The stars and planets have finally aligned! This month, as we celebrate Nōku Te Ao's 20th birthday, and the first official holiday for Matariki, we signed off on a suite of new agreements that will see Nōku Te Ao Charitable Trust, as the founding community of Te Pā, partner with the Ministry of Education to co-design and build our pā wānanga at Pohoareare - hallelujah!!

We are 30 years into an intergenerational plan that began with a kapa haka, Te Ahikaaroa (1993); the establishment of an early learning centre Nōku Te Ao (2002); the opening of a Sec 156 Designated Character School, Te Pā o Rākaihautū (2015) and the opening of a second early learning centre, Nōku Te Ao ki Te Pā (2015). We are excited now to embark on phase four, the design and build of a full-scale 21st century pā wānanga in Ōtautahi. 

"He pā wānanga, he pā oranga, he pā mana motuhake!”

What is different this time you may ask?

The board has been around this track more than once with the Ministry of Education as we battled for almost ten years to secure a permanent site and begin the design and build of our pā wānanga. Shifting goal posts, policies and people have frustrated our efforts to date. What is different this time is:

1. The Ministry launched their newest strategy at the end of last year, Te Mahau, in response to its review of Tomorrows schools in 2019. A restructure of its delivery is intended to ensure better engagement with whānau and school communities on "the mahau". 
   
2. There have been a number of recent legislative changes that require the Ministry to give practical effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 
3. We have found our site ourselves and are in direct discussions with the Christchurch City Council and Ngāi Tūāhuriri.

We met with the Secretary of Education, Iona Holsted and her senior leadership team at the end of last year to discuss how we could reset our relationship in line with their latest strategies and new legal requirements and many hours of kōrero "on the mahau' later we signed off on three significant and groundbreaking documents:

1. He Rākai Taketake, a Mana Ōrite Agreement that establishes a foundation for how we will work together on the mahau to advance each others aspirations in line with the principles of Mana Ōrite (Partnership), Mana Māori (Protection) and Mana Taurite (Participation).  . 
   
2. A terms of reference for a new co-governance model that sees us not just co-designing our new pā but also co-deciding every step of the process
3. A Scope of Works that clarifies our respective roles and resourcing.
   

We have pulled a small team around this mahi, Te Pae Pohoareare, and mapped out an end to end process that will take the better part of 3 -4 years to complete. Phase 1 is underway and will involve the completion of a number of design briefs by October. Some of you may have been involved in the first round of wānanga we did with whānau, staff and pononga in 2019 which resulted in an Education Brief. These briefs will  build on the work already done and drill down into five key pou: Pou Matatū, Pou Matatau, Pou Mataora, Pou Whenua and Pou Hangarau that will in turn inform the design and build of the pā. As we move through this process we will be coming to you to test and expand on our thinking. We will keep you updated as we go with regular pānui and opportunities for you to engage in this exciting mahi! In our next update will talk a bit about the significance of Pohoareare, the site we are already warming up!