Purpose of He Pikorua
He Pikorua is the practice framework for Ministry and RTLB learning support practitioners
He Pikorua brings learning support practitioners together alongside whānau and educators to support the learning and wellbeing of mokopuna.
He Pikorua aims to support practitioners to work effectively and collaboratively within the wider Learning Support system. The framework is flexible, so that support can be based on what best meets the needs of the mokopuna and their whānau in their local learning and community environments.
He Pikorua builds on current principles and evidence-informed practices, while recognising that:
- practice continues to evolve
- the people in learning support services have a diverse range of background knowledge, experience, skills and professional expertise.
He Pikorua links to key information and guidance that is specific to specialist practice roles.
‘Pikorua’ refers to the strength of relationships on our pathway through life. The project team chose this concept to represent our new framework and how we work together – practitioners working alongside whānau and educators to support the learning and well-being of mokopuna.
He Pikorua aims to:
- provide clear, consistent, practical guidance
- enable mokopuna to flourish
- support our competencies, standards, and codes
- strengthen how we work together
- build on our strengths
- provide an enduring resource.
1
He Pikorua is informed by evidence, and provides guidance for practitioners across all learning support areas. It allows us to make sound decisions about learning support services at a local learning community level to meet the needs of mokopuna, whānau and educators. This helps us work with confidence as individuals, and with the collective knowledge, energy and support of others, so mokopuna and their learning communities can grow and flourish.
2
He Pikorua draws together all that we share in our roles as practitioners:
- specific organisational guidance
- standards
- cultural competencies
- discipline-related ethical competencies
- codes
- our national curricula.
He Pikorua includes practices and expertise that are common across all areas of learning support services. You can use it for practice, reflection and review, at an individual or group level.
3
We are more effective when we work together as practitioners, with educators and whānau. A project team of RTLB and Ministry staff co-designed this practice framework to better align our practices, and strengthen how we work together as practitioners of learning support services. The result is a connected way of working that is inclusive, culturally affirming, empowering and consistent in practice.
He Pikorua takes the best of what we know works, and builds on our strengths (our knowledge and skills) and how we work together. It helps us to use our expertise and judgement to decide what to do and how best to do it, and to respond confidently to the needs and challenges of learners, their whānau and educators.
4
He Pikorua is designed for continuous improvement. It aims to be a living resource that is fresh, current and useful:
- informed and shaped by ongoing learning
- reflecting the knowledge, lived experiences, cultures and practice of all our practitioners, educators and whānau.
We will update and refresh core content, resources, links and examples as required.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari ko te toa takitini.
I come not with my own strengths but bring with me the gifts, talents and strengths of my family, tribe and ancestors.
He Pikorua is designed to provide mokopuna, whānau and learning communities with a common experience of learning support practitioners as a culturally responsive team of professionals, driven by agreed values.
Vision for He Pikorua
The vision for He Pikorua is to support practitioners to enable mokopuna and whānau to achieve the best outcomes in any learning setting.
We enhance the learning outcomes and well-being of mokopuna by:
- keeping mokopuna and their whānau at the centre of everything we do
- focusing on strengths and potential, to enhance the mana of the individual and their community
- respecting and building on the diversity of expertise and knowledge across our teams
- using evidence-informed strategies that are appropriate to the context
- positioning learning supports as part of day-to-day teaching and learning, across the layers of Te Tūāpapa – Te Matua (universal), Te Kāhui (targeted) and Te Arotahi (tailored).
He Pikorua is shaped by the voices of our mokopuna and whānau, the Māori, Pacific, and ethnic communities, and the Ministry’s plan for learning support
Hāpaitia te ara tika pūmau ai te rangatiratanga mō ngā uri whakatipu.