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At Albany Primary School we recognise the diversity within our school and focus on creating a culturally supportive environment where all learners are able to see and feel their identity. As part of our distribution of leadership, we have encouraged and supported several cultural projects led by teams of teachers from across the school.
One area of success was the establishment of a Zen garden at the front of ths school grounds. This was created by a group of volunteers from within the community after much consultation with staff, students and other stakeholders. It remains a symbol of simple many Asian and other cultures, welcoming families to Albany School.
Albany Primary School has a WeChat group communication system for Chinese parents for informal notices, weekly communications and queries relating to Albany Primary School.
It is used for non-urgent communications - parents are encouraged to use wider channels or contact our Mandarin Speaking Admin assistant directly. A school representative monitors the WeChat group to respond to any questions and all members of the Senior Leadership team have access to this group. Interactions within the group that ask specific questions are common and school staff support the ongoing community conversations.
“Albany School promotes high levels of student achievement. A responsive, inclusive culture, and student-centred teaching motivate students to take responsibility for their learning.” (ERO 2015)
Understanding the diverse needs of our community remains at the heart of our practice and central to how we support all learners and their whānau. We strive to make sure that we hear the voices of all stakeholders, providing different formats and opportunities for all voices. One of the initial checks put in place prior to any large decision making exercise is to simply as ‘Are all of the people/groups who will be impacted by this decision, at the table?’ If the answer to this is no, it is important to place this conversation on hold and invite all interested parties to the table.
“The Asia New Zealand Foundation Starting Strong: Nurturing the potential of Asian under-5s report looks at the rapidly increasing Asian under-5 population, their home environment, as well as the response of Early Childhood Education (ECE) centres to this changing demographic. Families of Asian ethnicity in New Zealand place great importance on their heritage culture and language, but as soon as children start school, English becomes the main language at home and their heritage language is used less, researchers say. (Education Central 2017)
As a school we often host curriculum information evenings to support families coming into Aotearoa from overseas and who may struggle to understand the NZ education system. Teachers are encouraged to reflect on their own experiences, looking at ways in which we can connect different students to teachers and staff who have had similar experiences. Across the school we have teachers from the UK, China, South Korea, Europe and South Africa.
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