Te Tiwha and Pam have developed their working relationship founded on what it means to be Tiriti partners in education. They have come to understand that, more often than not, this means “navigating between the spaces”. They share experiences which feature the challenges of collective responsibility for the benefit of learners and whānau in Whanganui. Their insights are a work in progress to harness collective purpose and action within the Whanganui education sector that has invited a rebalancing of relationships between early childhood, schooling and tertiary provision with mana whenua – whānau, hapū and iwi communities.

There is no equity ‘routemap’ for all; each community has its own actors in education. What is shared here will be insights into one community that may help unlock barriers and assumptions for others taking a similar journey.