News & Events

Tena koutou,

Nicki Morrison, Denise Powell, Sarah de Heer, and Michaela Allen would like to extend a huge thank you to the 25-30 members of the Christchurch Deaf Community who attended the strategic plan consultation session on Tuesday night. We saw a mix of the Deaf community, parents of d/Deaf children, Turi Māori and other people more widely connected to the Deaf community and supporting Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) tamariki.

With our key engagement principles of whakawhanaungatanga, allyship, community, transparency and learning, it was heartening to see that the connections have been established again. We are committed to building on these connections. In the spirit of learning, we took this opportunity to listen to all suggestions. Some of the key themes that came out were: (this is not the whole list)

• More Deaf teachers and role models so that DHH children have access to fluent NZSL signers
• Authentic language environments that are safe
• A better website that is easily accessible and friendly for all users
• Training of Resource Teachers of the Deaf (RTDs) to include NZSL learning from the start
• Commitment to building trust and transparency from Ko Taku Reo
• Consistent and regular community meetings

Key items Ko Taku Reo shared:

1. Teacher of Deaf Training: This is a contract the Ministry of Education has with Massey University. We have no input into how this training is set up. However, we have strongly and consistently advocated for NZSL learning to be included as a compulsory part of the training since Massey University took over in 2020.
2. The current profile list of Senior Leaders at Ko Taku Reo is on our website. We acknowledge that this can be difficult to find. The link to the website page is located “About us > Our people > Our Leadership team” direct link: https://www.kotakureo.school.nz/about-us/about-our-people/our-leadership-team.
3. Ko Taku Reo and the Ministry of Education are not the same thing. The Ministry of Education directs all schools in New Zealand about what they will deliver and how this is funded. This comes in the form of an annual Resource Notice directly to the board or commissioner that governs our school. It is the same in every school in New Zealand. The Resource Notice outlines the funding allocated to each area of our school, how this money will be spent, and how we report back to the Ministry regarding this spending, including the outcomes for DHH children.
4. The Ministry of Education owns all the land and buildings that Ko Taku Reo uses and occupies. We are continuing to have conversations with the Ministry of Education about the future of the Sumner site, which involves members of the Deaf Community. We have had no decisions from them at this stage.

We look forward to connecting again this year with feedback from all areas of Aotearoa , including online surveys, student and staff voice, and how this informs the next version of our strategic plan for 2026 – 2028.

Until next time.

Nicki, Denise, Sarah and Michaela