Kindergarten is a special place where teachers, children and parents come together to build amazing communities and life-long friends. At our kindergartens, children are encouraged, inspired and nurtured to discover, experience and learn about the world around them. The indoor and outdoor areas of a kindergarten are designed for young children and the furniture and resources are appropriate for pre-schoolers starting kindergarten. During your child’s early childhood education at kindergarten, they will develop important life skills to assist with their transition to school.
Kindergarten terms for 2024 are:
Term 1 – 19 January – 12 April
Term 2 – 29 April – 5 July
Term 3 – 22 July – 27 September
Term 4 – 14 October – 20 December
Our kindergartens are closed on weekends and public holidays and during school term breaks. Please refer to the individual kindergarten webpages for specific hours available at the kindergarten of your choice.
Our KiNZ Early Childhood Education & Childcare Centres are open right through the term break and offer hours from 7.30am to 5.30pm for parents looking for full day childcare options. Visit each centre’s webpage for details.
All kindergartens offer either 6 or 7 hours, but some kindergartens also offer shorter 3 or 4 hour sessions. You can choose the days that your child will attend. Availability hours for kindergarten will vary between centres.
Get in touch by filling out our quick and easy contact form. Someone from your preferred kindergarten will call or email you to talk you through the enrolment process and make sure you are on their waiting list. Even if you just want more information, we can help!
Waiting lists vary from kindergarten to kindergarten. After you get in touch, your child may be able to start kindergarten right away or you may need to wait until there is space at your preferred kindergarten. There are always children leaving to go to school, vacant spots come up all the time. This is why there are no set cut off dates for kindergarten enrolment.
It’s a good idea to visit your local kindergartens, talk with the teaching team and get a feel for the centre before you decide. You are welcome to pop in to any of our kindergartens in Auckland anytime and say hi!
We recommend that you begin the kindergarten enrolment process early on, when your child is at about 2 years old.
Most kindergartens enrol children between the ages of two and five years old, but placement is subject to availability. Kindergartens are very popular, and most have waiting lists. Their popularity is related to both their relatively low cost and their high-quality education. That’s why we strongly recommend that your child is on the waiting list at your chosen centre well before you want them to start going to kindergarten.
Get in touch with your local kindergarten to find out at what age they are accepting children.
If you are looking for childcare for children under the age of two, please contact one of our KiNZ Early Childhood Education & Childcare Centres.
Compared to other childcare options, kindergartens are popular because of their relatively low cost and their high quality education.
AKA is part of the government scheme, which allows all children over 3 years of age to receive 20 hours free early childhood education a week. In some instances we are able to extend this to 2 year-olds (Please note this does not extend to KiNZ Centres).
For a fee schedule based on your intended specific days and hours, please contact your local centre.
When your child turns three you will be asked to sign a form telling us how you would like to allocate your 20 hours ECE: You can use your 20 hours ECE at more than one centre, but not for the same times. You can choose to use as many or as few hours of 20 Hours ECE as you want, up to 6 hours a day and 20 hours a week. With your 20 hours ECE subsidy, the first 20 hours of your child’s early childhood education is free.
The subsidy that the government provides is not sufficient to meet the high quality education that we provide, so a small contribution fee is requested based on the number of hours that your child attends kindergarten. There is a small charge for every hour over and above the 20 hours ECE subsidy.
As AKA is a charitable trust, all contributions are channelled back into children’s learning.
Find out more about the 20 hours ECE scheme on the Ministry of Education website.
Kindergartens are inclusive places and we welcome all children and their families. Our qualified teachers are able to work with families to meet every child’s needs. Please share with the teachers if you have any learning or health information about your child. This will help the teachers be prepared to best support you and your child.