Childcare options in Hillsborough

Welcome to Hillsborough Kindergarten!  We have recently had a new building upgrade – come and meet our teaching team and see the modern learning facilities that we offer to your children.

Here at Hillsborough Kindergarten, we promote inclusive practices.  This means that everyone is welcome and diversity is embraced.

We partner with Hay Park School to support a smooth transition into school.

Our kindergartens have early childhood qualified and registered teachers.  The teachers are dedicated to, and passionate about, early childhood education.  Each kindergarten has a head teacher plus teachers and support staff.  Quality learning programmes are based on the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum, Te Whãriki.

Our learning philosophy

For the past 110 years, the Auckland Kindergarten Association has been igniting young minds by encouraging them to explore their imaginations through play. For many of us, kindergarten was where we began our life of learning; it was where we started learning skills like sharing, tolerance, patience, respect and self-confidence.

We view children as capable, competent, life-long learners, and our philosophy encourages children to make their own learning choices, problem-solve and observe and explore at their own pace…with support from teachers, parents, wider whānau and their peers. We value the importance of child-initiated, play-based experiences. Our kindergarten teachers nurture your children’s interests and natural curiosity by working alongside them, expanding language and introducing mathematical and science concepts, as well as literacy, digital technology and sustainable practices.

Our centres have gardens and natural outdoor spaces where children can create, explore, be imaginative and expressive. There’s plenty of room to safely run about, being imaginative and physically active. In fact, the natural world is essential to free-range play. AKA encourages each kindergarten community to explore and enrich their diversity and uniqueness. Some have regular excursions into the local community; some are Enviroschool kindergartens that live and breathe sustainable practices; while others engage in long-term research on child interest-based programmes of learning.

As an organisation, we formally acknowledge the dual heritage of Aotearoa / New Zealand, and work to uphold the spirit and intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in each kindergarten. We are accessible, secular and welcoming to the wide diversity of tamariki and whānau who attend our centres, and value ongoing partnerships between teaching teams and leadership staff with families and whānau. We value ongoing learning for teachers, parents and whānau, and the sharing of knowledge, skills and attributes is fundamental to achieving the best learning outcomes for children. Teachers and staff can access collegial professional time to ensure that quality practice is enhanced so current theories of learning and development within New Zealand’s world-class Te Whāriki early childhood curriculum are shared and understood.

Children learn

Children in our kindergartens have the opportunity to:

• Feel confident, develop responsibility and a sense of independence
• Play meaningfully alongside other children and adults
• Develop effective communication skills
• Persevere, problem-solve and take risks
• Explore limits, boundaries, routines and conflict resolution strategies
• Practice fine motor skills such as threading, writing, cutting and grasping
• Develop gross motor play such as physical games like climbing, throwing, kicking, balancing and lifting
• Develop creative expressions through painting, music, collage, movement, dance, finger-painting, drawing, cutting, pasting and story sharing
• Develop early numeracy, literacy and science skills
• Learn techniques through trial and error
• Explore the world through experimenting, questioning and curiosity
• Develop confidence and celebrate both attempts and successes
• Develop a passion for learning and a love of life
• Have fun!

Older children will be supported in their transition to school to make this process as simple and seamless as possible. Book a visit here on Kindello today, we’d love to meet you.

We provide quality care and education for children in a guided play environment. We ensure that the child's needs are paramount by providing a loving, understanding, accepting, respecting, warm, safe, environment in which the children can grow, share and learn under the guidance of caring and qualified staff.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

We recognise that each child is a unique person where their individual pattern, timing of growth, personality, learning style and family background is understood and respected.

We foster the physical, social, emotional and intellectual development of the children through a balance of activity, rest, good nutrition and the provision of an ongoing educational programme.

We establish effective communication with parents, children and their whanau in a professional manner to ensure the well-being of all, at all times.

We ensure that Childsplay Unlimited is self supporting and that all Ministry of Education funding is used for the benefit of the centre and the children and staff associated with it.

OUR EDUCATION PROGRAMMES

There are four foundation principles of Te Whaariki - Empowerment, Holistic Development, Family, and Community and Relationships.

The strands and goals arise from the principles and are woven around these principles in patterns that reflect the diversity of each early childhood education service. Together, the principles, strands, goals, and learning outcomes set the framework for the curriculum.

There are five key strands, these are: Well-being, Belonging, Contribution, Communication and Exploration.

DAILY ACTIVITIES

• Our daily activities include:
• Literacy and numeracy
• Science and technology
• Mathematical learning
• Music & Movement
• Group Time
• Creative Play
• Outdoor Play
• Sand Play
• Sleep Time/rest time

We are a thriving, multicultural playcentre on the border of Mount Roskill and Hillsborough. We have a small roll, meaning we can offer children one-on-one attention and support.

Our playcentre has a large outdoor area and a wide range of toys and activities for your children to enjoy.

What is Playcentre?

Playcentre is a unique, New Zealand wide organisation that has been dedicated to early childhood education for over 75 years. It is for children from birth to school age.

Playcentre firmly believes that family / whanau are the first and best educators for their children. We are entirely run by family / whanau who want to be involved in their children’s learning, and also want to meet and form friendships with other families in the area. As a family co-operative, we share the responsibility for supervising, organising, maintaining and running the centre, under the guidelines of the New Zealand Playcentre Federation and Ministry of Education. For Playcentre to operate there must be an appropriate level of trained parents on site on each session. Playcentre offers free training to all parents attending and these are part of the NZ Early Childhood Curriculum.

Hillsborough Playcentre offers children:

• A child initiated programme based on children’s individual strengths and interests
• A high adult to child ratio (1:3)
• A rich variety of play and learning experiences
• A safe and secure environment
• Positive and sustained interactions with other adults and children
• Ample time to discover and explore
• A large and peaceful outdoor environment, with many different play opportunities (swings, sandpit, playblocks etc)
• Quality equipment and learning resources

Playcentre offers adults:

• Support as a parent
• Involvement in their child’s early childhood education
• Free adult education programmes that cover parenting skills, children’s learning and development and so much more! Once you get to the certification/diploma level it is NZQA recognised.
• Opportunities to take on new responsibilities and learn new skills
• Confidence in themselves and their parenting
• Friendships