Ko Kapa O Pango e ngunguru nei! Au, au, aue ha!
Excuse me? Pardon? What is this random arrangement of letters you type? Well I’m sure most of you have heard this before. And if you did not watch the rugby world cup then maybe you recognise the chant. It’s the middle section of The All Blacks rugby haka. The terrifying warrior dance performed traditionally by Maori people to express and showcase their heritage. The Kapa O Pango version, introduced in 2006, deviated from the traditional call for ‘the hairy man to fetch the sun and make it shine’ to a version that celebrates the qualities of the All Blacks-their dominance, an unshakable believe that their supremacy will triumph. And what a daunting sight it is when they thunder the ground performing this before a game. Awe inspiring.
Having recently visited schools in New Zealand, Primary and Secondary, their strong sense of heritage and culture permeates everything they do. On entering any school as a guest you discover every child performing a kapa haka to welcome you, I don’t mind admitting being both unnerved and emotional watching this. You leave New Zealand schools feeling part of the community on a deep level. It’s almost spiritual. Is it simply performance? No, not at all. The children talk passionately about their culture and heritage and even know the name of the boat their ancestors travelled to New Zealand on. Schools accommodate the different cultures by setting up enrichment systems. Maori children speak in their native language and learn English at a later age, thus continuing their traditions and ensuring language is not a barrier to learning. The same for Polynesian pupils and European- separated for education yet cultural cohesion goes beyond the school gates and into the community. It develops their sense of citizenship and character. It astounded and saddened me. Children spoke with passion about heritage going back seven generations, that doesn’t happen in my schools.
I’m proud of both my schools, we serve communities that are challenged and still achieve above the national expectations, usually by a large percentage. The children have outstanding behaviour and have impeccable manners. They are resilient, happy and a joy to teach. Yes we tick all the boxes in any framework. But is this enough? Where is the strong sense of heritage and character? Something needs to change. So we welcome in the era of ‘character building’ in school. Our school improvement plan is focused around the wise words of Martin Luther King;
“Intelligence plus character- that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only the power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.”
So we are dedicating time to developing the traits that we want to see in our children;
Trustworthiness,
Respect,
Responsibility,
Fairness,
Caring,
Citizenship.
Curriculum time has been allocated to develop moral, intellectual and civic virtues. The children will leave our school having proven they have helped the community in which they live. This has started in every year group who have been set a challenge to work on 3 character traits which will have a positive impact on their community. Early years and year 1 are cooking food packages that will be delivered by adults to the homeless in Newcastle, year 3 have ran a whole school Great British Bake off with their parents in the main hall to create cakes and biscuits to sell and raise money for local charities. Year 6 have been visiting the residence of Lincrest Court to provide company and caring to the elderly members of our community, some choosing to go in at weekends too. We have organised and fully paid for residential trips to see London shows, explore the great outdoors and overcome fears at activity centres. There is now a character development team made up of staff, parents, governors, community members, clergy, army and the police. Our minds are in overdrive to create the experiences they need to become the citizens we want.
In addition each class have also devised their own kapa haka. Visitors to our school will experience love, welcome and a stronger sense of community. I know it will take time to build this sense of heritage and character but I’m going to give it a good go. I believe it is valuable to create a moral compass for children who don’t necessarily have a strong religious faith or have a sense of belonging beyond their school or family. But we will try, it’s our goal. And if I get swayed by league tables or ratings then I may well chant to myself…
Ko Kapa O Pango e ngunguru nei!
Au, au, aue ha!
This defines us as the All Blacks.
It’s my time! It’s my moment!
Well we are defining the next generation of British citizens.
It’s our time! It’s our moment!
Dame Nicola Nelson DBE, Executive Head Teacher, Beech Hill Primary School and Wallbottle Village Primary School & National Leader of Education