OUR VALUES

We celebrate and model a whole learner approach to success characterized by:
Active, positive engagement in lifelong learning, persevering and striving for one’s full potential
Resourceful, confident and curious — accept the challenge of learning
Empathy, responsibility and kindness for each other — connected citizens in our communities
Respectful, supportive and safe relationships
Promotion of resilience through physical, mental and spiritual well-being
Connections with whānau and community

CHALLENGES FOR CHANGE

Cultural Identity Strong and Secure

We believe that when learners’ cultural identities are strong and secure, their academic success will improve.  ​

Hauroa and Wellbeing

We believe that when learners’ hauora is strong, their academic success will improve.  ​

Designing Learning for Agentic Ākonga

We believe that when learners are strong in the dispositions required for living and lifelong learning, their academic success will improve. Agentic ākonga learners are active partners in the learning process.

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LEVERS FOR CHANGE

Our overarching theory of improvement is based on the understanding that learning will flourish if we create conditions for mauri ora across our community of learning.  We want all members of our community to thrive, to feel a sense of belonging and inclusion within our education system, and to have their languages, cultures and identities celebrated and validated. We believe that our learners are more likely to thrive if they feel a sense of belonging and inclusion in our schools, and if they have ownership of, and access to, visible, engaging curriculum.
 
The following three levers for change, we believe, will create the conditions for our achievement challenges to be reached. 

Lever 1 — Cultural relationships for responsive pedagogy
Lever 2 — Educationally powerful partnerships
Lever 3 — Teachers and leaders are the best that they can be

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OUR PROCESSES

Wellbeing

Work in partnership to promote wellbeing

Build Teacher Capacity

Support continued teacher effectiveness by growing, embedding and sustaining internal expertise, and building capacity within and across kura

Inquiry Approach

Identify issues, review the evidence, reflect on findings, and then collectively develop and implement coordinated solutions and improvements.

OUR AGREED WAYS OF WORKING

Our guidelines to support collaborative ways of working and decision-making:

• commitment to working cooperatively in partnership;
  
• alignment to strategic plans so the Kāhui Ako enhances and complements the work in each school;
  
• information-gathering being transparent and explicit in order to create an information-sharing culture;
  
• discussion enriched by schools openly discussing their own data, with reference to the Kāhui Ako as a whole, and other schools; 
  
• open discussion with an explicit commitment on the part of all to not comment disparagingly on either their own school’s data or that of others. Conversation will be solutions-focussed, which may result in surfacing challenges, but these will be commented upon constructively.
  

Our operational guidelines:

• All schools will be reassured of the anonymity and confidentiality of data;
  
• Commitment to attendance at meetings;
  
• Agreement to send representatives from each school to meetings;
  
• Decision-making protocols that guide voting (including quorum), consensus and consultation;
  
• Secure and sustainable management and storage of aggregated data;
  
• Communications to all stakeholders to be guided by a clear strategy with a focus on supporting our goals and demonstrating achievement.