Typically responds within
A couple of days
Welcome to Oakura Playcentre. We are situated in a small coastal village 10 minutes south of New Plymouth, adjacent to the local primary school on Donnelly Street. We offer quality Early Childhood Education for children from birth to school age three mornings a week. Our Playcentre offers a welcoming, safe and stimulating environment for children and their caregivers to enjoy play-based learning.
We are a parent led co-operative, meaning all sessions are planned for, run and evaluated by parents who are encouraged to attend free adult education to support their skills in this area. The ratio of children to adults is kept low (A maximum of 1:3). This ensures that we have a safe, engaging environment for group and individual learning.
Play is child led, we encourage children to decide what they would like to do, we watch and provide support as needed. Promoting feelings of success, self confidence, independence, self-direction, discovery, problem solving, decision-making, creativity, and opportunities to learn from mistakes are all part of our children’s development. We plan and cater for each child’s interests and own rate of development. Our evaluation processes encourage a continual reassessment of needs and how we can help meet these.
Each session is set up with 16 areas of play. Indoor activities include an extensive family role play area, puppets, blocks, books and music. We also have a dedicated baby area with a large mat, toys and couches for parents to feed their babies. The centre also has change tables, a high chair and a sleep room with cots meaning families with young babies are welcome and well catered for. A covered deck provides an all weather space for carpentry and messy activities such as painting, sensory play and clay. Our outdoor area includes a newly built covered sandpit, swings, obstacle course, slides, vegetable gardens and plenty of space to run around.
Families that join our Playcentre become part of a support