Invercargill Fono Summary – Conversation space

"Pacific teachers few and far between. Not many teachers in our region (Southland). Need to prioritise this goal. Teacher Ed. Institutions need to target. Teachers make the biggest difference."

"Power Up: helped resilience, strengthen myself about relationships with educators, helping children to enjoy school."

Are these important to you?

Comments are supportive of the focus areas, with a number of comments particularly supportive of strong relationships with families and schools. The communication with parents needs to be purposeful. One parent commented on better communication would help families to understand what is really going on and then decide on the best way forward to support their child.
Growing bilingual options is seen as an ambitious but important goal and so too is getting more Pacific teachers. It is notes that to support both of these, you need incentive, support from teacher education institution and resources.
There are not too many comments about addressing racism and discrimination. One attendee suggests that raising it will make it worse and instead we need to talk about equality. Another said her children had experienced racism at school and were asked hurtful questions about the colour of their skin from other students. Some adults said as new migrants, junior staff at work treat them like they are apprentices.
A number of mentions of PowerUp as a good way of targeting support – from notes it seems that the highest priority is around supporting communication between schools and parents and equipping parents to engage with schools

Is there something missing? What would you change about the areas?

Church and spirituality cited as the key to stop suicide
Tapasā needs to be compulsory
Remember to differentiate between the different Pacific cultures
Need cultural awareness PD for current teachers
Target support shift: Not really clear. Who builds skills? This target is about pathways but not clear. Needs to be reworded. Rephrase - separate out. Does this one apply to our South Island community?

Questions

Most questions are asking how these shifts will be achieved
How do we equip our children to deal with racism?

Most common indicators of success (in order)

Pacific learners and their families feel accepted and included
Pacific learners names and pronouns are used correctly
Pacific families feel confident supporting their children in education
Pacific learners and their families are free from racism and discrimination in education
Pacific learners’ faith, beliefs and cultures are valued in education

Invercargill Fono Summary [PDF]