At our Kindergarten we have quite a busy roll with a session size of 50 tamariki at a time and a diverse

set of learners with differing needs. Within that group we have a child who is four years old and has
diverse learning needs. As a team we decided to have set times for morning tea and lunch time, as well
as two mat times. At these times I began noticing that A would often become distressed at these times
and try to move away into quieter spaces. I recognised that these times were triggers for A, and I
decided to raise this in a team meeting to advocate for A. From there we developed an IEP for A and I
suggested that we arrange the environment to have quiet retreat spaces that were accessible by A
throughout the day. What was important to me was that the routines and systems that worked for all
children and made space that included A and her needs. As a Kaiako I advocated for A and ensured her
mana was upheld when she did not want to join in group times and could not communicate these needs;
I believe that every child’s whakamana must be upheld within our early childhood environments, and is a
crucial element of our teaching practices being informed by te whariki. We then decided that to be
responsive to A’s needs we should be empowering her to sit on a table next to the other Tamariki to eat
her kai, so that she could still participate in a manner that would not overwhelm her.

After recognising that A might need some support and scaffold to help her to participate fully in our
Kindergarten routines I advocated for visual cue cards to be used in responding how we know A
processes information. These visual cue cards gave A, as well as other ākonga preemptive warning and
prompts before transitioning into a routine time. Importantly, these visual cue cards were developed in
collaboration with my teaching colleagues, support workers and A’s whānau in IEP meetings to help A
participate in areas such as toileting, mat times and kai time. Throughout this process I also collaborated
with A’s whanau to ensure our responsive practices felt comfortable, I also ascertained their aspirations
and discovered independence around routines was a strong aspiration.

I took great pride supporting in A withher whanau’s aspirations and I was particuarly happy when they
asked to have a copy of the visual cue cards to take home and support her with transitions at home. By
engaging in partnership with A’s whānau, we helped facilitate consistency throughout the home and
kindergarten as stated in te whariki: children feel comfortable with the routines, customs and regular
events. This was especially important as we recogised that our maori whanau have differing cultural
aspirations and our tamariki have diverse ways of being that we need to be able to adapt to. Since
implementing these changes we have seen significant progress for A and what stands out to me as a
kaiako is that her well-being has been enhanced. She has been much happier throughout her days at
Kindergarten. As I continued to scaffold A on her learning journey I recognised that she was still adapting
to the toileting routine and decided to draw on her interest in Paw patrol to engage her. I created Paw
patrol cue cards in the toilet area to reinforce the established visual support with routines that were
fostering A’s particpation, and she has begun to enjoy engaging in toilet time.Some kaiako struggled with
their pedological practice and wanted A to follow routines in the same way as other children. However, I
advocated for A and ensured that she was given options to have autonomy and agency over her learning
and participation in the curriculum. I believe that by extending my learning pathways and participating in
this early intervention course I will be able to use my newly obtained knowledge to engage in ako
alongside my fellow kaiako and local hapu through sharing my knowledge through workshops, general
kōrero and other medium.