Our Cultural Narrative : A Brief Explanation
The provenance of Te Kura Whaiora ki te Tonga / The Southern Health School spans the whole of Te Wai Pounamu, Rakiura and Rekōhu (The South Island, Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands). As a result we work within the takiwā of many different hapū and iwi.
Our students reflect this diversity. If their treatment plan requires them to be in Te Wai Pounamu, young people can come to us from across Aotearoa. These young people come to us from many cultural contexts and walks of life.
In recognition and respect to all the voices of mana whenua, the young people who come to us and their families and whānau, Te Kura Whaiora ki te Tonga has sought to develop a cultural narrative that speaks to the experience and values of all of these hapu and iwi while also allowing engagement and identification for Tauiwi.
Every person who lives in Aotearoa has ‘voyaging to be here’ as part of their whakapapa.
Each family line has had to ‘find its way’ to this place. We have that journeying and direction finding in common. It binds us. This journeying metaphor speaks to the experience of the young people in our care as well. They are on a journey back to health. For most of them, that journey has taken them into a place of darkness. They have had to seek guidance and assistance back to wellness and ‘normal’ life. Back to Te Ao Mārama ( the world of light).
Our work is to provide some of that guidance and support as well as to provide a safe place, or way house, in which young people can consolidate and gather themselves before embarking on that journey.
To create an inclusive and respectful narrative for our kura, we have had to raise our gaze from the whēnua and draw our inspiration from Te Marupo ( the sheltering night sky). Most particularly, we are inspired by Te Pae Mahutonga/ Te Pae Mahutoka ( The Southern Cross) and, sitting alongside it, Te Rua Pātiki (The Coal Sack Nebula).
Te Rua Pātiki is known as the birthplace of stars, a place of growth and consolidation before the stars emerge to brighten the night sky. The parallel to the schools’ work, of supporting young people as they re-engage with learning during their healing journey, is clear here.
When those young people have gained enough strength and are looking to move to their next steps in learning, our kura draws its inspiration from Te Pae Mahutonga / Mahutoka. We support their journey by being a true indicator and guide to their path. This reflects the use of the Southern Cross as a way to find ‘true south’.This is our liaison and transition function.
The combination of these two features provides the foundation and framework for coherent identity building within an organisation that spans many rohe and many peoples. It provides a framework for each site to ‘drill up’ into the sky that sits above them and consider their particular regional identity within the overarching identity provided. It supports each site, as well as the school as a whole, to engage meaningfully with the stories and priorities of all of the peoples that sit under that sky.
It is this ability to drill up across the mōtu that gives us the ‘chapters’ of our specific narrative for each rohe. As this narrative is explored and developed, there is capacity to look at regional naming, structures, relationships and programme planning. It allows teams, working with mana whenua, to reflect the stories of the land and people underneath the overarching narrative, which will give more local recognition and opportunity to connect with the school and its operations.
Health Schools Today
There are three Health Schools in Aotearoa/New Zealand –Southern Health School, Central Regional Health School, and Te Kura Āwhina Ora o Te Raki/Northern Health School. Together, they support around 2,500 ākonga annually. While Health Schools were once primarily associated with hospital-based education, the shift towards community-based teaching has become more prominent.
Teachers now spend around two-thirds of their time working with ākonga in the community, with only one-third of their time spent in hospitals. This shift in focus led to the change from “Hospital Schools” to “Health Schools” in 2000, reflecting the broader role these schools play in supporting children’s education during illness.
Te Tupuranga o Te Kura Whaiora ki te Tonga/Southern Health School’s Growth
Southern Health School/Te Kura Whaiora ki te Tonga began with a small team of twelve teachers across six sites, educating around 100 ākonga annually. As the school’s services became more widely recognised, it has grown significantly, now employing nearly 60 teachers across 16 sites and supporting nearly 700 ākonga each year.
This expansion reflects the increasing demand for Health Schools’ services and the positive impact they have on ākonga, allowing them to continue their education even when facing serious health challenges.
