Fernside School has been working to develop in the area of Cultural Responsiveness.

We have focussed our responsivenesses in two main areas:

1. Responding to our obligations to Te Tiriti o Waitangi by frequently engaging in elements of te ao Māori (kapa haka, karakia, waiata kura, te reo Māori, tikanga-a-Māori, āhuatanga Māori, marae experience, protocol for conducting mihi whakatau at Fernside in the process of being learned).

2. Creating and sustaining connections with, and learning about our whānau tauiwi (whānau Friday, home/school partnership meetings (both formal and as needed) weekly contact being made between homeroom teacher and homeroom parents, cultural connectedness pathways being developed, and the Junior School teachers are greeting and dropping off students and the beginning and end of the day at the school gate).

Currently we are developing a number of ways forward in Cultural Responsiveness. We have a Cultural Responsiveness section for our local curriculum being developed which connects the Āhuatanga Whaiaro to Fernside School. This will include a break down of what a cuturally connected student might look like as they progress through Fernside School.

Also currently being developed is a language pathway for students in te reo Māori that meets our current needs, and will continue to develop over the next 2 years allowing time for students and staff to develop.