Tihei: Te Ahu o Te Reo Māori programme launched

Having a laugh at the launch of the Te Ahu o Te Reo Māori programme. Photo / Supplied

Te Ahu o te Reo Māori means the future pathway of te reo Māori – a pathway that seeks to inspire and aspire for improved te reo Māori proficiency, acquisition and use across the education sector.

It also provides opportunities for te reo Māori to be normalised, and Māori identity and culture to be shared and embraced.

The initiative aims to support early learning to secondary school leaders, kaiako and support staff to grow their capability and confidence in using and integrating te reo Māori into the learning of all ākonga.

Participants will have the opportunity to engage and understand a different worldview; engage in cultural practices, narratives, and histories relevant to Aotearoa and to the system that supports the education of all students.

Based on a seven level te reo Māori competency framework called Ngā Taumata o Te Ahu o te Reo Māori, the five focus areas are:

Local dialect – local words, phrases, karakia,  waiata and sayings

Use – practice of reo use appropriate for a classroom setting

Grammar – foundations of grammar and writing conventions

Curriculum – development of learning content for regular activity

Revitalisation – language planning for the school/ early learning services/ classroom.

Te Ahu o te Reo Māori is available across all 10 Ministry of Education regions: Tai Tokerau, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty/ Waiariki, Taranaki/ Manawatū/ Whanganui, Hawke's Bay/ Tairāwhiti, Wellington, Nelson/ Marlborough/ West Coast, Canterbury/ Chatham Islands and Otago/ Southland.

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated is thrilled to be one of the providers in the Hawke's Bay/Tairāwhiti region, servicing 500 participants from Takapau in the south to Nūhaka in the north.

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated is the mandated tribal authority for Ngāti Kahungunu and has enlisted a team of reputable and nationally recognised Māori language and cultural specialists who will deliver this programme

The programme has been developed under the expert advice of internationally acclaimed exponents in the field of language revitalisation.

It aims to grow the cultural capability of staff by providing them with the tools to implement te reo Māori within their classrooms and to apply a cultural worldview in the school's practice. It also aims to create a supportive network for teachers.

The programme caters to Levels 1-6: Levels 1-4 will cater for English-medium, and Levels 5-6 will be Māori-medium. The English-medium programme will start with an induction and noho marae where participants will learn about Ngāti Kahungunu tribal history and language revitalisation planning.

The English-medium programme will also include 18 hours of face to face classroom learning as well as weekly online support over the 20-week period. The Māori-medium programme will be based around two kura reo, accompanied by weekly online support.

We are thrilled to enlist a talented team of teachers who will deliver this programme. The tribe has invested considerable resource into Māori language revitalisation initiatives aimed at creating pools of proficient Māori language speakers equipped with cultural expertise who in turn become teachers of the language.

The pilot programme was recently launched with the initial cohort of 40 enthusiastic and energised teacher participants. Next year the programme will be delivered to the remaining 460 participants. For further information, please email support@teahuotereo.co.nz.