Childcare options in Pakuranga Heights

At Pakuranga Kindergarten we believe in forming reciprocal and respectful relationships between teachers, children and families.  The environment is stimulating and provides a wide range of opportunities for children to develop as confident, competent learners.  We have a large and attractive outdoor area, with a good balance between open spaces and areas designed for small group play.

We are proud of our strong bicultural focus and also of the solid connections that we have within the local community.  The most recent ERO report on Pakuranga Kindergarten provided extremely pleasing feedback (refer to link below).

We invite you to come and experience our kindergarten in action!

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.

Why Choose Pukeko Preschool Pakuranga Heights?

Pukeko Preschool Pakuranga Heights is a friendly, loving, family owned and run early childhood education centre for children from birth to five years old.

We have a reputation as a high quality early learning centre and preschool, with a focus on education and building confidence in our children through the Reggio Emilia philosophy, using a fun and well planned curriculum, activities and trips.

We are open between 7:30am and 6:00pm, all year around (including school holidays).

We would love to meet you and discuss your family's childcare and early childhood education needs.

Just stop by the preschool at any time! Otherwise you are welcome to give us a call or send us an email to arrange a time to come in and meet our manager and teachers!

We are a small Preschool and Early Learning Centre, licensed for 39 children including 10 under-twos by the Ministry of Education and located within the grounds of Pakuranga Heights School. We offer a fun and educational programme held both indoors and in our large outdoor area.

We operate Pukeko Preschool at the 80% and above qualified teacher ratio (the highest level defined by the Ministry of Education for ECE centres). Educated, qualified and passionate teachers who are able to develop engaging curricula and learning activities are what make the difference between traditional ‘childcare centres’, and quality Early Childhood Education services delivering top learning outcomes.

Our under-twos will have their own individual curriculum with specialist teachers and separate learning areas.

Our four-year-olds enjoy a special school preparation programme which includes practice in both literacy and numeracy understanding and skills. We work closely with the New Entrants Team at Pakuranga Heights School to give the children the very best preparation they can get for a seamless and happy transition to school.