Encouraging family/whānau and iwi involvement in school planning

Te Mana Kōrero 3

• What do you note about family/whānau and iwi involvement in school strategic planning and vision setting? Who is involved? How do they get involved? How do they view the task?

[Hiruharama School: 30-40 whānau members attended a ‘strategic-thinking hui’ (this included parents, grandparents, aunties, and uncles – note parent comment, “My sister at another school was invited … Whomever thinks they have something to contribute to the school is more than welcome”); participants were asked to discuss in small groups “what we look to see at school” and “what areas we would like to see children learn in”; draft gets shared (for comment or change) with everyone before being published (note parent comment, “You actually get listened to”).]

Think about how encouraging and valuing family/whānau and iwi involvement in school strategic planning and vision-setting addresses the school’s requirement to “make decisions about how to give effect to the national curriculum in ways that best address the particular needs, interests, and circumstances of the school’s students and community. [This] requires a clear understanding of … the values and expectations of the community” (The New Zealand Curriculum, 2007, p. 37).

Think also about the requirement for schools “in consultation with the school’s Māori community, to develop and make known its plans and targets for improving the achievement of Māori students” (ibid., p. 44).

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