Principal Tim White says one reason Frimley School won $50,000 in the Prime Minister's Education Excellence Awards for 2021 was that his teachers "made themselves vulnerable".
But he doesn't mean that the way most of us might think. What he's describing is the Hastings school that found a new way to bring pupils/ ākonga, teachers, whānau, the local iwi and the wider community together in a cultural-educational way that is really paying off.
"What we are trying to do is to align the school with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and, in doing so, we are forging our own path to bring te reo and tikanga Māori alive in this school," he says.
The story of how they did so involves what White calls teachers "making themselves vulnerable" – but also reaches much further than that. It encompasses partnerships with parents, whānau, iwi, outside experts and cultural contributors to bring about a change plan using cultural significance and belonging to shape the school vision, the way teachers teach, the curriculum and the way the school is structured and organised.
Frimley School, decile 4, has about 600 ākonga in a diverse student roll, with about 43 per cent Māori, eight per cent Pasifika, 18 per cent Indian and about 30 per cent Pākehā.
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"The idea was to move the focus away from reading, writing and maths to be much more inclusive of what we call 'the whole child'," says White. "That means their language, culture and identity, sense of belonging and their hauora [the Māori philosophy of health and wellbeing]."
It means helping ākonga to know who they are as individuals, members of their whānau and as future leaders of the community. In parallel with that, the school investigated what White calls place-based learning or a new and localised curriculum which helped give them that sense of identity and belonging by learning about their region and their place in it.
It also meant casting an educational net wider than just the school grounds, involving not just whānau and community members but cultural and other experts who could help give the children that same sense of identity and belonging – like the man who visited, demonstrating traditional Māori instruments or pūrākau [the stories handed down of significant events in the region] showing, for example, the significance of the local river in daily life.
One of the challenges on this new path was a real change of approach for the teachers, says White: "Most of our teachers are not Māori and not experts in the areas we were expanding – like te reo and tikanga and specific tools, like pūrākau."
"They were being asked to teach areas and concepts where they weren't necessarily as expert as teachers normally are. They were asked to open themselves up, to acknowledge that there might be people out there who knew more than they did about the language, pronunciation, tikanga – and that is a lot to ask of teachers."
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"It might be parents, grandparent, kaumatua at the marae, or other people in the community and it means teachers might not be the fount of all knowledge at the school. It really changes the relationship with teachers and each other. "
"It works – and we all know, as people, how much more included and motivated you feel if your language, culture and identity is a part of what you are doing. It means kids don't come to school with empty pockets; they have experiences here which means they are at the centre of a process helping them to be really knowledgeable – and that benefits teachers too."
The three broad goals Frimley School works to are:
- Goal One: Fun and meaningful learning with a curriculum that is student-centred, culturally connected and future-focused
- Goal Two: Success for all – the school is inclusive and supportive of all learners, the 'whole child', so they can enjoy learning.
- Goal Three: Strong partnerships – fostering and actively working to engage with whānau with the school at the centre of the community.
That this approach is working well is seen by Frimley School's win in the Prime Minister's Awards. They won the Excellence in Teaching and Learning category ($20,000 prize) before winning the $30,000 Supreme Award.
The judges said there was "an overall sense of community at Frimley Primary School. Teachers were united about the kaupapa in learning and enhancing students' skills in te reo. Teachers had professional development on the marae, went on walks to learn about the area and are all learning te reo". The school also runs a Manaaki Tamariki programme, which provides alternative learning for some students.
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Because of the pandemic , the awards ceremony was broadcast live on YouTube and White says: "It was very nerve-wracking as the awards unfolded. I don't know what it would have been like to have been there at Te Papa but we just sat and marvelled at the fantastic work being done by others – and thought, 'crikey, it's going to be tough to win this'".
White says it is early days re use of the prize money but says discussions with the school board have started on some kind of legacy that will be used to benefit future generations as well – and to develop their direction and curriculum more "so whānau might see themselves more in our school".
*Since 2014, the Prime Minister's Excellence in Education Awards have been shining a light on teaching best practice by schools, kura, early learning services and kōhanga reo across Aotearoa New Zealand. They are made up of four categories: Excellence in Engaging, Excellence in Leading, Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and Excellence in Wellbeing Education. In addition, every year there's an Education Focus Prize as well. This year's Focus Prize, Excellence in Environmental and Sustainability Education, won by Northland's Oruaiti School, celebrates teaching and learning that empowers children and young people to develop critical thinking skills, as they explore the impact people have on the environment, and take action for a sustainable future.
A full list of winners can be found here.