Help revolutionise the New Zealand education system with Ako

Thank you everyone for your support!!

The short version

Our education system is failing many New Zealand children. Ako has set out to provide the best learning environment for our tamariki, now, and for their future. It is built on strong evidence of how children learn best. Through the success of Ako, we will create a model of a successful future-focused school. This will ultimately inspire change in our education system so that more children in New Zealand can realise their full potential and be ready to embrace the challenges of the future.

Why is Ako needed/ Na te aha

Our schools were designed for an industrialising world that no longer exists and parents are crying out for alternatives.

Government is too slow to make changes and support innovation in education, so it is left to parents and communities to drive change from the bottom up.

Leading edge research from the areas of neuroscience, child psychology and health science as well as the demand for future skills suggest that schools need to adopt a different approach that puts children at the centre of learning, and individualises learning around their interests. 

We have designed Ako around that research and taking inspiration from pioneers before us and the wisdom of Te Ao Maori.

What we are about/ He aha

Ako is a future-focused, play-based primary school that started earlier this year and provides a learning environment immersed in nature and puts children at the centre of their own learning.

We want to empower tamariki to take control of their own learning through the power of play and inquiry. Ultimately, we want to create communities of creative, joyful, compassionate life-long learners who use courageous and innovative thinking to build a harmonious and sustainable world.

Our vision/ Ngā moemoea

We want to challenge the current schooling model, so that the NZ education system is the best it can be.

Through the success of Ako, we will create a model of how to run a successful future-focused school. This will ultimately inspire change in our education system so that more children in New Zealand can realise their full potential and be ready to embrace the challenges of the future.

A big part of our role is to raise awareness of the research behind our approach. We run regular community talks and use social media to promote articles and research. Our accounts have more than 600 followers and we have held five talks that reached around 450 parents and teachers.

We have reached capacity in our current space and need to expand to meet demand, so we're moving to a bigger, better space. In the years to come, we also want to provide inspiration and a platform for others to open their own versions of Ako in their local community.

Our story / Te haere

It all started with Ako’s Dot-Connector, Sabrina, through her work at AUT. She came across research explaining how our education system is outdated, doesn’t cater to how we learn, and isn’t preparing children for the future. As a mother of twin girls who were approaching school age, she could not find a school that was aligned with her values and the research she came across. So the idea to start a new type of school was born.

Realising that she would need a strong and diverse team, Sabrina was actively looking for others to join this kaupapa. She met Kate Webber, a mother of three boys and a registered primary school teacher, who had always been passionate about Play Based Learning but who felt unsupported and isolated in the mainstream system. 

Ako gained momentum and primary school teacher Claudia Gray, who has a background in science and mathematics and specialises in non-violent communication joined the team.

Followed by Chief Number Cruncher Bronwyn Bayne, a mother of two boys, with a background in government financial policy and strategy development, who even quit her job to join the team part-time!

Most recently, Lance Cablk, an ECE teacher and interpretive dancer joined the team.

Our milestones/ Ngā eke panuku

We’ve done what most said was crazy: we opened a school without any external financial backing or government support and with virtually no budget.

We currently have a roll of 14 students between the ages of 5 and 12 years old who learn alongside in our mixed age environment.

We are located on the North Shore of Auckland, are run by volunteer staff of committed parents, and employ four part-time passionate teachers.

We have over 600 followers on our social media accounts and had over 400 people attend our community talks.

Why we are seeking funding / Ngā putea

We had to start as a private parent-run school without government funding. It currently costs approximately $12,000 a year per student to run our school on our shoe-string budget (other private school fees can be more than $20,000 per year).

Our only income comes from fees our families pay and fundraising activities, as we do not have any private backers. We want Ako to be accessible to all and not only those that can afford private school fees and we want to be able to pay our staff a decent wage.  

Your support will enable us to: lease a bigger space on our current site for next year, provide partial scholarships to families that can’t afford to pay our full fees; and repay part of the loan that enabled us to get Ako started.

Our stretch target is $40,000. The extra $20,000 raised would enable us to offer more scholarships and fast track building a platform to support others to start their own spaces.

Where your pledge will go

Scholarship fund 10k+

Lease of new space 5k

Repayment of loan 5k+

What you can do

Help us build on our first steps so that we can prove our model and inspire change in our education system so that more children in New Zealand can experience the wonders of a largely self-directed and experiential education and be ready to face the challenges of the future.

