Ngāi Tahu Education

The overarching direction of the Office over the next five years will be guided by the understanding that the educational aspirations of Ngāi Tahu require an environment of life-long learning that provides opportunities for Ngāi Tahu Whānui to be well educated, trained and strong in their knowledge of Ngāi Tahutanga. The ability to access quality education and training will provide choices and give whānau the opportunity to shape their own future.

In June 2008 Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu signed a Shared Outcomes Agreement (SOA) with the Ministry of Education – Te Mahere Mātauraka, consolidating the Crown relationship initiated in 2001. This joint education plan and SOA funded by the Ministry of Education was developed as an operational response to both the 2006 Ngāi Tahu Education Strategy and Kā Hikitia (the Crown Māori Education Strategy 2008-2012). It provides pūtea to support and resource advice to the Crown, the rūnanga-led Ngāi Tahutanga project work and research into the state of te reo in Te Waipounamu.

The agreed work programme moving forward is a foundation partnership between Te Rūnanga and the Ministry to achieve long-term shared outcomes. These outcomes are:

To improve the provision of, and access to, quality te reo programmes in immersion, bilingual and mainstream education.
To increase and support the presence, engagement and achievement of Māori students in the Ngāi Tahu takiwā.
Curricula, teaching practices and environments in early childhood contexts and schools, within the Ngāi Tahu takiwā, are increasingly responsive to and reflective of Ngāi Tahutanga.
To establish and maintain a central, regional and district engagement programme to enable Ngāi Tahu and the Ministry to progress towards shared outcomes and co-production work.

Ngāi Tahutanga Projects

Work continues on the implementation phase of Te Mahere Mātauraka including the rūnanga-led projects that integrate Ngāi Tahutanga within mainstream educational settings. Currently 14 of the 18 Papatipu Rūnanga have Ngāi Tahutanga projects in planning or implementation phases with approximately $150 000 approved and passed down to rūnanga in the first year.

Strategic Alignment and Advice

Within the work streams of Te Mahere Mātauraka, there is Ministry pūtea to support rūnanga education portfolio holders to attend a range of education hui at three levels – national, regionally and locally as required.

An annual bi-lateral hui was hosted by Waihōpai Rūnanga in February. The bi-lateral hui provide an opportunity for rūnanga to engage directly with the Secretary of Education and senior officials of the Ministry. Approximately 50 people attended this year's hui with 16 rūnanga represented.

Rūnanga education portfolio holders have determined they want to meet on a quarterly basis ongoing. The first all rūnanga education portfolio holders hui was held in Te Tai Poutini in December 2008 hosted by Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Waewae. The core focus of the hui was to update rūnanga on the Te Mahere Mātauraka Joint Education Plan and discuss where rūnanga were at with their planning for the Ngāi Tahutanga projects for 2009. The second regional hui was held on 4 July 2009 hosted by Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga at Tuahiwi.

Bi-Lingual Education and Reo In Mainstream Settings

A Te Waipounamu reo stocktake and research piece has been completed by three Ngāi Tahu researchers from the University of Canterbury (co-sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Ngāi Tahu through our working relationship and fully funded by the Ministry). This piece of work will provide the foundation for a Ministry of Education Te Waipounamu reo strategy and align and link the Ministry's National Te Reo Strategy.

The stocktake confirmed the serious state of reo in Te Waipounamu and identified areas with little or no provision. There are few fluent speakers in Te Waipounamu in comparison to the North Island and very little provision of reo in the schools. The Ministry has undertaken to work with us on strategies to increase access to bi-lingual education.

Currently there are 26 schools in the Te Waipounamu that meet the level one and two criteria out of 680 plus schools. Four kura provide total immersion education and another four schools describe themselves as providing both Immersion and bi-lingual education.

There are 35 bi-lingual early childhood centres including kōhanga reo. The number of kōhanga reo in the South has dropped from 43 to 22 over the last nine years, and several bi-lingual units have closed or are under threat of closure due to the amalgamation of schools, management and property issues. This is a concern given that Ngāi Tahu requires increased provision in a landscape that currently has limited options on offer.

A number of policy and operational issues as part of Te Mahere Mātauraka have been put to the Ministry over the past year. These include: the provision of bi-lingual education, kaiako supply, retention of students and the potential closing of Aorangi school, the Kaikōura Community Education Initiative Plan, Tū Kanohi Ora Funding, professional support and development and the recent eligibility criteria change for study awards for students of Whakapiki Reo Ki Ōtautahi and Hōaka Pounamu.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu's proposal put to the Community Based Language Initiative Fund is one of only four out of 21 Iwi registrations of interest for this Fund that have progressed to the development stage. The proposal is for $200 000 over two years and will include support for rūnanga-designed and led reo projects. Work continues on this application and if successful we will work with two to three rūnanga each year to support rūnanga designed and led initiatives.

A three year Action Research Project to sit alongside the Ngāi Tahutanga projects has also been approved and funded by the Ministry of Education. This and the Community Based Language Initiative are both Ministry-funded over and above the Te Mahere Mātauraka contract.

Out-of-School Tuition

The Out-of-School Tuition Grant continues to be well subscribed to and well supported with 299 students being supported in the last year.

Education Strategy Review