The Auckland Kindergarten Association is about to construct a new centre at 90 to 94 Walmer Road, Pt Chevalier, freeing its current site for use by the space-constrained Pt Chevalier School. It is our intention to deploy a generous government investment to create a $6 million facility that will serve the Pt Chevalier community for years to come.

This facility will provide:

  • An 8.30am to 2.30pm Kindergarten Day Model service;
  • A parallel all-day service that extends access to those families in which both parents work;
  • A play group for younger children and their parents; and
  • ‘Kindergarten-compatible’ community services (such as parenting courses) that operate in dedicated rooms within the new centre.

Despite what it offers, the project has met with some opposition from those wanting to preserve the Kindergarten Day Model unmodified. Rather than answer their questions privately, we have decided to answer them publicly so that everyone is informed.

 

  1. Why not retain the current kindergarten model as is? Why change what is working well?

The current kindergarten is providing a high quality service, but its 8.30am to 2.30pm hours exclude too many Pt Chevalier families. These hours work well for those with at least one parent not working full time, but do not address the needs of others.

 

Our August 2015 survey of Pt Chevalier families confirmed this. While the majority of respondents associated with the existing kindergarten want to preserve the current model, the majority of others want 7.30am to 5.30pm hours and school holiday services.

 

It is to reconcile these apparently contradictory community needs that we are offering both an 8.30am to 2.30pm Kindergarten Day Model service, and a parallel all-day service.

  1. What else are you planning for the new centre?
    We know that more than a third of those who responded to our survey were either ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ to use an on-site playgroup – and would fill the playgroup and then some. And we know there were majorities in our survey ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ to use onsite services including Plunket, B4 Schools Health Checks, after-school classes for school children, and parenting courses.We intend, therefore, that the new centre offer not only teacher-led services, but also a playgroup for younger children and their parents, and ‘kindergarten-compatible’ community services that operate quietly and do not disrupt centre neighbours.We call this service model a ‘kindergarten hub’, the idea being that our new centre will operate as a hub for the community around it.
  2. Is there another Auckland Kindergarten Association service like the one you propose for Pt Chevalier?

The idea of ‘kindergarten’ has never been static. When we started out, in 1908, we set out (to use the language that was used at the time) to provide free kindergartens for ‘the slum population of Auckland’, the children of ‘the idle and the thriftless’, the ‘degraded and the wasters’. We have taken many steps from those attitudes and the type of service they produced, and we are in the process of taking another one.

The changes we are proposing in  Pt Chevalier today are exactly what all other New Zealand kindergarten associations are doing: moving to longer hours of care, and offering services that open in school holidays. There is sense also in which we are creating something that is new, something designed to serve the entire Pt Chevalier community for decades to come.

No other Auckland Kindergarten Association service combines Kindergarten Day Model hours with all-day hours, a playgroup, and the housing of local community services. Thus the new descriptor: ‘kindergarten hub’. And thus the dual branding: ‘kindergarten’ and ‘KiNZ’.

 

  1. How do we know your survey was not manipulated to produce the answers you wanted?
    The survey was drafted carefully to provide guidance as to what the community wants. Click here for a summary of the survey’s findings together with this question and answer document. And we are confident the application of the findings will meet community needs, and therefore fill the new centre.

 

  1. If we go to a mixed kindergarten day – all-day model won’t we lose the parent involvement that makes kindergartens special?
    It is our intention, with the Teachers involvement, that the level of parent engagement in the new centre will rise, not fall.
  • We will be meeting with Pt Chevalier Kindergarten’s existing Parent Whanau Support Group to discuss how its members would like their roles structured in the new centre, and what they think needs to happen to ensure that parent involvement is maximized.
  • We will encourage parents to stay and play when they drop children at the new centre, as we do now.
  • We envisage the new playgroup as a social hub for parents.
  • We anticipate that our community rooms will be used by parent-led community organisations.
  1. Won’t there be a loss of quality if we move from a centre that delivers the kindergarten day model only?
    Our most important strategic goal is to maintain high quality in all our centre’s. All Auckland Kindergarten Association’s 111 kindergartens and KiNZ centres achieve good ERO reports. The new centre will combine the best of both – and add a playgroup and ‘kindergarten-compatible’ community services. It’s going to be a fantastic asset for Pt Chevalier.
  2. If you replace the current age-based entry with a waiting-list, won’t we lose the benefits of children moving through in aged-related cohorts.
    We are not going to a waiting list system, and have never intended this. We are retaining the current system in which we take children in priority by age.  And this means children will generally arrive and leave with their mates, just as they do now.

 

  1. You have said you will guarantee kindergarten day model hours to existing kindergarten families. But will you guarantee these places will always exist?
    We are guaranteeing kindergarten day model hours to all existing kindergarten families and to all those on the current waiting list, but we are not guaranteeing these services in perpetuity. The kindergarten day places will continue whilst there is a need in the community. It is our intention, however, that our new centre change to meet changing patterns of community need, and the configuration of all-day places, kindergarten day model places, and other elements of the service are likely to alter over time.

