Kura
At the start of this project statistics showed that only 7% of children and young people (aged 5-18) are meeting the New Zealand guidelines for physical activity (at least 1 hour a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity) solely through PE, sport, exercise and active recreation. What about the other 93%?
Quality physical activity both improves physical health and educational outcomes. Being active has also been proven to improve mental health and social connectedness.
Children who are malnourished, have nutrition deficiencies or are obese, have an increased risk of poorer education outcomes. Physically active children are more likely to have better physical and mental health, stay in school and kura longer and achieve better academically.
Using Atua Matua as an approach for promoting tamariki wellbeing in kura Tapuwaekura have:
Established and trained a cohort of eight national Atua Matua trainers
Facilitated 11 wānanga, hosting 89 kaiako from 14 kura
Tested the Atua Matua approach in seven different taiao
Developed an Atua Matua toolkit for kura and kaiako.
Tapuwaekura wants to support kura and kaiako to engage with their taiao, and the mātauranga therein, without adding another layer of work to their busy schedules. Atua-Matua is not simply more professional development, but rather, a different way of thinking and working.
When we engage with kura and kaiako it is expected that;
they will have some knowledge of their own taiao mātauranga
They will have some connection with local iwi and iwi stories
they will be open to reviewing their current curriculum and teaching practice
they will be prepared to test new knowledge they have reconnected with in their practice
There is not a one size fits all model. Our approach is to co-design an Atua-Matua model with each kura that aligns with the local taiao, mātauranga and iwi.
