Our Kind of School

Our Kind of School flips the question of bullying prevention around by focusing on why some schools and kura are so good at being a safe place for everyone. The purpose of this project was to collect examples of good practice and identify the barriers and enablers schools face when seeking to create safe and inclusive environments.

The Office of the Children’s Commissioner and The Ministry of Education collaborated to produce the Our Kind of School report which shares our findings.

We went to four primary schools and one kura kaupapa Māori that had demonstrated effective practice in supporting student wellbeing. We heard from hundreds of students, whānau, staff members, and the wider school/kura community about what was working well and why. 

We found six key commonalities across the five schools and kura:

1. Knowing, and meeting the needs of, each student.
2. Strong and respectful school/kura leadership, which lays the foundation for a positive school/kura culture.
3. Commitment to tikanga and te reo Māori in the classroom, culture, and community of the school/kura.
4. Connecting with and including whānau and wider community in school/kura life.
5. Valuing and celebrating staff and student diversity.
6. Quick and effective responses to bullying incidents.

Our hope is that other schools and kura find the insights in this report useful and can use them to grow a culture of continuous learning so that every student in Aotearoa New Zealand feels accepted, respected, and connected inside the school gates and beyond.