Associate Minister for Education Jan Tinetti. Photo / File
Tauranga schools prioritising student and whānau wellbeing during last year's Covid response proved a success, but a Government minister says more work still needs to be done for Māori tamariki (children) in education.
An Education Review Office (ERO) case study review was held yesterday at Tauranga's Trinity Wharf Hotel, looking at the impact of the Covid-19 events on Māori learners in English-medium schools.
Eight schools participated in Te Muka Here Tangata, four of which were from Tauranga: Brookfield School, Merivale School, Gate Pā School and Te Ākau ki Pāpāmoa School. All of the schools had high-percentage Māori rolls.
Despite the challenges faced by these schools, ERO said the case study demonstrated how strong leadership and connection helped put the welfare of students at the forefront.
The insights from the case study would be used by the ERO and the schools to assist them to be better prepared to deliver distance learning.
Former Merivale School principal and current Associate Minister for Education, Jan Tinetti, said leaders, teachers and whānau went above and beyond to ensure tamariki felt safe and supported to keep learning during the pandemic.
"The events of 2020 were absolutely unprecedented. And the way that they did hit our whānau, it was pretty horrific in some cases," she said.
"I keep thinking back to my time at Merivale – and thinking how hard it must have been for a lot of those whānau. But what this report actually highlights is how well those communities came together."
Tinetti loved that a focus on whānau was at the centre of each school's Covid response. She also didn't find it surprising that these school communities met the challenge.
"And for me, that is very much what happens in a school where you have got a high percentage of Māori who are highly engaged with their school.
"What got me more than anything, was how they demonstrated high levels of whanaunatanga, aroha and kaitiakitanga. They stepped up to the mark."
But despite these wins, she said some have had "such bad experiences" in education they have no trust in the system.
"There are lots of good things that are going on in education – but actually I can't say hand on heart that it is always good for all of our tamariki Māori in this country.
"I know that he brings some issues with him because he had a pretty tough background. The system does this to these kids, and it is hurting me. It is hurting each and everyone of us.
"A lot of my whānau had such bad experiences in education themselves, they had no trust in the system."
Tinetti praised hard-working school leaders, such as Gate Pā principal Rochelle Jensen, who strived to do "absolutely everything" to help the school community.
"I know that during lockdown you were one of those principals that was so concerned about your whānau you were doing absolutely everything," she said.
"The schools showed incredible creativity, flexibility and resilience to make sure tamariki were continuing to learn in a way that upheld and reflected their culture."
Jensen said the school was "bursting" to participate in the case study, as it allowed them to tell their story.
"There were all these unanticipated outcomes. I wouldn't have thought relationships would have strengthened through lockdown," she said.
She said staying connected, and responding to families' individual needs helped guide them through the unprecedented situation.
"Just really listening rather than making snap decisions. And making sure the people making the decisions for the tamariki were the ones that knew them best.
"It was knowing the whānau well enough to respond to the individual needs."
Karakia over Zoom, food parcels, delivery of about 150 digital devices and a check-in over the phone were just some of the efforts made by the school during that time.
"You had to keep ears open and be responsive. What it taught us is that we had to be agile," she said.
Merivale School principal Tom Paekau said lockdown was a "tough time" for families, so they put student wellbeing before teaching subject matter.
"We were more concerned about the welfare of our students than the actual educational success. And once we knew things were going well, then the learning came," he said.
"For us, that was more important than having a dedicated timetable programme. For lots of communities, especially where there is struggle, Covid was just an added layer.
"It was a tough time for families, but I think our school handled it well."
Paekau said one of the biggest struggles for the school community was the financial blowback of Covid-19.
"There have been job losses, families have been feeling the pinch in terms of what they can provide."
It was also unfortunate the school didn't receive digital devices for students to use at home during the lockdown, he said.
"One of the drawbacks was that we did have families that weren't connected. Us being a decile one school, we thought we would be part of that first rollout.
"In a lot of cases, we provided students with their own school device. We do have iPads and Chromebooks. But it would have been nice to provide one particular platform to every child."
Tinetti said the digital divide was an area of inequity in education that needed addressing.
• A culture of care underpinned the schools' actions. Leaders and teachers prioritised wellbeing and easing any anxiety and stress whānau might be experiencing due to Covid-19.
• Learners and whānau were given hygiene, care and kai packs. Some of the schools had very strong associations with community groups, iwi and hapū, and together they were able to ensure emotional support was available and kai was provided during lockdown.
• All schools factored in regular check-ins to ensure established tikanga like karakia, and school values like manaakitanga and whanaungatanga continued to be enacted.
• The health, safety and wellbeing of learners was again to the fore as alert levels lessened. The few schools that didn't already have pandemic plans in place, did so.
• Learners, whānau and teachers all expressed the significant progress made in the key competencies of self-management, communication and participation. All believed the most significant progress they made was in digital learning.