Te Taura Here o Ōtautahi kāhui ako is a community of learning like no other: four really diverse schools and 11 early childhood education centres, located in and around the central city!

At Te Pā o Rākaihautū the importance of place is reflected in the name of our pā. We embody the unique and rich histories of Rākaihautū and Te Waipounamu, deeply anchoring learning in place.

We have such a wonderful group of students who are keen to give time and energy into supporting their peers and younger ākonga with academic tutoring and transitional support within our kura.

Kia ora, I’m Susan Ayson, Kaiwhakamahereora Hinengaro, or Mental Health Adviser for Te Taura Here o Ōtautahi Kāhui Ako Community of Learning.

Giving back to the community, foregrounding the Ngāi Tūāhuriri cultural narrative, and acting as kaitiaki protecting and looking after the environment are features of ākonga /tamariki led placed based projects.

In March the Kāhui team met with Hayley the Network Manager from the Avon Ōtākaro Network in order to register our strong interest in ākonga /tamariki led projects on some of the Red Zone land.

A group of Hagley kaiako from a range of teaching areas has come together with the aim of exploring and improving educational experiences for our ākonga Māori.

Christchurch East have had a great start to the year and have been working on a number of areas in relation to the Kahui Ako Goals.

In our kura, students are able to choose and change their courses throughout the year.

Did you know there are 12 early childhood services (ECE) in Te Taura Here o Otautahi Kahui Ako? ECE is a richly diverse sector made up of many different types of services and management structures. In each newsletter we will feature a few of our ECE’s historical narrative as a way to learn more about our membership and also the ECE sector. We hope you enjoy!

Digital Technologies is now an essential part of the curriculum for all students from year levels 1-10.

All kura and ECEs have high expectations for ākonga Māori so they can succeed as Māori - so how can we improve what we do?

Cultural Narrative & Culturally Responsive Practice

This year sees the beginning of a kāhui ako initiative designed to provide an extra pair of hands in supporting our Year 12 students to reach their academic goals for 2021 and beyond.

As part of our project inquiring into the link between ELL and mainstream programmes and working to improve learning pathways between the programmes, we are teaching a NCEA level one English class.

One of our focuses in supporting students’ future pathways is in increasing the number of students opting into STEM subjects in our Senior school, particularly all the way through into Year 13 – and hopefully beyond! We have been looking at ways to identify students who need extra support to access these courses.

Using technology as a key tool for learning

Improving the student experience when transitioning to Secondary School.

Learning at school and away from school in 2021