Childcare options in Mt Albert

Welcome to Active Explorers St Lukes, a purpose built early childhood centre offering high quality care and education for under 5s. We know that kids learn best through respectful and reciprocal relationships with interested adults. Our staff love what they do, and are dedicated to bringing out the very best in each and every child. Start your child’s learning journey at Active Explorers St Lukes.

Our philosophy

At Active Explorers St Lukes your child will:

• Be an active participant in their own learning
• Spend time with interested adults and develop their communication skills
• Develop confidence about who they are and what they know
• Develop social competencies and build friendships with other children
• Develop a love of learning and have fun doing things they are interested in

Our rooms

Active Explorers St Lukes has three separate rooms, enabling us to deliver safe, nurturing and age appropriate learning experiences for all our children. And even though we are on the second floor, we also have aesthetically beautiful and developmentally appropriate outdoor spaces!

Kākano Room

Babies and infants up to 18 months

Tipu Room

Infants and Toddler - 18months to 2.5 years

Māhuri Room

Toddlers Room - 2.5 years to 3.5 years

Pohutukawa Room

Preschool 3.5 years to 5 years

Why choose us?

There are a host of reasons why families choose Active Explorers St Lukes. Here are just a few of them:

• Healthy Heart Whanau award (see our gallery below for our Healthy Heart inspired birthday cakes)
• Strong focus on Te Reo and Tikanga Maori
• Kapa Haka
• Kiwi Ball during school term
• Whanau/parent participation is embraced and encouraged through our innovative Whanau aspiration board (below) which is a permanent fixture in the centre
• Excursions related to our programme of study
• Excellent transition to school programme
• We embrace multicultural events such as Matariki, Chinese New Year, Diwali, Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and more

We believe in the vision underpinning Te Whāriki (2017), that children are competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society. Every child is a unique individual and we value and treasure all children regardless of gender and ethnicity, diversity of ability and learning needs, family structure and values, socio-economic status and religion.

We believe that the bi-cultural heritage of New Zealand is very significant. We acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand, and are committed to embracing our bi-cultural heritage. We believe that we have a crucial role to play in providing children with culturally responsive environments that support their learning and ensuring that they are provided with equitable opportunities to learn.  We appreciate the diverse nature of families in our community and work hard to respect their values and beliefs.