Te Taumata o Ngāti Whakaue Iho Ake was first established in 2005. Its vision is to provide leadership and advocacy in te reo and tikanga, empower whānau engagement in education, science and technology, and to improve the social determinants of housing, employment, health and well-being.
In the last couple of years the rapid expansion and growth of the organisation in such a short time led to capability and capacity issues, which were not identified or factored into its strategic operations. This also led to inadequate checks and balances and methods of accountability not being put in place to account for such a rapid expansion.
On June 21, 2019, the Te Puna Akoranga had its license suspended forcing closure. On September 5 following investigations into staffing issues the second early childhood centre, Te Puna Manawa underwent voluntary closure. Further compliance evidence was presented to the Ministry of Education and on October 9, the Ministry suspended the license for Te Puna Manawa.
Since the closure of its two Puna (Akoranga and Manawa), Te Taumata has undergone significant changes to its management and governance structures. On October 20, 2019 Te Taumata o Ngāti Whakaue Iho Ake Trust held its Annual General Meeting in its whare tupuna, Tamatekapua. The AGM announced five new board members had been appointed bringing with it considerable experience in terms of governance, management, tikanga and Whakauetanga.
The organisation also announced that after 14 years of invaluable and indebted service to Te Taumata, its general manager has retired making way for the Board to appoint another equally qualified and experienced manager to continue the vision of Te Taumata on behalf of Ngāti Whakaue.