_{1x Rust drop crotch pants&1x Blush Baxter fleece jumper}

1x Burrowers Fleece jumper grey

The short version

Our education system is failing many New Zealand children. Ako has set out to provide the best learning environment for our tamariki, now, and for their future. It is built on strong evidence of how children learn best. Through the success of Ako, we will create a model of a successful future-focused school. This will ultimately inspire change in our education system so that more children in New Zealand can realise their full potential and be ready to embrace the challenges of the future.

Why is Ako needed/ Na te aha

Our schools were designed for an industrialising world that no longer exists and parents are crying out for alternatives.

Government is too slow to make changes and support innovation in education, so it is left to parents and communities to drive change from the bottom up.

Leading edge research from the areas of neuroscience, child psychology and health science as well as the demand for future skills suggest that schools need to adopt a different approach that puts children at the centre of learning, and individualises learning around their interests. 

We have designed Ako around that research and taking inspiration from pioneers before us and the wisdom of Te Ao Maori.

What we are about/ He aha

Ako is a future-focused, play-based primary school that started earlier this year and provides a learning environment immersed in nature and puts children at the centre of their own learning.

We want to empower tamariki to take control of their own learning through the power of play and inquiry. Ultimately, we want to create communities of creative, joyful, compassionate life-long learners who use courageous and innovative thinking to build a harmonious and sustainable world.

Our vision/ Ngā moemoea

We want to challenge the current schooling model, so that the NZ education system is the best it can be.

Through the success of Ako, we will create a model of how to run a successful future-focused school. This will ultimately inspire change in our education system so that more children in New Zealand can realise their full potential and be ready to embrace the challenges of the future.

A big part of our role is to raise awareness of the research behind our approach. We run regular community talks and use social media to promote articles and research. Our accounts have more than 600 followers and we have held five talks that reached around 450 parents and teachers.

We have reached capacity in our current space and need to expand to meet demand, so we're moving to a bigger, better space. In the years to come, we also want to provide inspiration and a platform for others to open their own versions of Ako in their local community.

Our story / Te haere

It all started with Ako’s Dot-Connector, Sabrina, through her work at AUT. She came across research explaining how our education system is outdated, doesn’t cater to how we learn, and isn’t preparing children for the future. As a mother of twin girls who were approaching school age, she could not find a school that was aligned with her values and the research she came across. So the idea to start a new type of school was born.

Realising that she would need a strong and diverse team, Sabrina was actively looking for others to join this kaupapa. She met Kate Webber, a mother of three boys and a registered primary school teacher, who had always been passionate about Play Based Learning but who felt unsupported and isolated in the mainstream system. 

Ako gained momentum and primary school teacher Claudia Gray, who has a background in science and mathematics and specialises in non-violent communication joined the team.

Followed by Chief Number Cruncher Bronwyn Bayne, a mother of two boys, with a background in government financial policy and strategy development, who even quit her job to join the team part-time!

Most recently, Lance Cablk, an ECE teacher and interpretive dancer joined the team.

Our milestones/ Ngā eke panuku

We’ve done what most said was crazy: we opened a school without any external financial backing or government support and with virtually no budget.

We currently have a roll of 14 students between the ages of 5 and 12 years old who learn alongside in our mixed age environment.

We are located on the North Shore of Auckland, are run by volunteer staff of committed parents, and employ four part-time passionate teachers.

We have over 600 followers on our social media accounts and had over 400 people attend our community talks.

Why we are seeking funding / Ngā putea

We had to start as a private parent-run school without government funding. It currently costs approximately $12,000 a year per student to run our school on our shoe-string budget (other private school fees can be more than $20,000 per year).

Our only income comes from fees our families pay and fundraising activities, as we do not have any private backers. We want Ako to be accessible to all and not only those that can afford private school fees and we want to be able to pay our staff a decent wage.  

Your support will enable us to: lease a bigger space on our current site for next year, provide partial scholarships to families that can’t afford to pay our full fees; and repay part of the loan that enabled us to get Ako started.

Our stretch target is $40,000. The extra $20,000 raised would enable us to offer more scholarships and fast track building a platform to support others to start their own spaces.

Where your pledge will go

Scholarship fund 10k+

Lease of new space 5k

Repayment of loan 5k+

What you can do

Help us build on our first steps so that we can prove our model and inspire change in our education system so that more children in New Zealand can experience the wonders of a largely self-directed and experiential education and be ready to face the challenges of the future.

_{1x Rust drop crotch pants&1x Blush Baxter fleece jumper}

1x Burrowers Fleece jumper grey

 Kia ora koutou,

Thank you for getting behind our kaupapa, some of the rewards are going out the door fast so we are working on lining up some more over the next few weeks. So stay tuned!!