From the information gathered and my existing knowledge, I decided to make the intervention slow and gradual throughout the whole year to best support both teachers and learners. We already had resources and activities in place to support teachers during various language weeks, and these were expanded each year. While this created a sense of confidence during those weeks, it did not provide enough support throughout the rest of the year. So what could we do about this.....
Firstly, myself along with Speech and langauge therapists supplied teachers and classes with multilingual visuals that included English, Te Reo Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language, using the same symbols as our coreboards. This provided a clear and consistent starting point for teachers and learners. It helped create a cohesive environment where, even if you were not confident in Te Reo or sign language, you could refer to the visuals as guidance. This was particularly valuable for new teachers at Sommerville.
Secondly, we re-established a school Kapa Haka group for learners to join. There were no specific requirements to participate, and we have seen how much the learners enjoy it. It has also provided teachers with exposure to different cultures and encouraged collaboration between classes. This year marks the first combined special school cultural festival, in which the kapa haka group will perform. This supports cultural capabilites along with collaboration. In line with this, the learning languages team, which I led this year, created a school karakia. We collaborated with Ngāti Paoa to ensure an accurate translation in Te Reo Māori that reflected our school. The karakia was shared with teachers alongside a waiata, this was put to music so that the whole school could begin learning it together.
Lastly, we hold a whole school cultural festival each year. While this is not a new initiative, it remains an important way of celebrating all cultures in our school and fostering an inclusive environment.
All resources provided to staff have been stored in the shared drive for easy access and ongoing support. These resources will continue to grow as new materials are developed. Having a central bank of resources is particularly helpful for our teachers, allowing them to revisit materials whenever they need additional support.
