We are flexible in the timeframe and can meet the requirements of 30, 45 or a 60 minute presentation, the longer presentations can provide opportunity for participants to engage with each other and share ideas for specific contexts. This abstract has a strong focus on sharing practice while touching briefly on sharing knowledge and information. The Presentation: Authentic cultural connection strengthens a learner’s sense of identity, belonging, and wellbeing, creating the necessary foundation for improved educational outcomes. This aligns closely with the principles of Ka Hikitia, a New Zealand Ministry of Education Māori education strategy which emphasises that Māori learners achieve best when education reflects and values their identity, language, and culture. Consistent with the work of Russell Bishop, whose research highlights the importance of culturally responsive and relationship-based learning, as well as Mason Durie, whose work positions wellbeing, identity, and participation as deeply interconnected through models such as Te Whare Tapa Whā, this presentation recognises learning and wellbeing as mutually reinforcing rather than separate educational priorities. This presentation explores how culturally grounded, multidisciplinary approaches can impact the educational experiences of children and young people navigating complex medical and mental health needs. By focusing on the intersection of community partnership and intentional everyday teaching practice, we demonstrate how culturally responsive approaches can strengthen belonging, engagement, emotional safety, participation, learner agency, and connection to learning during periods of significant disruption. We suggest that these impacts occur because learners are more likely to engage in education when they experience their identities, cultures, whānau (family), and communities as recognised, reflected, and valued within their learning environments. Drawing on examples from practice and the Ahutoetoe Community Mural Project at the Ahutoetoe unit of Northern Health School, we will illustrate how students became more willing to participate, reconnect with learning, and see themselves as capable and valued learners within education, ultimately resulting in better learning outcomes. This presentation also suggest that culturally responsive pedagogy is not confined to large-scale initiatives or community projects, but is equally constructed through the small, intentional decisions educators make every day: through relationship-building, whakawhanaungatanga (the process of building meaningful relationships, connection, and belonging), resource selection, flexible participation pathways, the use of te reo Māori or indigenous language, learner voice, and the ways students’ identities, cultures, and lived experiences are recognised and valued within learning. Grounded in the work of Russell Bishop and Mason Durie, our approach views culturally responsive practice not as a standalone initiative, but as the cumulative impact of ongoing relationships, authentic community partnership, intentional curriculum decisions, and consistent everyday interactions over time. Located near our learning environment and within the community we serve is Te Herenga Waka o Orewa Marae, a Māori cultural and community centre connected to local mana whenua (local Indigenous people with ancestral authority over the land ). Over several years, staff, learners, and whānau have developed an authentic and evolving relationship with the marae that has become an important part of how learners experience connection, belonging, participation, and engagement in education..This relationship developed gradually through shared experiences, community consultation, collaborative projects, and ongoing engagement with local cultural knowledge and practices, moving beyond initial connection towards genuine partnership and reciprocity. For learners whose educational experiences are often disrupted by illness or mental health challenges, the marae also provides an enduring sense of connection and belonging beyond the school environment itself. As students move in and out of our setting, the relationship creates a culturally safe community space learners can continue to return to, helping strengthen continuity, identity, and connection during times of transition and uncertainty. The Ahutoetoe Community Mural Project will be shared as one example of this partnership in practice. Through collaboration between NHS staff, health-informed practice, whānau, artists, and mana whenua, students engaged in learning that connected identity, culture, wellbeing, creativity, and curriculum. We present this not as a model to replicate exactly, but as an example of how educational settings can build locally meaningful partnerships that strengthen learner wellbeing, agency, participation, and connection to community in ways that support ongoing engagement with learning. Within the context of Aotearoa New Zealand, this also involves weaving te reo Māori, tikanga (Māori customs, values, practices), and mātauranga Māori(Māori knowledge, understanding, and ways of knowing the world) into the curriculum through practices such as local storytelling, whakawhanaungatanga, community partnership, and intentional resource selection that reflects learners’ identities and experiences. While these bicultural foundations are unique to Aotearoa, the presentation highlights broader relational and culturally responsive approaches that may be adaptable across international contexts. Ultimately, these small and sometimes large consistent culturally responsive actions communicate a powerful message to learners: “You belong here. Culture counts.” In doing so, students’ cultural backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences are positioned as strengths and assets within learning leading to better outcomes for well-being and educational outcomes. References ● Bishop, R. (2012). Pretty difficult: Implementing kaupapa Māori theory in English-medium secondary schools. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 47(2), 38–50. Durie, M. (1998). Whaiora: Māori health development (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. Ministry of Education. (2020). Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitia: The Māori Education Strategy. Wellington, New Zealand. Durie, M. (1994). Whaiora: Māori health development. Oxford University Press.