Learning Support at Te Kura o te Mātāpuna in 2025

At Te Kura o te Mātāpuna - Isleworth School we support a wide range of ākonga to achieve their very best and meet their goals. 

We have fantastic teacher aides who work alongside our teachers to provide high quality learning programmes that target the individual needs of each child.

Our teachers and teacher aides run small group sessions throughout the year supporting children with accelerating their learning in reading, writing maths and phonics. 

Our teachers work alongside ākonga and their whanau to ensure our children are supported at school and at home to succeed in their learning. This includes a range of meetings or individual education plans to set goals and discuss strategies to best support each child.

We work with outside agencies including:

• Ministry of Education

  • Educational Psychologists

  • Speech Language Therapists

  • Occupational Therapists

  • Learning Support Specialists

• Resource Teachers of Behaviour and Learning

• Mana Ake

• Counsellors

• Health Nurse

• Big Brother, Big Sister

These agencies and more help us to provide different levels of support for ākonga facing a wide range of challenges so they can feel safe and supported to succeed at their level. 

We also work with our local community to provide opportunities for all children to flourish including partnering with Disability Play Partnership to allow sporting opportunities for children who may otherwise miss out. 

We have developed our school grounds to be more inclusive and diverse, adding in new play opportunities for all children and fitting core communication boards so everyone can be a part of the conversation no matter how they communicate. 

ESOL at Te Kura o te Mātāpuna in 2025

At Te Kura o te Mātāpuna - Isleworth School we are excited to celebrate a range of different cultures and languages within our ākonga.

Our ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) programme currently supports more than 30 ākonga and their whanau from all over the world including China, Tonga, Russia, the Philippines, India, Nepal, Korea, and Hong Kong and many more. It’s incredible to see so many different cultures come together, creating a truly unique and welcoming environment.

During ESOL learning our ākonga work in small focused groups with one of our incredible teacher aides. They are focused on common goals to improve their communication skills. This includes both written and oral language. Ākonga  are supported to write creative stories, play fun literacy games, and build their confidence in writing. In this small group environment the students show so much dedication, and it’s inspiring to see how far they progress. 

But it’s not just about the writing. The ESOL lessons are also about building friendships, learning from each other, and celebrating the different cultures that make our school so special. The diversity in the groups make learning and improving English skills even more exciting, as students share stories from their home countries and connect with one another through language. Everyone feels welcomed, supported, and proud of where they come from.