Ahuriri schools paving the way to reo Māori revitalisation

A vision to see te reo Māori not just taught, but lived, in the classroom has seen three Ahuriri kura create space to revitalise te reo Māori within their communities. Already, the classes are fostering fluency in reo Māori beyond classroom walls, as ākonga flourish.

It all began when Tamatea High School’s previous tumuaki

Robin Fabish, alongside members of the local hapū and marae in Napier, shared a vision for their kura community – full immersion classes for te reo Māori.

The result was the 2023 opening of the first Rumaki reo classes for Year 9 and Year 10 ākonga.

Today, Rumaki reo “is a way to honour Te Tiriti and to help our Māori students flourish in te ao Māori and te ao whānui (the global world)”, says Tamatea High School’s current principal Jesse Te Weehi.

Now, the immersion programme has also been adopted by Tamatea Intermediate and Porritt School. This expansion into earlier year levels is fostering fluency in students’ reo Māori as they advance along their educational journeys.

Tamatea Intermediate School opened their reo rumaki space in 2024. Principal Jo Smith says whānau expressed a clear desire for their tamariki to have a pathway that allowed them to be “unapologetically Māori”.

That meant being “connected to whakapapa, immersed in tikanga and nurtured in te reo Māori,” she says.

“This was about supporting te reo Māori to not just be taught, but lived, and that identity, belonging and pride were central to learning.”

Porritt School created their own reo rumaki space ‘Kōkiri’, this year. Principal Maaka Papuni says whānau and hapori had requested the space for several years and seeing Tamatea High’s space only strengthened the school’s resolve.

Once Tamatea Intermediate also created their reo rumaki classes, Maaka says the timing became right for the primary school’s plans to move forward. It opened a reo pathway in the community for tamaraki to take their language learning into their education.

“Kōkiri in this instance relates to championing a cause and moving forward, and as an encouragement to all in ‘our waka’ to keep driving us forward,” says Maaka.

“We recognise the courage of our tuakana kura in making the moves that allowed this shift to be supported in our school.”

Not just taught, but lived

Back at Tamatea High, Whaea Brenda Marriner and Matua Parekura Matehe lead the Rumaki reo classes. They began with a roll of about 20 junior school ākonga in 2023. This year, 15 of those students have continued as Year 11s and Year 12s, and a new cohort of 15 has joined the junior Rumaki reo programme.

Rumaki reo is taught in an open-plan classroom, called Rua Tē Pāia, with collaborative teaching and breakout spaces. Brenda says the name was gifted to the kura by Tipene Cottrell, mana whenua from one of their local marae and hapū. It comes from a waiata composed in the early 1820s.

“Loosely translated, it’s the home so often spoken about by the ancestors. Te Whanga is the storehouse that never closes. A meal in the morning, meals throughout the day, a meal in the evening,” she says.

“And Tipene aligned that with kai being reo. So reo in the morning, day and evening.”

In the classroom space, one side is dedicated to full immersion, where all subjects are taught in reo Māori. The other space is reo rua, where te reo Māori and te ao haka are taught as subjects to students who may or may not be in the rumaki.

Ākonga are taking their learnings outside of the classroom to their whānau, helping family on their own te reo journeys, says Brenda.

“They feel a responsibility not just for themselves but for their whānau, their iwi, their hapū and their hapori,” she explains.

Jo says rumaki reo spaces reconnect tamariki to whenua, iwi, hapū and local pūrākau. “It’s strengthening reo Māori in homes as well as in the kura,” she says.

“This signals to the whole community that the kura is genuinely committed to biculturalism and giving practical effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”

A measure of success

Tamatea High has so far measured the success of the Rumaki reo programmes through ākonga voice, using a form of pūrākau methodology. Students record their own narratives to unpack their perceptions on what it means to be Māori.

“Some of our rangatahi and their whānau may have language anxiety, language trauma and intergenerational trauma, which creates many barriers to their learning journey,” says Brenda. “But this is all part of their kōrero, where they’re learning and unpacking this.”

