Using New Zealand Sign Language to Support Diverse Communities

The Haven Story

When my business partner Mark and I took ownership of Haven ELC in 2018, we noticed the depth of diversity in our immediate community and in the ethnicity of the tamariki and whānau who accessed the service. The centre was rich in diverse language, culture and identity. There were 12 different languages spoken amongst tamariki, kaiako, and families.

After the Covid pandemic, our local community underwent many changes in cultural diversity as overseas families reconnected and came to New Zealand to work. They brought their immediate and extended families with them, many who had been isolated over this time in lock downs, separated from peers and schooling.

To support these ESOL students (English as Second or Other Language), Haven kaiako began to use teaching strategies that supported communication for all, whether children were ESOL, pre-verbal or non-communicative. These children who had English as a second language began to benefit from teaching strategies which included modelling language, actively teaching social and emotional regulation, and giving children the skills and the words to encourage relationships and working together. We changed our mindset from ‘behaviour modification’ to ‘positive guidance’.

In 2021, Haven welcomed our first Deaf child into the nursery. Since that time, we have supported this child and their family through their personal journey which has included knowing how to manage hearing technology (changing batteries, recharging processors, repairing hearing aids, supporting cochlear implants and rehabilitation), along with speech therapy and writing individual education plans to support transitions through the centre and to primary school.

We already had our own unique diversity amongst the teaching team – Jocelyn, our Team Leader, also has a cochlear implant. Jocelyn’s hearing loss was recognised when she was very young, and she has had extensive speech language therapy, which helped enable her to study and graduate as an ECE teacher. Jocelyn has overcome the challenges of living and working in a hearing world, and she has been instrumental in supporting the Haven team to make environmental and teaching practice changes that benefit Deaf or Hard of Hearing children in our centre.

Incorporating NZSL

As part of being intentionally inclusive and advocates for the Deaf Community, staff began to show an interest in learning New Zealand sign language. In 2022 I began night classes at Te Puna Wai O Waipapa (Hagley College) studying NZSL and was joined in 2023 by two other teachers from the centre. We were keen to take NZSL back to the centre, and at team hui we began to practise and use NZSL in our documentation and communication with parents. We introduced signed karakia before kai times and began to translate stories and narratives into basic sign. Tamariki quickly picked up the signs and began using them with each other, regardless of whether children were hearing or not.

We work with and alongside Ko Taku Reo (formerly Van Ash College in Christchurch) and we are supported with an AoDC (Adviser of Deaf Children) from the Ministry of Education and a RTD (Resource Teacher of the Deaf) from Ko Taku Reo.  Now that we had a solid grounding of NZSL, the team decided to implement signing as part of our curriculum design for all tamariki regardless of whether they were hearing or not, English as a second language, pre-verbal or non-verbal (due to other neuro diversities present).

In a centre which is as culturally diverse as ours, New Zealand Sign Language has become the common language. Since beginning this journey, we have welcomed others from the Deaf Community into our centre. Currently we have two Deaf parents with a Deaf child, a Deaf parent with a hearing child, a Deaf kaiako, a Deaf student kaiako in training, and two under 2s with hearing aids.  

Visitors and families who come to visit Haven ELC often comment on the inclusivity and diversity of the centre. As kaiako we promote the use of NZSL through our communities and professional networks and we advocate for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing in our centre and our community.  

Ideas for Other ECEs

So, what can you do to introduce NZSL and advocate for Deaf culture in your centre?

• Contact Deaf Aotearoa and ask about their sign language taster classes for staff.
• Talk to the AoDC at your local Ministry of Education, as they offer support to teams with Deaf or hard of hearing children in their centres.
• Use the online New Zealand Sign Language dictionary and see what signs you can incorporate into your own practice.
• Contact Ko Taku Reo and ask about what resources they may have that can support you on this journey.
• Visit other centres who support Deaf families and share information and ideas.
• Offer NZSL professional development to your team at regular staff meetings.
• Learn or practise a new sign each week, just as you incorporate te reo Māori or te ao Māori into your programme.
• Consider installing fire alarms which also flash when activated so there is a visual alert as well as an auditory one.
• A flashing phone also alerts to an incoming call - when Jocelyn answers she simply requests the person hold until she can get a teacher to speak to them.
• Learn the vocabulary of the Deaf Culture: Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HH) are preferable terms to use.

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I am happy for you to contact me directly if you would like to learn more about how to incorporate NZSL into your programme.