Nestled at the foothills of the Waitākere Ranges with an environment rich in nature, tamariki have the freedom and space to discover and grow their passions, strengths and interests, unhurried and at their own pace. With trees to climb animals to care for and a zipline to race down, we create an environment that truly embraces the Magic of Childhood.

Waitākere Kindergarten is a place where joy and laughter are abundant and creativity blossoms.

Our Curriculum and our Philosophy – Our world class Early Childhood Curriculum Te Whāriki is heavily woven into our philosophy and guides our everyday practices. This document alongside our local curriculum and other guiding documents weave the framework in which our assessment of children’s learning stems from. He whāriki hei whakamana i te mokopuna, hei kawe i ngā wawata – A whāriki that empowers the child and carries our aspirations.

Whānau and community – We have a welcoming and collaborative environment with a strong sense of community and a close relationship with Waitākere Primary. Our curriculum is designed around meeting the aspirations of our whanau, community, tamariki and educators. Whānau are welcomed and encouraged to stay and spend time with us, sharing their wealth of knowledge and skills and alongside this we provide support, council, guidance and a friendly ear. Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi. Engari, he toa takitini – My strength is not the strength of one. It is the strength of many.

Communication and Social coaching – We believe social competencies are one of the most important skills for a child to develop during their early childhood years and our curriculum has a strong focus on supporting children to develop these life long skills. This is done in our kindergarten through social coaching, role modelling, intentional teaching, inclusiveness and creating a culture of friendliness and fun.

Empowerment and Resilience – We believe in the importance of developing resilience in a child’s early years to support them later in life and we help tamariki to do this by allowing them to problem solve, to overcome obstacles and set goals for themselves. We have a strong focus on emotion coaching which supports the development of emotional intelligence and self regulation.

Contribution and Kaitiakitanga – We value Kaitiakitanga and support tamariki to understand their role as guardians and protectors of our natural environment. We encourage this by providing opportunities to freely explore nature using all of their senses and involving tamariki in the development and care of our natural environment. We have a variety of pets including our gorgeous and friendly free range bunny Bowie.

Wellbeing and Manaakitanga – We value Manaakitanga and believe that these values need to be a part of children’s everyday interactions. We support children to develop this by providing experiences which allow children to explore the concept of empathy through dramatic play – doctors, vets, family play. We encourage tamariki to take care of their belongings, putting away their lunch boxes and packing their bags at the end of the day. We also encourage tamariki to take care of and respect our resources through helping to tidy up at the end of each session.

Belonging and the Magic of childhood – We celebrate the Magic of Childhood and believe that early childhood is a time of wonder, imagination, creativity and fun. Our kindergarten provides this by having a play based curriculum where uninterrupted play is prioritised. We provide an imagination rich environment which allows tamariki to immerse themselves in creative and dramatic play and in turn, we encourage tamariki to drive their own learning and make their own choices as they explore their interests.

Exploration and Risk Taking – We believe that Risk Taking is an important area of development that allows tamariki to grow confidence in themselves and their abilities which will extend into adulthood. We provide opportunities for this to be developed through experiences that are challenging and by allowing tamariki to assess their own risk. Our playground and physical environment is intentionally designed with varying opportunities for safe risk taking. We celebrate persistence and perseverance as we encourage tamariki to set their own challenges and support them to overcome these.

Relationships and Dedicated Educators – Our Kaiako (teachers) are enthusiastic, passionate and caring and between us have over 100 years of teaching experience. We put a high priority on the relationships we build within the kindergarten and promote open and honest communication. We continually evaluate our environment, our practices, our relationships and our curriculum to ensure that we are always giving our best and meeting the needs of our community, whanau and tamariki. We attend frequent professional development and have a strong and supportive team focus where we acknowledge and celebrate the varying strengths and interests that each of us bring.