Angela
Vermeulen

Lead Facilitator (English-medium)

Region: Canterbury/Chatham Islands
Angela Vermeulen

Qualifications

Certificate “Transforming Education in Canterbury” – University of Canterbury
Bachelor of Teaching and Learning – University of Canterbury

Professional profile

Angela is an experienced facilitator who is committed to cultural capability. She has extensive specialist expertise in leading change in Kāhui Ako and schools; leadership, team development, and culture change; learning community engagement; and Spirals of Inquiry. She has considerable experience in supporting Kāhui Ako and schools to re-vision and develop collaborative teaching and learning pedagogies and practices.

Angela is an accredited facilitator with the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience which has partnered with Tātai Aho Rau Core Education to deliver Wellbeing in Schools. She has worked in Kāhui Ako to support wellbeing literacies and develop strategies to embed whole-school wellbeing and resilience.

Angela has also been extensively involved in the Grow Waitaha programme which provides tailored professional learning to schools to rebuild or redevelop their teaching and learning spaces, develop communities of practice (Wellbeing, Technology, Inclusive Education & Collaboration), and create innovative learning environments and pedagogy with all key stakeholders.

 

Expertise

Angela’s extensive experience as a facilitator is underpinned by her ability to:
  • create change that is centred around learners
  • guide teams and communities towards a shared vision and goal
  • empower Kāhui Ako or schools to be sustainable as they develop their own capability to lead change
  • help people establish relationships with all the key stakeholders in their learning community and co-design teaching and learning
  • encourage the building of strong teams by ensuring that personal and professional relationships are based on trust and effective communication strategies and skills
  • guide people to seek wider perspectives, and test assumptions and biases in order to establish common goals
  • support schools and staff to critically assess the impact of practice through Spirals of Inquiry and embed practices through gaining wider perspectives from whānau and ākonga.
Supporting organisations and collaborative groups to engage in the following learning and development:
  • building role clarity and trust within professional relationships
  • repairing relationship breakdowns
  • growing the effectiveness and productivity of teams
    engaging in important conversations (sometimes seen as challenging or difficult conversations)
  • developing and then collaborating on a common goal – moving beyond basic sharing practices
  • refining or building a coherent collaborative action plan
  • developing new ways of working after a team or group split/reorganisation
  • using inquiry to respond to the complexity of a change of practice.
Supporting the development of highly effective and coherent teams by:
  • establishing team agreements and effective ways of working towards a common vision or goal
  • co-designing ways of working using team functions to build trust and establish clear protocols, systems and structures
  • creating effective strategies that support the co-design, development, implementation and evaluation of a vision/values in schools and Kāhui Ako
  • working through breakdowns in relationships and structures
  • developing a coherent vision for teaching and learning ensuring that there is engagement with whānau, ākonga, iwi and all stakeholders.
  • building highly effective teams through structures and functions including:
    • building trusting relationships focused on the team
    • entering into positive conflict and conversations
    • establishing commitment to the decisions and vision of the team
      the ability to hold each other accountable for actions
    • ensuring that the team goals and vision is what each member is striving for in their actions.
Understanding and developing cultural capability

Successfully supporting learning communities to:
Support people to understand what it means to be a culturally capable educator in Aotearoa and develop culturally capable pedagogies. This includes:

  • deeply reflecting on their own role in developing equitable structures in their educational setting
  • learning about the history of Aotearoa and the role of this as it is underpinned by te Tiriti o Waitangi
    ensure commitment to honoring te Tiriti o Waitangi and equity at all times
  • facilitating complex conversations using tools and strategies
  • developing strategic plans and goals that are inclusive, focused on equity and have been created with mana whenua, iwi, whānau and ākonga
  • supporting schools to effectively implement culturally responsive practice and build whanaungatanga
  • recognising and celebrating diversity and supporting schools to develop Tangata Whenuatanga
  • adhering to the responsibilities of te Tiriti o Waitangi to build cultural competencies.
Develop collective wellbeing in learning communities by supporting learning communities to:
  • understand how wellbeing literacies can support a shift to whole school wellbeing change and actions
  • explore the current state of wellbeing for the staff and what strengths, or areas to strengthen, to focus on
  • empower staff, students, and whānau to take a more systematic and agentic approach to wellbeing
  • sustainably navigate wellbeing change and build leadership capability for wellbeing
  • aligning the wellbeing literacies and cultural capabilities pedagogies as an important lens for ensuring equity in Aotearoa.
Over the past eight years Angela has facilitated work with schools and Kāhui Ako in relation to:
  • re-visioning (whole school & Kāhui Ako)
  • change leadership (people and processes)
  • engage everyone in genuine inquiry through Spirals to sustain a learning culture
  • developing effective teams (starting with trust)
  • collaborative teaching and learning (systems, structures, spaces)
  • cultural capability (equity in Aotearoa)
  • wellbeing in schools (navigating wellbeing change).


Angela supported both the development of Tātai Aho Rau's Collaboration Framework and ILE Matrix.

Personal statement

I feel privileged to work with schools and their learning communities everyday.