Puna reo or Māori immersion early childhood centres which stand outside the kōhanga reo movement have formed their own national body.

Ngā Puna Reo Aotearoa chair Tere Gilbert says there are more than 50 such centres around the country set up by whānau, iwi and Māori groups who want options that are not available within kōhanga reo.

Like the various Pasifika language nests, up to now, they’ve been lumped in with the ECE or education and care funding stream.

She says the new body will look for ways to ensure quality Māori immersion early childhood education is appropriately resourced and recognised, and to increase the supply of qualified and registered teachers.

“We grow put own. Our kaiāwhina who have been working, they love their work, they love the tamariki, they are doing a lot of the work kaiako do anyway, we get them into training, field-based training where they earn and learn,” Ms Gilbert says.

She spent 30 years in kōhanga reo but wanted to do some things in a different way.