Te Tiriti o Waitangi Policy

Adopted 17th  June 2019
Next Review Date: December 2025 (Reviewed Triennially thereafter) 
Next Review Date: December 2028 

Policy Statement
KingsGate School Board of Trustees acknowledges that Māori are the tangata whenua (indigenous people) of Aotearoa and that Māori language and culture are integral to the authentic partnership promised to all who choose to live in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The role the Board can play in healing the inherent injustices of the past in the understanding and implementation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in Aotearoa New Zealand is essential to the future of our tamariki and mokopuna, especially concerning the enactment of school practices that suppressed the learning and use of te reo Māori and did not recognise Mātauranga Māori as an extensive and valuable knowledge system. KingsGate School is committed to re-establishing relationships with local iwi and working alongside them to promote te reo Māori and te ao Māori with ākonga (students), kaiako (teachers), and the wider community.

Purpose
KingsGate School recognises the bicultural nature of New Zealand’s heritage and acknowledges it underpins the learning environment at KingsGate School so that we may:
▶Enable our children to understand, respect, and show sensitivity towards Tikanga Māori, including its values, attitudes, behaviours, and Te Reo Māori. 
▶Provide opportunities where students experience Tikanga Māori.
▶Recognise our obligation to the Treaty of Waitangi.
▶Support Māori to participate and achieve as Māori.
▶Ensure that topics related to Māori heritage are included in the curriculum.