Te Rito is a web-based national information repository that enables learner and ākonga information to follow them throughout their education. A staged rollout of Te Rito will soon restart, led by the education sector.
Te Rito has the potential to connect learner information from early learning through schooling and beyond.
The design and delivery of Te Rito is led by two sector working groups, Ngā Rau Whakatupu Māori and Auraki, in partnership with the Ministry of Education. All are confident they can now safely and securely restart a staged rollout of Te Rito.
There is strong sector support for Te Rito. The working groups and Ministry know that the more educators understand ākonga and learners, the better they can shape the support provided to them, valuing and respecting the things that make them unique.
Central to the design of Te Rito is the need to keep ākonga and learner information safe and secure, and ensure ākonga and learner information is only used as intended.
The information in Te Rito belongs to ākonga and learners. The Ministry does not have access to ākonga, learner, kura or school information held in Te Rito.
Te Rito will give educators more information and free up time to focus on what matters – understanding the strengths, aspirations and needs of ākonga and learners and helping them succeed.
When Te Rito is fully implemented, it has potential to connect ākonga and learner information from early learning to secondary and beyond. Right now, the focus is on the schooling sector, beginning in 2023 with a small number of schools and kura.
Consistent, accessible ākonga and learner information will enable:
Michael Malins of Te Rau Whakatupu Auraki says Te Rito will support students’ academic and emotional development and improve practices by deepening trust in whānau relationships.
“When we know our learners and their whānau connections, we feel more connected to our students and have a better understanding of who they are and how to meet their needs.”
The Ministry is committed to working with Māori and iwi in a way that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi and reflects Te Tiriti partnership.
Myles Ferris, Ngā Rau Whakatupu Māori Chair explains that Te Rito is designed with te ao Māori principles in mind.
“From the beginning of this mahi, Māori sector leaders have been involved in the co-design and decision-making, as well as helping lead the delivery of Te Rito to schools across the motu.
“Throughout this process we have been committed to putting our tamariki and their whānau first.”
Te Rito meets the requirements of the Privacy Act 2020.
In addition to these measures, in 2023 Te Rito Kaitiakitanga will be established, which is an independent, cross-sector data stewardship group whose role will be to provide trusted, transparent and equitable oversight of data held in Te Rito.
Te Rito Kaitiakitanga will determine who can access, use and share learner and ākonga data, for what purpose and under what conditions.
The relaunch of Te Rito will focus on the schooling sector, starting with a small number of kura and schools in 2023, and expanding as we learn how Te Rito can best support educators, learners and ākonga, and their families and whānau.
The standardised Learning Support Register (sLSR) is not part of the restart.
Any feedback or questions on Te Rito can be sent to terito@education.govt.nz.
Te Rito will enable learner and ākonga information to follow them throughout their education and has a wide range of other functions to support teaching, learning and administration.
The programme is guided by a whakatauākī gifted to the programme by members of Te Rau Whakatupu Māori (the Māori-medium sector working group).
Me tiaki te mana o te tamaiti me tōna whānau
Protect and uphold the mana of the child and their whānau
The name Te Rito represents the baby flax at the heart of the harakeke.
Te Rito has the tamaiti and child, and their whānau and family, at its heart. They are at the centre of everything we do. The name, which comes from the whakatauākī “Hutia te rito o te hakakēkē” was gifted by Te Aupouri whose ancestor, Meri Ngaroto, is credited with the whakatauākī.
BY Education Gazette editors
Education Gazette | Tukutuku Kōrero, reporter@edgazette.govt.nz
Posted: 8:30 am, 1 June 2023
22 February 2024
For more than 20 years, gifted school students in Otago, Canterbury, and Southland have been able to explore their interest in the marine world.
4 April 2024
With a legacy spanning more than four decades, Progressive Achievement Tests assessments have undergone a refreshing transformation
24 April 2024
Dig into the world of agricultural and horticultural education with insights from teachers who are empowering students to pursue careers
