Poipoia te Kākano
Nurturing Te Reo Māori in Early Childhood Education
Whakamāhuki | Overview
Grow confident, culturally grounded reo Māori capability—at work, during work hours.
Poipoia te Kākano supports early childhood kaiako to weave te reo Māori, tikanga and mātauranga Māori naturally through play, care moments, routines, relationships and the learning environment. The programme is gentle, practical and grounded in early childhood pedagogy. Kaiako learn language they can use immediately, develop waiata and play-based experiences, understand the meaning behind daily tikanga and create reusable resources suited to their own tamariki and community.
Designed for
Early childhood teachers, kaiako, centre leaders, home-based educators, relievers and support staff.
Course Dates:
Week commencing Monday 24 August 2026
Delivery Mode:
Blended: weekly guided learning, live online sessions and centre-based application
Course Fee:
$500 per person
Duration:
10 weeks
Hāngaitanga
Why This Course Matters in 2026
Early childhood settings provide powerful foundations for language identity, belonging and confidence. Young children learn through repetition, relationship, movement, music and play, yet kaiako may feel uncertain about pronunciation or how to move beyond colours and counting. This programme helps centres build consistent practice without expecting individual M?ori kaiako or wh?nau to carry all cultural responsibility.
Kupu Ārahi | Guiding Expression
"Ka whāngaia, ka tipu, ka puāwai"
"That which is nurtured will grow, then blossom"
Early childhood settings provide powerful foundations for language identity, belonging and confidence. Young children learn through repetition, relationship, movement, music and play, yet kaiako may feel uncertain about pronunciation or how to move beyond colours and counting. This programme helps centres build consistent practice without expecting individual M?ori kaiako or wh?nau to carry all cultural responsibility.
Ngā Hua Nui
What this course covers
Whāinga Paetae | Course Objectives
Across the programme, participants will:
Build practical reo M?ori for routines, play, care, transitions and relationship-building in early learning settings.
Strengthen pronunciation of children�s names, kupu, waiata, karakia and local place names.
Use simple instructions, questions, praise, reassurance and descriptive language with tamariki.
Create language-rich environments through repetition, visual prompts, music, movement and play.
Understand how whakapapa, identity, whanaungatanga and manaakitanga support the wellbeing of tamariki.
Explore tikanga M?ori and culturally grounded approaches to care, learning and belonging.
Engage respectfully and reciprocally with M?ori wh?nau and local communities.
Integrate p?r?kau, maramataka, taiao and M?ori concepts into age-appropriate learning experiences.
Plan consistent team practices so reo M?ori is not dependent on one confident staff member.
Develop a practical centre or classroom plan for strengthening everyday reo M?ori use and cultural capability.
Putanga Ako | Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, participants should be able to:
Use practical reo M?ori confidently across common ECE routines.
Lead simple karakia, waiata, games and play-based language experiences.
Apply M?ori values and tikanga to relationships and daily rhythms.
Introduce m?tauranga M?ori through age-appropriate stories and environmental learning.
Create useful and reusable centre resources.
Strengthen wh?nau engagement and recognise when local guidance is required.
Develop a realistic centre-wide reo M?ori growth plan.
He Aha Kei Roto
What Is Included
Live facilitated learning with experienced Poutawa kaiako.
Access to course slides, recordings and structured revision resources.
A practical learner workbook with explanations, examples and reflection activities.
Pronunciation audio, vocabulary support and language-modelling resources where relevant.
Templates, sentence frames and practical tools that can be used immediately.
Short between-session activities designed to move learning into everyday practice.
A supportive learning r?p? where questions, practice and mistakes are welcomed.
A certificate of participation following completion of the programme requirements.
Item Title One
Use this space to promote the business, its products or its services.
Te Wā Tuku
Course Dates
Courses commence during the week of Monday 24 August 2026. The indicative final teaching week is the week of 19 October 2026.
Class Option 1:
Tuesday: 3.30pm - 5.00pm
CLass Option 2
Wednesday: 5.30pm - 7.00pm
Participants enrol in one stream. Where space permits, learners may attend the alternative stream when they cannot attend their usual class.