved is to diversify the ways in which we engage with whānau, as well as the frequency of those opportunities. This could include offering different forms of communication, such as written, digital, face-to-face or translated communication where needed; creating more informal opportunities for connection rather than relying solely on formal meetings; making events accessible to families who work irregular hours; proactively reaching out to families who may be less connected; and importantly, asking families what would make engagement easier for them rather than assuming what they need.
At the same time, there is a balance to be struck here. Creating more opportunities for whānau engagement can come at a cost to teaching staff, particularly when trying to accommodate parents who may only be available outside of typical working hours. Our teachers have family lives, commitments and finite energy too, and maintaining staff morale and wellbeing needs to be part of the conversation. For me, the challenge is finding a balance between building strong community partnerships and ensuring that we are not creating an expectation that teachers need to be constantly available. The goal should be sustainable and meaningful engagement, rather than simply increasing the number of opportunities for families to engage.
I really appreciate how you’ve reflected on the challenges we face with so many families being new to New Zealand. I think you’ve captured the balance between meeting families where they’re at and also creating opportunities for them to connect with each other. It’s also important to recognise the impact this can have on our small teaching team and workload. Your perspective and experience within our community are really valuable.
Thank you for your in depth reflection, Ushanthi. You are so right about those many competing realities and the balancing act in this.
Our school excels at building authentic relationships with families and the wider community through deep, meaningful ties with local hapū and iwi, frequent community events that foster whānaungatanga, and robust systems for regularly gathering parent and community voice. To further develop our school’s cultural responsiveness, the essential next step is ensuring that these community engagement initiatives are designed with staff workload and well-being at the forefront. By providing dedicated support, streamlined processes, and clear boundaries around expectations, we can sustain these vital cultural connections while actively protecting our teachers’ time, balance, and overall well-being.
I really connected with your point about balancing meaningful whānau and community engagement with staff workload and wellbeing. This is something I have been thinking about in my own school context too, as I think it is very easy for schools to focus on creating more opportunities for engagement without considering the impact this can have on teachers’ time, energy and family lives. I particularly liked your point about having clear boundaries around expectations. I think having the right systems and support in place would make it much easier to maintain these important relationships without creating an expectation that teachers need to be constantly available.
Absolutely. A similar reflection as Ushanthi’s – it is a tricky balancing act.
One aspect of culturally responsive pedagogy that our school does particularly well is creating a safe and supportive environment and building strong relationships with whānau and students. We place a strong emphasis on whānau consultation and creating opportunities for genuine connections with families. A member of our leadership team is always the first and last person to greet children and their whānau at the beginning and end of each day. These daily interactions provide natural opportunities to connect with families, listen to their perspectives and respond to any concerns or “niggles” early, before they develop into larger issues. I believe this has helped us develop trusting and respectful relationships where whānau feel comfortable approaching us and know that their concerns will be heard.
We also have strong connections with our wider school community through an active Board of Trustees and a very involved PTFA. We have intentionally looked for ways to strengthen the sense of community within our school. For example, we changed our afternoon collection arrangements so that families collect their children from within the school grounds. We also placed picnic tables near the playgrounds, creating an informal space where whānau can gather and connect while their children play. This has helped strengthen relationships between families and has been particularly valuable for some of our less-connected whānau, providing them with opportunities to develop a greater sense of belonging and community.
An area where I believe we have an opportunity to further develop our cultural responsiveness is encouraging a more discursive curriculum and enabling greater student self-determination. While our curriculum often begins from an inquiry mindset, I recognise that the learning process can still be quite teacher-directed, with traditional teacher-learner dynamics. There is an opportunity to move towards a model where students’ knowledge, experiences, perspectives, questions and cultural understandings have a stronger influence on what and how they learn.
Our next steps could include creating more opportunities for students to have a genuine voice in curriculum decisions, including contributing to the questions explored, the directions an inquiry takes and the ways they demonstrate their learning. We could make greater use of inquiry, dialogue, problem-solving and cooperative learning approaches that encourage students to share their perspectives and learn from one another. This would help shift the teacher’s role from being primarily the holder and deliverer of knowledge towards being a facilitator who supports students to make decisions, share responsibility and take greater ownership of their learning.
I see this as an important next step in our cultural responsiveness because it moves us beyond simply creating a welcoming and connected school environment towards sharing power and valuing students as knowledgeable contributors to the curriculum. By providing more opportunities for students to bring their cultural knowledge, experiences and perspectives into learning, we can create a curriculum that is more inclusive, participatory and reflective of the diverse learners within our school community.
I agree with what you’ve said about the strong relationships we have with whānau and the sense of community we’ve worked hard to build. I particularly liked the examples you gave around creating those more informal opportunities for whānau to connect, as I think those everyday interactions can make a big difference in helping families feel like they are part of the school community.
I really connected to your next steps proposal of including more student voice in curriculum decisions. This supports learner engagement as they are more likely to be invested and motivated in their learning and creates a more authentic opportunities to deliver the curriculum. The flow on effect could be higher levels of attendance if students feel that they have a sense of autonomy.
Love this, Jess – “There is an opportunity to move towards a model where students’ knowledge, experiences, perspectives, questions and cultural understandings have a stronger influence on what and how they learn.”
I really enjoyed reading your reflection. The emphasis your school places on building relationships with whānau is a real strength, and I can see how the visibility of your leadership team helps create trust and connection within the school community. I also appreciated your thoughtful reflection on student self-determination and the opportunities that exist to further strengthen learner voice. It sounds like you have already established a strong foundation of belonging and partnership, which will support this next stage of your journey.