Childcare options in St Johns

Our philsophy

We believe Steps to Strides is a place to stand proud. A place where everyone feels especially empowered. Where everyone is connected and thrives. Every child is a taonga, treasure. They join us with their own strengths, interests, family culture and values. In partnership we contribute our love, knowledge and respect to foster the growth of each child so that their strengths and inherent abilities shine through. Learning is something we highly value. We actively work to inject fun into our everyday experiences, environment and relationships as we create planned and spontaneous experiences that promote the development of resilience, creativity, curiosity, agility, social competence and connectedness, all essential lifelong learning skills.

Purpose built, bright and cheerful, Pascals St Johns is an early childhood centre that really stands out. Our fantastic teaching team, peaceful learning environment, and central yet secluded location combines to make us a top pick for local families looking for the highest quality care and education. Your child will thrive in our homely and safe environment, filled with engaging educational resources and exciting activities. With four separate rooms for each age and stage, and outdoor spaces that beckon adventure, your little one has everything they need for the ideal start. Set your child up with a love of learning. 

Our philosophy

At Pascals St Johns we create a respectful environment where the children, parents and teachers are valued. We create a place where everyone feels welcome and we acknowledge the individual cultures within the centre, highlighting the dual heritage of Aotearoa/New Zealand.

We believe children learn through play therefore play is an essential part of our daily routine. We believe that children are unique individuals and we encourage them to express their ideas and working theories.

Opportunities are provided to children to explore their independence to develop the essential skills for life. We provide an environment for children where they can discover new things and revisit old, while building a foundation for lifelong learning. We communicate and demonstrate the limits and boundaries of acceptable behaviour.

Our teachers are professional and approachable. We provide a safe and nurturing environment. The review of our daily practice is ongoing.

Pascals St Johns is a place where we are all on a positive learning journey together.

Why choose us?

There are a host of reasons why families choose Pascals St Johns. Here are just a few of them:

• Purpose built centre with stimulating learning environments
• Age appropriate rooms each with an undercover outdoor area so children can be in or out all year round
• Excellent range of resources
• Dedicated, respectful and professional teachers
• All meals provided
• Healthy Heart Gold Award
• Currently we have a weekly Little Scientist Programme and JitterBubs Active Movement programme
• Great reciprocal relationships with parents and whanau
• Daily Transition to School programme

Our Taonga caters to children aged 3 months to approximately 1 year and our Whakatupu room caters to children aged 1 year to approximately 2 years. Both rooms have:

• Specialised infant area
• Specialised Toddler area
• Caring, responsive and dedicated teachers
• Quality programmes to build your child’s developing strengths, needs, and interests.

Our Matāuranga room caters to children aged 2 years to approximately 3 years. Our programme will provide your child with the opportunity to continue to:

• Build confidence and self-esteem
• Develop language and communication skills
• Enjoy creative experiences and learn perseverance
• Develop friendships and of course have fun in our challenging learning environments.
• Our Ako and Haerenga rooms cater to children aged 3 years to 6 years. Ako offers fulltime hours and Haerenga offers 8.30-2.30.

The rooms cater for children transitioning to school and will have Primary trained teachers who understand the skills required for school entry.

We will be working in close partnership with local schools and where possible will go on school visits. Children will have the opportunity to be extended and enriched through a project-based approach interwoven with literacy and numeracy.

They will develop:

• Skills of inquiry, thinking, and reasoning
• Confidence, independence, and self-help skills
• Learning caring, reflective and principled behaviour
• Being open-minded, well balanced, and knowledgeable

We look forward to working in partnership with our families, teachers, and of course our priority, your children. This is the foundation of our philosophy, which you will see evidence in our day-to-day practice.

Our aim is to provide opportunities for every child to have the freedom to learn and grow in our unique setting