Trauma Informed Education in Action

Our Why

E Tu Atu Nei - Stand up, stand strong, and be proud!

Our students (and staff) fulfil their potential, feel part of and contribute to our school, community, and wider society.

We create SPACE where people are SEEN, where they feel SAFE, and where they ultimately will SHINE.

We take a trauma-informed approach to how we teach and interact with ākonga.

We recognise and understand that trauma affects tamariki and whānau, so focus on promoting wellbeing in everything we do.

Learning happens through a trauma informed lens where social and emotional learning is at the heart of everything we do.

This is first achieved by building strong relationships with children and their whānau.

Small adjustments to our school day have helped to make our approach practical.

We have regular breaks inserted into the day’s learning, which include a variety of breath work and movement breaks.

We have daily connection time where the children are interacting with all staff members in an inclusive activity which creates a fun and safe environment for all learners.

Our day starts with ‘Mauri Tau’ which is a variety of breath exercises to help the children be grounded and calm.

It provides the children with the opportunity to be present in the moment and enjoy a calm start to the day, alongside their peers and their teachers.

Mauri Tau means a state of calm and balance.

We know that when our tamariki are calm and feeling balanced they are able to engage with their learning.

From this knowledge and practice we can create learning environments that reflect our inner well-being- which leads to Mauri ora.

This is best described as wellbeing in all areas-spiritually, mentally and physically.

There are many different things which affect our mauri but being tau/still is about stopping, reflecting, re grounding ourselves to be calm, which is essentially what we are practising in our Mauri Tau routines.

All classrooms encompass this pedagogy and teachers work to develop regulation practices which settle children to help them be ready for learning.

We know that when the brain is not feeling safe, children cannot learn.

We are seeing some amazing results from these practices, and we are continuing to develop our learning and practice in this space.

Relationships are key to learning, and at IMS we work really hard to ensure we know our tamariki really well.

Village day is a day that happens once a term, this replaces our Student Led Conferences.

We invite all whānau to come and see learning in action.

During this time families learn alongside their children with hands-on activities with clear learning intentions and shared success criteria.

Teaching social and emotional skills is an important part of our approach.

The children are taught the vocabulary needed to successfully engage in all learning situations where they can identify how they feel and the strategies they can put in place in order for them to be successful

Another form of regulation for our tamariki is the use of a sensory path which is located at the end of our field amongst the tree fence line.

This was designed by the children and created by our Deputy Principal.

The children get the opportunity to feel different sensations and become grounded and aware of the surroundings while walking through and becoming one with nature.

This year our focus is all about relationships.

We have designed our classroom set up just for this reason.

We have a reception room, year 1-3 classrooms and years 4-6 classes.

The children will stay in this class with the same teacher for the whole three years, enhancing the relationship between child, teacher and whanau and getting to know the child as a whole.

This ensures the child feels a sense of belonging, predictability and safety from the same teacher.

At Invercargill Middle School, we play first and eat second.

We set our children up for success before they head out to morning tea and lunchtime play.

With the success of connection time before lunch time the children are actively playing and engaging in positive relationships with their peers and teachers.

The teacher ensures they know what to do if they come across a problem in the playground.

Once the music is playing (instead of a ‘normal’ school bell) the children are keen for their kai and ready for the afternoon’s learning.

We believe that Connection and co-regulation is the answer!

We are all born hard wired for connection.

Invercargill Middle School proudly supported by Sheree Williams Mike Pero Real Estate