Te Whāriki Takapou launch second Māori Medium sexuality education programme

Mon 22 Mar 2021

Te Whāriki Takapou has launched their second Māori Medium sexuality education programme ‘Te Ira Tangata’ (Tau 9 & 10).

Te Whāriki Takapou has launched their second Māori Medium sexuality education programme ‘Te Ira Tangata’ (Tau 9 & 10). The programme is delivered in te reo Māori and aligns with Te Aho Matua, Te Marautanga and the latest guidelines for Relationship and Sexuality Education in Aotearoa: A guide for teachers, leaders and boards of trustees (Ministry of Education, 2020). It covers topics including puberty, responsibility, body sovereignty, attraction and romance, and respectful relationships.

According to Te Whāriki Takapou:

“Te Ira Tangata (Tau 9 & 10) helps support our Māori students to stay immersed in te reo Māori whilst also learning about sexuality education. Those of you in Māori Medium Education already know how important it is for our Māori students to see their culture, to hear their language, to see their people, and to know their identity is reflected in their learning. For that reason, we gift this programme in the hope that it may provide support to those of you who are carrying the heavy load for the betterment of te reo Māori and our tamariki mokopuna.”

In a media release, Chair of Te Whāriki Takapou, Professor Mera Penehira, argued that the government was still not doing enough to resource and support teachers in Māori Medium schools to deliver healthy relationships and sexuality education:

“… next year is the start of the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Languages, and it’s time the government delivered on Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Māori health organisations like Te Whāriki Takapou work with Māori communities to produce programmes like Te Ira Tangata, but there’s no agreed strategy between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to support healthy relationships and sexuality education in Māori-medium schools. Penehira says it’s time Minister Davis, Associate Minister, Māori Education, worked with the Hon. Minister Hipkins, Minister of Education, to resource and support teachers in Māori-medium schools to teach Te Ira Tangata and similar mātauranga Māori-based programmes for the health and wellbeing of Māori students and the revitalisation of te reo Māori.”

This programme is free and available to download from Te Whāriki Takapou. It has been made with the support of the Ministry of Health.

For related research and resources see our previous news story about the launch of Te Ira Tangata (Tau 7&8).