Mary Richmond Kindergarten is one of 15 kindergartens operating under the umbrella of the Napier Kindergarten Association. It has recently changed its hours in consultation with the community and now operates a six-hour day. Forty children attend for the morning and then 20 of the older children stay on for the afternoon. Approximately 85 percent of children attending the kindergarten identify as Māori.
Teachers at this kindergarten are very aware of the progress they have made in being more responsive to their community and focusing on Māori children as competent and confident learners. They are also clear about what still needs to be done and the challenges associated with this.
A priority for the teaching team is to develop and maintain positive working relationships with each other. Part of building a new teaching team was the development of a group contract that sets out how they will work together. Teachers work collaboratively and recognise that every teacher has strengths to contribute and areas to develop.
Teachers provide a welcoming environment that is inclusive of whānau. They recognise the importance of developing and maintaining respectful relationships with children and their whānau and within their teaching team. The kindergarten’s vision focuses on developing good relationships. Parents’ initial experiences and first impressions matter, and teachers are working on ways to ensure that the environment and their interactions with whānau are warm and welcoming. When each child is enrolled, teachers spend time discussing with whānau what they want for that child. They have a form for parents to complete, but find that the informal face-to-face discussions work best.
The teaching team is working on developing a sense of community in the kindergarten. Work is under way to make the kindergarten entrance more welcoming and inviting. At present a screen door inside the main door is a barrier to getting parents and whānau to come into the centre and become involved with their children. Teachers want parents to come in and spend some time with their children, and not just come to drop them off or pick them up.
Changes to the hours children can attend the kindergarten have had some positive benefits for children and their families. Whānau grouping of children, whereby the siblings or relatives of older children can attend at the same time, fosters tuakana/teina relationships with the older children supporting their younger siblings or relatives.
This works wells for our community - they like to have their children all in the same place.
Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, both guides and challenges teaching practice. The kindergarten’s curriculum offers Māori culture through such activities as art, waiata and the use of te reo Māori. Teachers are building on what they are doing, and have plans to visit the local marae and invite people from the local community to visit the kindergarten and talk about their knowledge of Te Ao Māori.
We are moving out of our comfort zones.
Teachers are currently developing a relationship with the nearby kura kaupapa Māori, strengthening the links between the kindergarten and the Māori community. Establishing a relationship with one parent led to her sharing her knowledge of weaving with children and teachers. Developing relationships further should gradually enable teachers to involve parents and whānau in the programme.
We need to show our faces a bit more in the community.
Teachers are documenting learning stories that have a Māori perspective or context. Having a visual record of the various learning experiences at the kindergarten and of trips into the community enables children to revisit these and to talk about them with other children and their parents. Examples are: a learning story with photos recording a group of children revisiting their previous experience of a hangi as they played in the sandpit; and a child sharing her love for the story of Pania of the Reef and discussing with the teacher a recent visit to the sculpture with her family.
Teachers place importance on making children’s learning visible for parents and this leads to meaningful discussions between children and their whānau. One parent took her son’s portfolio home and wrote his whakapapa in it. Teachers are looking at ways for all of their Māori children to do this.
When asked what might help other services to be more responsive to whānau and to support Māori children, the head teacher highlighted the importance of:
Mary Richmond Kindergarten is an example of a centre that is aware of its successes and the challenges it faces in being responsive to the parents and whānau of Māori children who attend the kindergarten. Teachers are taking manageable steps towards implementing a curriculum that supports Māori children as competent and confident learners.