Last year, NZEI Te Riu Roa kindergarten members won a new addition in their collective agreement: ten-week-long paid sabbaticals for up to 20 head teachers each year. We are honoured to share excerpts from a generous and insightful diary written during one of the first sabbaticals earlier this year, thanks to Shelley Shennan, the head teacher of Parihaka Kindergarten in Whangārei.
When obsessive compulsive disorder is misunderstood, students and staff living with OCD are alienated from classrooms — how do educators create more inclusive learning environments for all? A psychologist, a teacher living with OCD, a student and his mum share their perspectives.
Bush school, cold dips, and local conservation projects with rats traps, Half Moon Bay School on Rakiura/Stewart Island make sure all the opportunities are possible for their tamariki.
Some tamariki come to school carrying invisible backpacks. Glenview School and Papanui High share the invaluable role learning assistants and support staff play in ensuring all children can feel safe to learn.
Through digital literacy skills, collaboration and teamwork, two intermediate schools in Ōtautahi Christchurch are equipping tamariki exciting new ways to dream of the future.
To celebrate Gasav Ne Fäeag Rotuạm Ta – Rotuman Language Week, two poems from Ruby Rae Lupe Ah-Wai Macomber and Fesaitu Solomone.
It’s not unusual to have two educators in the family, but have you ever heard of six? Ako meets the Huntleys, a family from Marlborough who have dedicated their lives to teaching and their community.
All students deserve opportunities to achieve. The move to end streaming is a way of challenging socio-economic inequalities and the institutionalised racism that continues to persist in our teaching practices.
NZEI Te Riu Roa has launched its biggest pay equity claim so far – for all teachers. We talk to members who have been through the process and some involved in the new claim, to find out what out what’s involved – and why it’s worth it.
During the recent weather events schools have emerged as first responders to crisis in many close-knit communities. Where local authorities failed, groups of educators joined together as hubs of help. Ako spoke with one group of schools in Tāmaki Makaurau about their joint efforts in the face of crisis.
In times of tragedy and crisis, schools are often the glue that holds communities together. At the close of term one 2023, Ako visited one small school in Hawke’s Bay to learn how it became a regional hub after Cyclone Gabrielle.
Staff and students at two Te Tai Tokerau kura have been learning the challenging skill of tāniko and other weaving techniques. Ako finds out how this akoranga is supporting hauora and weaving the school community together.
An innovative language project involving 19 kindergarten teachers has shown the value of collaboration and using data to enhance intentional teaching in early childhood education.
Puta noa i te motu e ngana ana te hunga tangata ki te ako i te reo Māori me Te Reo Turi/New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), koia nei ngā reo taketake o Aotearoa. I kōrero ake a Ako ki ētahi o ngā ākonga e ngana nei ki te whai i tēnei kaupapa, ko te whāinga hoki ko te whakamana i ngā reanga e kake ake ana, e mōhio ai rātou ko wai rātou, nō hea rātou.
Across the country people are making it their mission to learn te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), both official languages in Aotearoa New Zealand. Ako spoke to educators who have taken up the language learning challenge, with the aim of empowering the next generation to be confident in who they are and where they come from.
Professional learning and development (PLD) is a critical part of practice for all educators. But how do they ensure their ongoing learning has the best impact for ākonga? These personal stories showcase some outstanding PLD experiences that benefit students, educators and whole communities.
For many of us adults, memories of physical education at school are embarrassing and isolating. Ako profiled teachers being supported to change that through Healthy Active Learning, a joint government initiative enhancing tamariki wellbeing through quality physical activity and healthy food and drink.
COVID-19 forced schools and early childhood centres to rethink the way they delivered learning. Ako talks to educators who have found the silver linings and are looking to the future.
Many schools and ECE centres already use Aotearoa histories as a powerful tool to engage tamariki in learning. Personal stories of migration are at the heart of it.