Social & Emotional
Social Inclusion & Action
1
Lay the groundwork
Practices to whakaritea te pārekereke prepare the seedbed for all children.
Start by working with all the children in your setting. Create an environment that can support children to build skills related to Social Inclusion & Action.
- Consider your current environment and how you could make it better.
- Talk to others about what you are already doing.
- Select practices that will be meaningful in your setting.
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Why is this practice important?
When kaiako engage in inclusive interactions and provide a learning environment that reflects diversity, mokopuna and whānau can experience a greater sense of belonging and inclusion. This might include having resources and materials that represent diverse family structures, gender identities and diverse abilities. Fairness and inclusion are important concepts for mokopuna, empowering them to take an active role in including others.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Communicate with whānau to understand their family structure, values, roles and dynamics.
Within your team, discuss current knowledge of diverse abilities and disabilities recognising where you may need to seek extra learning or support to build capabilities in your team.
Engage with whānau of disabled children and children with diverse abilities and learning needs to understand their needs and preferences, including language that they are comfortable using.
Remain up to date with terminology and changes in gender terms and language over time (e.g., gender diverse, non-binary, transgender, and takatāpui).
Consider how the layout and provisioning of the physical environment facilitates children’s access to experiences, materials and resources regardless of their ability, gender or culture.
Ensure that displays, resources, and materials are readily available to mokopuna and are authentic, non-stereotyping and representative of diverse family structures, gender identities and diverse abilities.
Use inclusive language and resources including recognising diverse families. For example, during group interactions use inclusive language such as “parents” or “adults”. Ensure resources (e.g., books and visual displays) include single parents, same-sex parents, gender-diverse parents, foster parents, grandparents raising grandchildren, etc.
Create, adapt, or source materials and resources (e.g., displays, books, puppets, dolls, and other play equipment) that reflect children with diverse abilities and disabilities, and non-stereotyping.
Promote an inclusive environment and respect for everyone in the setting challenging stereotyping or biases as they occur, job roles are not gender specific.
Why is this practice important?
When children are supported to work collaboratively with others and contribute towards a shared goal or experience, mokopuna recognise and appreciate the value of collaboration which involves individuals making unique contributions.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Engage with whānau to build team understanding around how families might like to acknowledge children’s contribution within the group setting.
Use shared group times, such as sharing kai to acknowledge children’s contribution to the group. Consider how each child’s contribution within the group is recognised and celebrated.
Ensure assessment documentation highlights the contributions that mokopuna make as they work collaboratively towards the achievement of group goals.
As a team, know children well, including their skills, abilities and funds of knowledge they bring to the setting.
Discuss with mokopuna their strengths and interests, and feedback in ways that strengthen their positive identity.
Offer experiences where mokopuna need to work together to achieve goals. For example, if a group of children are interested in challenging themselves physically, help them to collaborate to build a challenge course.
Consider how the environment facilitates collaboration (e.g. is there sufficient space and resources in a particular area).
Why is this practice important?
When mokopuna are encouraged to consider and respect the perspectives of others, they can build appreciation for how diverse perspectives and experiences contribute to their own learning. This might involve children learning how important events and activities are experienced by people from different cultures and backgrounds and by people of different abilities. When mokopuna experience the celebration of diverse experiences and perspectives, they are affirmed that their own unique experiences and perspectives are valued in the setting.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Ensure the programme reflects different cultural perspectives, recognising and affirming the primary importance of the children’s families and cultures so that mokopuna can participate successfully in the setting and in their community.
Ensure that the physical environment reflects, through visual images, books and resources, different approaches to everyday activities. For example, provide different types of eating and cooking utensils in the dramatic play area.
To support an inclusive environment, invite whānau to contribute to the programme by sharing their cultural practices, languages and celebrations.
Use everyday opportunities to engage mokopuna in authentic conversations about the different approaches and experiences that children have in relation to everyday experiences within the setting (e.g., food and mealtime traditions, sleeping arrangements) and support children to see these differences positively.
Why is this practice important?
Children learn about prejudice and discrimination from both spoken and unspoken messages about differences - such as gender, ethnicity, culture, and ability - between people. Prejudice and discrimination impacts everyone’s sense of self. When mokopuna are supported to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes about fairness, equity, acceptance and social justice, they develop their ability to advocate for and to protect their own and others’ rights.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Reflect on your own understandings of prejudice, discrimination and bias in relation to diversity (e.g., gender, ethnicity, ability and family structure and values). Actively work to re-frame your language and interactions to be fair, inclusive and free of prejudice.
Be alert and sensitively challenge the use of stereotypic or exclusionary language or behaviours by adults and children in your setting.
Explicitly talk about issues of inclusion, exclusion, fairness and rights as instances occur within the setting.
Be sensitive and aware of the range of values and beliefs held among the setting’s wider community. Address issues of fairness and promote an anti-bias curriculum within the programme.
Why is this practice important?
