Nga Kura a Iwi schools have impressed Education Minister Hekia Parata at a national conference in Rotorua.
About 300 Nga Kura a Iwi educators started their two-day conference yesterday at Rotorua's Holiday Inn.
The full programme is a mix of innovations in teaching, the legal aspects to the work of boards of trustees, and best practice across curriculum for kura potiki (primary) and wharekura (secondary).
Ms Parata, who gave a speech at the event, said she was impressed with the work being done at Nga Kura a Iwi schools.
"I am a huge fan of the place-based local curriculum that is practised in Nga Kura a Iwi schools and how the schools collaborate in a way of being, not in a way of getting.