STORIES FROM OUR KINDERGARTEN AND EARLY LEARNING CENTRE WORLD...

Kindergarten is a service offering early childhood education. Our kindergartens have traditionally provided sessional hours. The staff to child ratio for kindergarten is 1 teacher : 10 children. Kindergarten caters for children between 2 and a half and 5 years of age.

One of the biggest differences to other early childhood providers is that our Association employs only registered teachers to deliver the curriculum. A registered teacher in NZ holds a Diploma in Teaching (ECE) or similar qualification, with a minimum of three years training.

Our early learning centres are all day services catering for children from 6 months to 5 years of age.  The staff to child ratio for over 2 year olds  is 1 teacher : 10 children and in the infant and toddler area 1 teacher : 4 children.

Our early learning centres are open from early morning to early evening and often accommodate parents who have long work hours and/or lengthy commutes .

Our Early Learning Centres incorporate the philosophies of kindergarten, including employing all registered teachers and focusing on early childhood education.

The NAKA Management and Board conducted a number of community consultation sessions in 2017.  As part of the consultation an online survey was implemented to capture the views and opinions of those community members that couldn't attend the workshops.

A full detailed copy of the survey results can be obtained on request

by emailing the General Manager, Kenny Halliday

kenny@naka.co.nz

Fees and ECE Funding

The primary form of government funding for our kindergartens and early learning centres is the ECE funding subsidy. This contributes to our costs by paying for part of each hour each child spends in our care to a maximum of 6 hours per day/30 hours per week. This subsidy does not meet the full cost of our kindergartens and early learning centres as the government expects the costs to be shared with parents.

All our kindergartens and early learning centres offer 20 Hours ECE funding. 

The hours that your child attends may also be subject to a fees payment should you not qualify for the Government's "20 Hours" ECE or in the event your child attends longer than 20 hours per week. For more information please see the fees policies for kindergartens and early learning centres.

Work and Income make quality childcare more affordable for families -especially if you need a bit of extra help so you can work and prepare for a working future. If approved, they grant you financial assistance from the date you first contact them, if you complete your application within 20 working days of that date. Work and Income for more information on Work  and Income.

Our Philosophy on Education

We believe that all children and their families/whanau are unique and reject a 'one size fits all' approach to education, believing instead that a child's individual learning plan should be tailored to the child's individual needs. Parents, as experts on their child, work with teachers, the experts on education to assess each child and ensure programme design provides opportunities for the child to extend their existing knowledge and skill and develop attributes such as perseverance, resilience and curiosity that are critical to learning*. We believe that children deserve nothing less than the best qualified, most competent teachers available. We know that the quality of interactions between children and our highly skilled teachers is one of the most important factors in a childs learning and furture educational development.

Your child will experience a range of stimulating, challenging and  learning environments and learn a range of life skills including:

* Taking responsiblilty, developing independence and confidence