Tō tātou tākai here me Te Akatea | Our partnership with Te Akatea

A tākai here between Matatū Aotearoa | Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand and Te Akatea was signed at Wharewaka, Wellington, 25 October 2023.    
  
Governing Council Chairs Robyn Baker and Ripeka Lessels, and Tumu Whakarae Chief Executive, Lesley Hoskin, signed the agreement on behalf of the Teaching Council.  President Bruce Jepsen, Tracy Fraser, and Dr Therese Ford signed on behalf of Te Akatea. 
 
This symbol of the developing and strengthened relationship between the two organisations reflects the commitment to shared and mutually beneficial outcomes that build on shared decision-making, prioritising, and authentic collaboration to steer the future direction of teaching. It will also create new pathways and practices to empower the profession and its leadership to high standards of ethical behaviour and high-quality teaching practice. Significant in the document were the values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, pono, and whakamana which will guide the way in which the organisations expect to work together.

Te Akatea targets transformative Māori leadership that enhances the tino rangatiratanga of hapū and iwi. From their commitment to grow leadership across the profession tailored to privilege growth through a te ao Māori lens, to their ‘Leaders Growing Leaders’ programme – their approach resonates with the Teaching Council’s philosophy that all teachers are leaders and that we should provide guidance towards growing professional learning networks.   

“… ehara ko te tūranga te mea matua, te mea e wehewehe nei i a tātau.  We see leaders in all of us and we are all leaders in our own right.”