Building Whānau and Kaiako partnerships

The Building Whānau & Kaiako Partnerships workshop equips educators with strategies to strengthen connections with whānau, fostering tamariki’s social, emotional, and literacy development. Participants will explore how oral language and communication support emotional learning and how to integrate linguistic diversity, including Te Reo Māori and home languages, beyond functional use. The workshop emphasizes leveraging local curriculum for early literacy, understanding the importance of home language environments, and empowering whānau with literacy education strategies. Through the Whānau Stories model, kaiako will gain tools to build authentic, collaborative partnerships that honor cultural identity and enhance tamariki’s learning journey.

We will cover

• Using oral language and early literacy to support social emotional learning

• Leveraging linguistic diversity and the integration of Te Reo Māori and home languages into everyday (beyond commands and functional language).

• Leveraging local curriculum to foster early literacy

• Why partnerships matter