Description:

Talking about what’s going on inside can be hard, especially for kids. Oho and Ata safely facilitate tricky conversations, enhance mana and make the kōrero fun. These groundbreaking resources are critical tools in the government's Te Tiriti o Waitangi-led response to social and emotional learning.

Oho explores connections between ourselves and the world around us. Using the Oho resources to explore these relationships helps ākonga build awareness of their whakapapa and develop a stronger sense of identity and belonging.

Oho can mean awakening or to awaken. As a metaphor, it relates to the awakening of a sense of self and place that tamariki develop through using these resources. Oho as a modifier can also mean fruitful or productive, as in He tau oho, a fruitful year — this links nicely to Te Taiao or the natural world and growth in knowledge, awareness and understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

Ata is a companion collection of activities for teaching and learning social and emotional skills, knowledge and strategies to help ākonga build awareness of themselves and others. This includes self-regulation and co-regulation through goal setting, decision making, identifying and strategically responding to challenges, and recognising and navigating emotions.

Ata is a word rich with meaning. It can mean the dawn, which talks broadly about the Ranginui and Papatūānuku creation story and our appearance as tāngata into the world of light, Te Ao Mārama and the world of enlightenment. The new day as a metaphor, talks about new opportunities. Ata can also mean reflection or reflected image — this relates to the SEL mahi in that the resource, imagery and kōrero provoke thought, conversation and reflection.

In 2020, the Oho and Ata co-design team — made up of experts in kaupapa Māori, wellbeing, education, psychology and cultural design — took findings from the Ministry of Education’s broader research and national conversations, including Kōrero Mātauranga and a prototyping and trial process in schools.

Using a bicultural and inclusive approach that brought together design thinking, user experience design and wānanga, the co-design team developed these resources for teachers to use with learners in various ways and contexts.

The resulting resources are presented in an engaging format that makes the kōrero fun. It nests big ideas and complex topics inside a beautifully designed world.

The box artworks are inspired by designs of traditional waka huia, papa hou or treasure boxes. The intricate illustrations are treasures in their own right — they are indicative of the rich and rewarding journeys that the resources inside can enable.

Oho and Ata make it easier for teachers to notice and respond to Social and Emotional Learning — using two of the key competencies from The New Zealand Curriculum, Relating to others and Managing self. They empower educators to make teaching and learning decisions that help ākonga realise their potential through mana-enhancing, socially located and culturally sustaining ways. The resources uphold obligations to and through Te Tiriti o Waitangi. They are inclusive, clear and easy to use.