 

  1. If you offer different hours to different kinds of families, won’t the centre be disrupted as children arrive and leave at different times?
    Staff manage comings and goings at thousands of early childhood services every day. Teachers have much more difficult things to manage than arrivals and departures.

 

  1. Isn’t the consultation a fraud? Didn’t you make all your decisions prior to consulting with the community?

We do not believe so. Changes made in response to those wanting to preserve a kindergarten service include the following.

  • Some are concerned about losing the kindergarten option… and in response we are guaranteeing Kindergarten Day Model hours to both all existing kindergarten families and all those on the current waiting list – and we are guaranteeing these Kindergarten Day Model places for years to come.
  • Some are concerned about longer wait lists and demand from surrounding suburbs… and in response we are giving enrolment preference to those who live in Pt Chevalier.
  • Some are concerned about fee increases… and in response we are guaranteeing that those who attend on a Kindergarten Day Model basis will not pay KiNZ rates, but the lower Kindergarten Day Model fees instead.
  • Some are concerned about a diminution of family/parental involvement… and in response we will be taking extra care to maintain a parent-welcoming culture.
  • Some have requested that we provide a space within the centre so parents can park push chairs and supervise babies therein whilst also participating with their older children in centre activities… and we have modified building plans to ensure this happens.

 

  1. How will things work with babies and older children in the same centre?  How will you prevent babies and small toddlers being injured by these older children?  Will there be separation between different age groups?

There will be no babies or infants in the new centre, and no children under the age of two. There will, however, be no separation by age, just as there is no separation in our existing kindergartens, even those that take two year olds.

Two activity spaces , separated by a kitchen, will take 30 children each, and it is possible the different activities in the different rooms will attract children of different ages – but they will not be formally separated.

 

  1. What will happen to the existing Pt Chevalier Kindergarten teachers?
    All existing teachers will be offered employment in the new centre. It will be up them, however, whether they want to move to the new centre or to another AKA service.
  2. Won’t waiting times lengthen if you offer all-day services?

Yes. They probably will. A new centre, more in tune with the needs of the community, is likely to be very popular. It is our intention to minimize consequential waiting time increases by giving enrolment preference to those who live in Pt Chevalier.

  1. Won’t the charging of all day fees put your services beyond the reach of those who can afford kindergarten fees only?
    The Auckland Kindergarten Association has been committed to the provision of services for low-income families for all of its 107 years. Those who attend the new centre on a Kindergarten Day Model basis will not pay KiNZ rates, but the lower Kindergarten Day Model fees. It is a principle, more than a century old, that no one gets excluded from one of our kindergartens because they cannot afford to pay.

 

  1. Will there be the same number of places at the new centre as there are at the old kindergarten?
    The current centre is licensed for 40. The new centre will be licensed for 60.
  2. How, on a practical, day-to-day basis, will a kindergarten function within a KiNZ? Will kindergarten and KiNZ children be separated physically? Will the kindergarten children who bring packed lunches be separated from the KiNZ children eating cooked lunches?
    The model of care and education that we are offering is a pace or two beyond the KiNZ-kindergarten distinction. We call it a ‘kindergarten hub’. It fuses the best of kindergartens and the best of KiNZ, and adds a playgroup and ‘kindergarten compatible’ community services such as parenting classes. It will be branded both ‘kindergarten’ and ‘KiNZ’.

The centre will be run with exactly the same teaching philosophy that drives both existing KiNZ centres and kindergartens: child-initiated learning through play, and teachers working alongside children to enhance ‘teachable moments’. We will not be separating children on the basis of enrolment type, and would not be comfortable separating friends because one was all-day and one was 8.30 to 2.30. We will not be excluding Kindergarten Day children from a hot lunch if their parents want them to have one. Both short-day and all-day families will be free to choose: bring your own lunch, or have one provided by the centre.

  1. What will be the adult-to-child ratios at the new centre, and how will these compare to those at the existing kindergarten?
    Ratios at the current kindergarten are 1:10. Ratios at the new centre will be 1:10.
  2. Two final points…A bottom line
    There are some in Pt Chevalier who would like  us to retain the current kindergarten model as is. These people have taken their concerns to MPs, the Minister of Education, the Ministry of Education and others. . It is our judgment, however, that a $6 million investment in Pt Chevalier should provide choices for the whole community, and not exclude parents who work full time. And this, for us, is a bottom line.

How to get involved
We know that some of Pt Chevalier Kindergarten’s most committed parents are unhappy we are making changes. We do not, on balance, agree with their viewpoint, but we can see why they would want to preserve a service they know and like. It is our hope, however, that these parents will get involved with the new centre nevertheless. We have already made substantial changes based on community feedback, and we will consider others.
I will be meeting soon with Pt Chevalier Kindergarten’s Parent Whanau Support Group to see what they think should happen in the new centre. I am hoping to meet also, perhaps over coffee, with small groups of parents who have ideas. We are especially keen to hear ideas for how we might maximize parent involvement.

 

If you would like a meeting of this sort, or to offer comments or suggestions, you are welcome to contact me (Tanya Harvey, Chief Executive Officer, Auckland Kindergarten Association) at Tanya.Harvey@aka.org.nz; or phone on me on 027 2805479.

Image from www.stockmonkeys.com