Children are still learning the boundaries of appropriate social behaviour and may not recognise the potential impact of their actions or words. Therefore, it is important to avoid categorising children’s behaviour as intimidation or using labels such as bullying. When a respectful culture is fostered within the setting, children develop a greater understanding of their actions and words on others. They also experience protection from actions of others that they may find intimidating and learn to offer the same to others.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Discuss strategies for resolving social conflict as a team so that mokopuna receive consistent language and messages, and clarity of expectations about when or why kaiako might immediately intervene to stop intimidating behaviour.
Be mindful and supportive of children’s heightened emotions in any situations that involve intimidating behaviour in the setting.
Approach mokopuna when you hear negative comments about a particular child and reaffirm their positive identity (e.g., “Remember Sammy is still learning about sharing just like you are still learning how to go across the monkey bars").
Be mindful of children who may be developing negative social reputations and work with your team, in collaboration with whānau, to better understand why this is happening (considering the child and wider context) and respond accordingly.
Identify children’s strengths and interests and comment on these throughout the day to foster positive identities within the group.
Why is this practice important?
When mokopuna learn that they have power to affect change and stand up for the rights of others, their positive identity is affirmed. Children learn that social bonds, inclusion, and social justice require a collective effort and that their own actions to stand up for, look after, or protect others is an important part of social change.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Create opportunities for mokopuna to help, look after, and advocate for each other in meaningful ways.
Help mokopuna to notice others’ cues that may indicate they may need help or support. These cues may be verbal or non-verbal and may include expressions of frustration or distress.
Support children to use appropriate language to check whether someone wants help or not (e.g., “You can ask Amy - Do you want help with that?”).
Take advantage of opportunities when mokopuna can be supporters of each other allowing time, space and support for them to engage in helping each other.
Role model helping and supporting members of the teaching team, with, and in front of, children.
Make suggestions to children about opportunities to access help from each other, including pointing out when nearby peers have skills and knowledge they might benefit from.
Talk with mokopuna about their responsibility to stand up for others. Explain the kinds of conflict situations where children can back up their peers or support them to get help from an adult.
Why is this practice important?
When children are supported to learn that our food and resources comes from Papatūānuku and build connections with the land, they develop respect and a sense of wonder for nature. Mokopuna learn multiple ways in which they can contribute to caring for the land, plants and animals. When children are supported to develop an awareness of the negative impact of waste on the natural environment, they gain a deeper understanding of how their actions and use of resources affect the environment.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Have conversations with mokopuna about connections between their food and the natural world. Incorporate the use of karakia kai that acknowledge the gifts of food from Papatūānuku and celebrate food grown in the setting’s garden or gifted to the setting by whānau.
Establish clear expectations for how natural materials are collected and used (for example, collecting fallen leaves rather than taking from a tree), and remind children of these expectations and why they are important. Incorporate Māori tikanga appropriate to the situation and the local context, for example saying karakia to give thanks for resources gathered from nature.
Integrate a range of nature-based experiences as a regular part of the programme, e.g., regular excursions to local nature reserves and gardens, gardening, composting and worm farms.
Display and use collections of natural materials as a prompt for conversations about sustainability and the natural environment, and as an alternative to manufactured materials for other areas of learning – such as maths, the arts, or science.
Participate in programmes, such as Enviroschools, or with other sustainability organisations to support kaiako knowledge and strengthen practices in the setting.
Learn about the sustainability issues and options in the local area and engage mokopuna in improving sustainability in meaningful ways for the place the setting is located.
Establish, model and encourage recycling practices across the programme. Acknowledge and celebrate with mokopuna when they remember to recycle materials or sort food scraps.
Use recycled materials or re-use materials which would otherwise go to the landfill. Minimise the use of plastics in the setting where possible, particularly single-use plastics and micro-plastics such as glitter.
Why is this practice important?
When mokopuna learn about their local iwi, hapū, and community, they can develop an understanding of their roles and responsibilities for nurturing and protecting the land and water, in ways that affirm the wellbeing of the community. Children learn that stronger communities are developed when there is collective responsibility for caring for ngā tangata (people) and te taiao (the environment).How to apply this practice in your setting:
Establish and build reciprocal relationships with the local community and take opportunities to participate in activities established by local iwi and hapū.
Where local iwi and hapū have an education strategy, (and/or partnership with a government department or an environmental plan) consider meaningful ways your programme could connect to this strategy or plan to support children’s relationships with and contributions to local community.
Research and learn about local narratives, histories, waiata and karakia including those focused on places of significance such as the awa or maunga. Share local narratives, waiata and karakia with children.
Plan excursions into the local community, exploring the environment and places of historical and contemporary significance. Invite parents and whānau to join these excursions.
Make visible the relationship between the people and the land. For example, display and use whakataukī and karakia that describe connections between the people and the land, learn whakapapa, including that of Ranginui and Papatūānuku, and talk with children about the connections between the wellbeing of the land and the wellbeing of people.