At the primary level, Maaka says the first set of mid-year reports for the 28 reo rumaki students indicate progress in te reo matatini (reo structured literacy), pāngarau (maths), pānui (reading), and tuhituhi (writing).

“But of equal importance is capturing ‘He kōrero mō te tamaiti’, the ākonga voice we also capture and share, and ‘Ko ngā tikanga o Kōkiri’,” says Maaka.

“Our tamariki are empowered by leaning into their whakapapa, using their reo, adhering to tikanga, and standing proudly as Māori.”

Jesse adds that the voice of whānau is another important measure of the programme’s success. He recently spoke with a Rumaki reo student’s parent who shared that, by the school valuing and respecting their child’s reo aspirations, the whole family felt like they belonged in the kura community: manaaki.

“We’re getting the voice back that Rumaki reo is supporting students to not just grow academically but holistically,” he says.

An educational movement

Rumaki reo ākonga are seeking to understand their history, and to normalise Māori language and culture within their daily lives.

“The classes support the students’ growth, including encouraging them to stay at school and feel like they belong to kura,” says Jesse.

In the 1960s, the Hunn Report identified that the loss of te reo Māori was a major factor in Māori underachievement in mainstream schools and left Māori children disadvantaged.

“It is our job as educators to make sure we elevate the mana and status of our indigenous language in mainstream kura,” says Maaka.

Tamatea Intermediate’s Rumaki reo teacher Ahi Ataria explains it has been essential to have the whole school on board with re-igniting passion for learning te reo Māori.

Reo Māori has been embraced in all class learning spaces, and the whole school takes part in cultural practices like pōwhiri, karakia and waiata.

“Our wider learning community had a clear mandate from our whānau to provide pathways to reo Māori language acquisition for our tamariki. What better way than open up reo rua and reo rumaki pathways in our kura?”

Ākonga paving the way

Brenda says Rumaki reo continues to evolve and listening to the student and whānau voice is incredibly important. At Tamatea Intermediate, Jo says regular hui and feedback sessions are held where whānau help shape curriculum priorities and ākonga share reflections on their growth and future aspirations.

From the beginning of the programme at Tamatea High, ākonga have recorded interviews with themselves or each other. Each year they develop a kōrero linking to historical intergenerational loss, language revitalisation, and kaupapa about themselves and their whānau, hapū and iwi.

Brenda recalls a Year 12 student who first joined Rumaki reo as a Year 10 in 2023. She could only speak limited reo and was very shy.

“She told us she never thought she’d one day be able to stand up and speak in front of a class in reo Māori, but now she is doing just that.”

Another Year 10 ākonga joined in the last term. “I felt out of place and embarrassed for lacking the reo,” the student says. “But despite this, I was still accepted and included. I began to want to learn about my culture and had fun doing kapa haka.”

Through their participation in Rumaki classes, another student was inspired to retrace whakapapa for her whānau back to Te Hāpuku.

“This was something the whānau had never been able to access before, and it was really powerful for them,” says Brenda. The student’s older brother soon joined the Rumaki space too.

At Tamatea Intermediate, demand for the space has grown so quickly that an additional Rumaki reo class opened this year.

“Engagement has been very positive. The tamariki are thriving, whānau are actively involved,” says Jo.

One ākonga shares that Rumaki reo is the “best class” they had ever attended. Another says Rumaki reo is a safe space for them, while a third student says, “we are more like whānau than individual classmates”.

“These tamariki are paving the way for the many tamariki to come,” says Jo. “Many tamariki report greater self-belief and confidence, alongside a passion for learning that feels meaningful and relevant.”

Kupu | Vocabulary

Rumaki reo: Full immersion Māori language education

Reo rua: Bilingual education (Māori and English)

Hapū: Sub-tribe

Hapori: Community

Manaaki: Hospitality, care, support

Pōwhiri: Welcoming ceremony

Tuakana: Older sibling or mentor

Ko ngā tikanga o Kōkiri: The values or principles of the reo rumaki space

He kōrero mō te tamaiti: A narrative about the child