Childcare options in Sunnyvale

We believe that our Daycare centre should be a place where children develop a strong sense of belonging and feel valued for who they are.  At the Grange we have built our curriculum on the understanding that when children feel physically and emotionally safe they are able to explore, discover, build relationships, develop their passions and interests, learn and develop with and alongside others.

Our Early Learning Centre is particularly convenient if you are looking for warm and loving childcare in West Auckland and live or work around Sunnyvale, Henderson, Glen Eden, Glendene, Kelston  or Te Atatu.

Why Choose The Grange?

• We are a small privately owned, family run centre with only 37 children, so your child won’t get lost in the crowd.
• We are a well established centre which has proudly been running for over 25 years in the Sunnyvale Community.
• In 2018 The Grange Early Learning Centre was reviewed by the Education Review Office (ERO) and received their highest ranking of a 4 year Very Well Placed review.  4 year reviews are only achieved by Centres consistently showing outstanding quality and we are the only centre within a 3km radius to achieve this.
• We grow our own fruit and vegetables and work hard at being environmentally considerate.
• stable, loving and caring staff that chose this career for all the right reasons.
• An early childhood qualified owner (This means that the owner knows how to run a quality centre where children and staff always come first.)Our unique programmes
• Excellent ratios and teachers

- 1:3 for children under 2 years of age.

- 1:6 for children over 2 years of age

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We also offer daily activities and programmes like:

- Music for young children classes, baking, gardening, science, sports (gross motor skills) 2 year old programme (focuses on language extension through age appropriate activities), literacy, maths and an 'out and about' programme where the children visit local parks and libraries every Friday (4 year old children only).

We offer sensory play, reading and other enriching activities daily (as well as water play during the warmer months). We believe children should be given a balance between free play and the option to join in a wide range of activities to extend their interest. Our outdoor area was landscaped with the children's ages and stages of development in mind. We have real grass, lots of trees and bushes for the children to explore.Our natural outdoor play space is HUGE (much larger than the government requirement) and made of natural materials, with real grass. Just like an old fashioned ‘kiwi backgarden’.

https://thegrangechildcare.co.nz

JeMMa’s Home-based Education and Childcare was founded on the belief that early childhood education plays a major role in a child’s ability to develop skills and learn throughout life. 

As a kindergarten teacher, Jenny Tyrrell could see that children who had a focus of learning whilst in a home environment appeared better equipped to learn in the future. As well as this, children who were well socialised with other children of different ages appeared to cope better than others. 

It was those two key observations which cemented her belief; that a child, learning with other children, in a homebased environment rather than an institutional environment, was the best way to go. And that’s how JeMMa’s started. The name is derived from a combination of the two directors names, Jenny and Martin. 

At JeMMa’s we believe that home-based education and care is the next best alternative to learning at home with Mum or Dad 

Children who learn in a comfortable home-based environment seem to develop strong problem solving, social and learning skills. Because they are in a comfortable, uncrowded environment children they get the chance to develop and learn at steady pace with all the help they need. 

JeMMa’s children receive lots of one-on-one time with their educator, as well as interaction with other children in different age groups. These are two core components in the development of happy, energetic, sharing, respectful, thoughtful, problem solving and fun loving kids. 

Our Philosophy 

JeMMa’s is a quality privately owned family focused Homebased Education and Childcare Service that is committed to ensuring that all children, parents, whānau and kaiako are welcomed and encouraged to play an active role in promoting positive outcomes for our learners. We are guided and inspired by Te Whāriki our early childhood curriculum which encourages us to appreciate that children come into the world eager to learn and we see this as a privilege where we can work in partnership with children, parents and whānau to empower our learners through responsive engaging environments and experiences where they can reach their highest potential and develop an enthusiasm for ongoing learning. 

Building and sustaining quality learning focused relationships with everyone is the essence to who are and what believe is valuable for outcomes for children and their ongoing wellbeing and development. Our nurturing relationships will be underpinned through our Christian values and connection with people within our service and our wider communities.  Our environments will embrace cultural diversity of Aotearoa and our commitment to Te Tiriti O Waitangi will be authentic. 

We view all children as unique learners where they will have endless opportunities to learn through play and develop a range of knowledge, skills, and learning dispositions. This will spark children’s independence, urge to lead their own learning, social skills, curiosity, creativity, discovery, ability to express themselves and things that are important to them. Our kaiako will dedicate quality time with our children where they will nurture those in the moment opportunities and offer the guidance, support, and encouragement that our learners need to blossom and thrive. 

Brand new early learning centre catering for children from 0 to 5 years old.

Modern and state-of-the-art architectural design, dedicated and experienced teaching staff, high quality early childhood education with affordable fees.

Our philosophy

We aim to nurture and encourage each child’s thirst for knowledge by providing an exciting environment where they can explore and develop their interests.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is encompassed in our philosophy. Teachers, children and their families/whānau come from a variety of cultural backgrounds with a variety of languages spoken at home. As teachers, we respect and value our children's unique family culture and language through the spoken word and our daily routines (karakia, waiata and music); our environment (materials for displays, dress-ups, instruments and natural resources); and our curriculum planning. We are constantly working and reflecting on this through our training.

Our rooms

In our 0-2 room we are largely inspired by the principles of Magda Gerber’s Educaring® approach/RIE and Pikler and operate under the guidelines of the New Zealand early childhood curriculum - Te Whāriki.

The principles of Magda Gerber’s Educaring® Approach/RIE and the Pikler philosophy are that the focus is on the child.

Happy kids values the importance of relationships and builds on respectful interactions between children and educators. The focus of Te Whāriki is also on the child and how we value the different relationships children can learn from as they grow and develop.

Together Te Whāriki, Pikler and Magda Gerber’s Educaring® Approach/RIE create a curriculum with an emphasis on education and care.

The over two’s while still being inspired by the RIE and Pikler approach, will also be practicing some of the Reggio philosophy. It allows young children the chance to participate in decisions regarding their own education, places an emphasis upon self-expression, cooperation within the community, creativity, and a respect for the natural world. Our environmental approach to integrating subject matter into the curriculum aides in a true understanding and teaches children respect for our earth. 

As a result, the Reggio Emilia approach provides the following values:

• Reinforces critical thinking and true comprehension so that the children actually understand what they are learning, and can apply it to the real world.
• Children learn best through hands on approach, therefore, it enables children to explore their environment and express themselves through movement, drawing, painting, reading, writing, building, sculpting, shadow play, collage, drama play, and music among many other communicative and cognitive means.
• Children are not rushed from one activity to the next, instead encouraged to repeat key experiences, delve further into subject matter, continue multiple observations, consider and reconsider, represent and re-represent.
• Allows for a more gradual pace and more comprehensive approach enabling children to remember what they learn and form a firm knowledge base that facilitates learning in later schooling.
• Ensures students work at their appropriate developmental levels which:
• Increases pace of learning
• Decreases frustration
• Promotes higher level thinking that is essential to mastering mandated core curriculum standards.
• Motivates children’s interests and involvement.
• Facilitates the delivery of a well-balanced curriculum, which prepares students for higher levels of education