Tamariki across the Ohinemuri region had a bonus long weekend recently, as a teacher-only day saw schools closed for a personal development summit in Paeroa.
Nearly 250 teachers from the Ohinemuri kāhui ako, or community of learning, gathered at the Paeroa War Memorial Hall on November 11 to hear talks from educators Jase Williams, Sam Johnstone, Sala Tiatia, Richie Hardcore and Kathryn Berkett during the day-long Trauma-Informed Conference.
The aim of the “raw and challenging” conference was to deepen teachers’ understanding of how trauma impacts learning and development, kāhui ako lead principal Brook Hill said.
“We have to have the conditions right for our children to be able to flourish, to be able to learn. We can’t expect them to come in with their suitcases and say, keep that closed… We have to address what’s in that suitcase and put strategies in to support them,” she said.
“At the very start of the year when we put in some data around practices that individual schools are using, it was really confronting. It was really scary the number of stand-downs that we were having, and behaviour is a form of communication.”
Brook said having all the educators in one place, hearing the same message, was essential in building school-wide strategies to improve children’s wellbeing.
“We can either punish the child or we can look at it through a different lens to understand what is actually causing that behaviour and what we need to do to address it,” she said.
“Sure, there needs to be consequences, but [the kids] need to be part of that process and the big word that came loud and clear through the conference was connection. When we feel safe and listened to and valued, we’re more likely to open up and be vulnerable with our learning.”
The speakers’ areas of expertise ranged from neuroscience, to an ex-principal, to life experience with surviving and healing from trauma. At times, the conference was difficult to listen to, Brook said, with plenty of tears as attendees took the lessons on board.
“It’s not rocket science, the stuff that they’re telling us, but you have to be ready to hear it. And so my key message at the start was that it’s overwhelming but it’s also very humbling to see the number of people that believe in this mahi that are sitting there ready to listen,” she said.
“I feel it’s our responsibility, not only as community members, as mums and dads, but as people who have chosen to work alongside children, to have an understanding of [trauma] because it does affect the way children learn and behave, and we need to have tools in our kete to be able to support the children through those stages.”
The conference was funded by the kāhui ako and a sponsor, the educational organisation Linewise. Attendance was free for staff from the cluster’s schools: Goldfields Special School, Hikutaia School, Karangahake School, Miller Avenue School, Netherton School, Paeroa Central School, Paeroa Christian School. Paeroa St Josephs School, Tirohia School and Paeroa College. Teachers from schools outside the kāhui ako were also invited to attend.
