Te Kura Ākonga o Manurewa was originally established in 1996 by Ngā Whare Ākonga Kotahitanga Trust, who are the proprietors of the land and buildings. We are an integrated school with a maximum roll of 90. We will be celebrating our 25^th Jubilee this year in September. In 2019 we submitted our application to become a designated character school and we are continuing to await an outcome to this application. The reasons we made this application is to provide a sustainable future for the school. In order to grow Māori medium educational provision in the Manurewa-Papakura area we need to ensure our buildings and property are safe and fit for purpose. The outcome will have a significant impact on our school direction into the future.

Our school provides an inclusive approach to building whanau aspirations for learning in te reo and learning as Māori. The special character of the school is reflected in our vision for an inter-generational village of learning that sustains and grows te reo and Māori learning as Māori. The school is in a rapidly-urbanising area and is not aligned to any particular iwi or hapū. The narrative of the school connects to the voyaging canoes who crossed Moana-nui-a-kiwi together, accompanied by dolphins – who always travel in whanau groups – who arrived together at Ipipiri (Bay of Islands) and who each have since dispersed around the motu of Aotearoa. The school serves all who wish to reconnect to this shared cultural heritage through te reo and living and learning together ‘as Maori’.

The BOT continue to work effectively together embracing the range of skills and expertise by each member to support the staff, students and whānau of the kura to work towards achieving our school moemoea

‘Navigating successful educational journeys through te reo for ākonga and whānau’.

We have had some significant staffing changes which include the appointment of a Tumuaki Tuarua and the appointment of 2 experienced full time teachers. Our staff showed excellence in their commitment and passion towards uplifting and connecting with our students and whānau in 2020 during the COVID 19 lockdowns.