Te Rerenga ki Tai is the name of the main BA Productions programme. It fits with the New Zealand curriculum and is also in line with the Whanganui Iwi education strategy, Nga Kai o Te Puku Tupuna.
It's now delivered in 19 Wanganui primary schools.
BA Productions has four staff, and each has schools allocated to them. Each school gets half a day a week of 45-minute sessions for all pupils and all teachers.
The sessions include Maori language, games and kapa haka. Their themes tie in with the New Zealand curriculum. Last term it was Puanga - the Maori New Year for the Whanganui Region.
As part of the programme the schools get a visit to Putiki Marae, part-funded by a grant from the Maori Development Ministry, and they get an experience on the Whanganui River.
The programme is in demand by mainstream schools, with three new ones joining this year. Maori schools provide the content as a matter of course.
Some parents and children have been resistant, but principals support provision for all and children are responding.
"Pakeha kids just about love it more than our own kids," Mr Patea said.
By 2017 children at some schools will have been in the programme for five years. By then 60 per cent of it should be able to be delivered in te reo Maori.
Mr Patea said the children may not be able to speak it fluently then, but they should be able to understand it.
Another of his aims is to extend the programme to mainstream schools the length of the Whanganui River, from Taumarunui south.
The side of the business offering river experiences, called Ki Tai, is only from December to February. It has seven part-time staff, all trained in water safety. They guide schools and other bodies - such as Whanganui's Taimaru group and Montessori Wellington - on the river in six-man canoes.
BA Productions is run from Mr Patea's house in Wanganui East. It has one room with a large whiteboard, used for planning and meetings.
His other staff members are all young and have family connections. They are Rawharangi Katene, Merenia Nepia and Mama Patea. The director's big brother, James Patea, handles wages and administration from Tauranga.
Mr Patea began providing Maori content to two Wanganui primary schools - Keith St and Durie Hill - as a volunteer. It wasn't long before Keith St School principal Clyde Piercy told him he should start his own business.
By the end of last year there were 12 schools on board and that list is growing.
Though he would like to reconnect Maori children in mainstream schools with their roots and wants to integrate the Maori way into mainstream schooling, Mr Patea likes to do things gently.
"It's something to be worked at over time. We want people to see how valuable it is to us, and to enjoy it how we enjoy it."
BA PRODUCTIONS
Provides Maori content to mainstream Wanganui primary schools
Uses games, kapa haka, Maori language, marae visits and river experiences
Is in 19 schools at present
Has four staff
Is based in a house in Wanganui East
