Rahui Katene, MP for Te Tai Tonga

Monday 18 July 2011; 4.45pm

Wellington Kindergarten Association Conference 2011

'Maori Party Vision for Early Childhood education in Aotearoa: Te Whariki: Past, Present, and Future'

I wanted to start this afternoon’s proceedings by acknowledging the legacy of the late Dame Katerina Mataira; a leader of the people through her wonderful way with words, and her passion for the revival and regeneration of te reo

Her legacy will live on through Te Ataarangi, kohanga reo, kura kaupapa and whare kura; and our mokopuna will continue to learn through the literature she has gifted the world.

When I come to the kaupapa of the Maori Party vision for early childhood education in Aotearoa, I believe the influence of Dr Mataira speaks to us in this conference – as well as the days to come

Dame Katerina credited her gift of storytelling to the influence of her parents, Raniera and Erana Harrison. In a story told ten years ago, when Dame Katerina was awarded the Te Waka Toi Exemplary Award for her crucial role in the renaissance of te reo Maori, she told how, in his native tongue, her father would spend hours telling them amazing stories. She said,

“Many of his stories were about his own life. They were full of real people and real events. There were scary ones too. He loved to tell ghost stories, then send one of us kids outside to fetch wood for the fire”.

In today’s times in which we sometimes seek to create such a sense of safety for our children, it may not necessarily be seen as the done thing to promote ‘the fear factor’!

But for me, the lesson we learn from these reflections is to feel the fear, and still to have the courage to go on.

In many ways, that is the greatest gift of early childhood – to develop the courage to take risks; to cultivate the sense of imagination, and to explore every aspect of our world.

You ask me, what is our vision for early childhood education.

When I looked at the vision of the Wellington Kindergarten Association, I have to say there was much that I agreed with.

But in particular, I commend this Association for your commitment to:

• Providing education and support programmes which respect the dignity, rights, abilities, individuality, cultural values and learning styles of children, teachers, parents and management.
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• Honouring the principles and practices inherent in the Treaty of Waitangi.
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• Ensuring equitable practices.
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And so I say back to you, How do we do that? I would say - it comes in the context of whanau ora.

In the drive towards Whanau Ora, we have been talking of various outcomes that whanau are seeking; outcomes such as being

- self-managing;

- living healthy lifestyles;

- participating fully in society;

- confidently participating in Te Ao Māori;

- economically secure and successfully involved in wealth creation; and

- cohesive, resilient and nurturing.

I truly believe that these indicators are as valid for Te Whariki – as they are for our homes.

They are about planting seeds for the future; nurturing the greatest potential of our young.

Our children need to grow up in environments where Maori identity and culture are celebrated and flourish. These are very important issues for Maori. Our reo is a taonga that we want to share – and we need our reo to be widely used and enjoyed, to ensure its long-term survival and growth.

In the report issued last year, Success for Māori Children in Early Childhood Services: Good Practice, there was a particular case study given of Takaro Kindergarten which operates under the umbrella of Ruahine Kindergarten Association.

Māori children make up approximately 70% of the roll of Takaro Kindergarten; and as such, the importance of cultural competency is interwoven right across the kindergarten – its curriculum and its staffing expectations. In the report from the Education Review Office it highlighted some of the ways this is achieved:

• The leadership capabilities of children, whānau and teachers are nurtured.

• Māori children know they are valued as competent learners and demonstrate confidence to lead others in a range of activities.

• Many kindergarten practices are initiated by children or the community.

• Mihimihi at the beginning of the day gives children opportunities to lead haka, pēpeha, waiata, and karakia.

• Children and adults use te reo Māori comfortably and confidently as part of daily interaction.

• Learning stories show how the curriculum offers culturally rich learning experiences that affirm children’s identity as Māori.

• The teachers have respect for tikanga Māori and a love for te reo Māori. They have a genuine interest in Māori children and their learning and get excited about their work and celebrate their successes.

I wanted to share the findings of this report, because, quite frankly, I am tired of presentations which focus on all that is wrong in education.

There is now a very well developed corpus of research which tells us about the impacts of a mana-diminishing curriculum – a curriculum where children feel alienated or marginalised; where the only expectations seem to be a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.

We need to focus, instead, on the success of centres such as Takaro, to encourage all services to be more responsive to whānau and to support Māori children.

One of the key priorities the Maori Party has been working on is Tataiako cultural competency standards for educators.

Tataiako builds on the successful elements of Te Kotahitanga which has helped lift Maori student achievement in mainstream schools. In essence, Tataiako is about providing some pathways for understanding and working with Maori students, whanau and communities.

It is about engaging with Maori, and understanding the choices every child has within their own culture.

We know that every child born, is born into a huge range of ancestors, and as they grow they need to also grow into the ever-widening knowledge of their grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, their people.

Cultural competency starts from the basis that you need to know, accept and appreciate your own culture before you can appreciate others’ cultures. In many ways it is about having the right attitude; the willingness to learn, and an open heart to building relationships.

Cultural competency is about facing the fear – being prepared to take some risks, to step outside your comfort zone, and to fetch the wood for the fire, no matter what.

The Maori Party wants to make sure that access to early childhood is a given for all children. We were really proud, that after our advocacy, children aged three, four and five years old kohanga and playcentre, were also able to receive twenty hours per week of free childcare alongside of kindergartens, centre based, and home-based centres.

We have also been really pleased that almost $100 million has been invested into early childhood education participation projects aimed at lifting Māori participation.

The focus of the funding increase will be to work with communities to make sure that Government designs services that suit their needs, that are culturally appropriate, and that deliver early childhood services in a way that each community wants to see.

Finally, I want to share our philosophical belief as a party, that we belief every possible step should be taken, to ensure all children get the best start in life. We support a shift in the emphasis of educational investment towards children and early childhood education, including lowering the adult/child ratios. In return, we expect services to meet the needs of Maori and Pasifika children and their parents, to be culturally competent and appropriate.

One of the statements that resonated with me in the review of Success for Māori Children in Early Childhood Services was the statement, it’s not what’s on the wall but what’s in your heart that counts.

I hope that the dreams and aspirations of all of our whanau are written into your hearts as much as they are articulated into your charters, your policies, your plans and your posters on the wall!

ENDS

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