Childcare options in Waiuku

Lollipops Waiuku is a warm and welcoming centre where children are nurtured and valued for their unique strengths and abilities. Purpose-built with great facilities and staffed by a team of loving and dedicated teachers, we provide a stimulating environment where discovery and learning come naturally. Give your little one the best first step. 

Our philosophy

Wonder. Explore. Learn.

We believe that it is our role as teachers to provide a welcoming, caring, nurturing and stimulating environment for our children to start on their learning journey.  Where children are able to develop a sense of belonging and security, to enable them to grow into capable, confident and independent lifelong learners. Providing an inclusive environment for all children irrespective of their abilities, strengths and characteristics as we recognise that every child is an individual and must be respected. 

The inclusion of family/whanau and community are an integral part of the positive development of the child and that families and whanau have invaluable information and knowledge about their own child.  We uphold the Treaty of Waitangi and its place and significance in Aotearoa. We work together as a team to support each other in our endeavours. 

Our rooms

Lollipops Waiuku has three separate rooms, enabling us to deliver safe, nurturing and age appropriate learning experiences for all our children.  

Little Kiwis

Our Little Kiwis environment caters for our children aged 3 months to 2.6 years, and provides a homely, caring and nurturing space which supports our little one’s development both physically and cognitively. Our Kaiako are passionate and teach from their hearts.  They work as a whanau/ family which creates great relationships amongst themselves and the tamariki they teach.

Pukekos

Our Pukekos are our children aged 2.6 to 4 years old. Here we endeavour to provide an environment that promotes exploration, self-help skills and helps children become lifelong learners.  We recognise the importance of responsive and reciprocal relationships, we strive to build a strong sense of trust and belonging with children, parents, whanau and our community.

Tuis

The Tuis room is for our 4 to 5 year olds, and here we provide our tamariki with a nurturing, fun and stimulating environment which supports the development of both their self-help and life skills.

Our transition to school programme provides meaningful experiences that enable children to enjoy being four years old, while at the same time becoming confident and competent learners who are well prepared for school.

Why choose us?

• There are a host of reasons why families choose Lollipops Waiuku. Here are just a few of them:
• Family-friendly environment
• Three separate rooms and outdoor spaces cater for each age and stage
• Low staff turnover with teachers who are qualified, experienced and passionate
• All meals provided (working towards our Healthy Heart award)
• Free nappies
• Weekly Hip Hop classes with Groovit Dance Studio
• Weekly swimming lessons for 4 year olds
• Monthly visits from Waiuku Library for stories and songs

Our team of dedicated teachers provide the  highest quality care and education,  delivering rich and inspiring learning experiences and environments that bring out the best in every child. Unlock your child’s unique potential.

Welcome to Waiuku Learning Space!

We are a group of educators who are passionate about children and their early years. Our newly renovated centre is located in the heart of Waiuku and is independently owned and operated.

Our operating hours are 7 am to 6 pm, Monday to Friday. We are open all year round, except for Public Holidays, and closed for a short period over Christmas.

Our centre offers:

• 30 free hours for all ages
• Space for 34 children from birth to 5 years
• 3 rooms - Pēpi (0-2 years), Teina (2-4 years) and Tuakana (4-5 years)
• Excellent staff/child ratios at all times

Come and join us at George Street Kindergarten TODAY!  

We are a small semi-rural centre with remarkable children, inspiring environments, and quality teachers.

Our large outdoor environment offers a great natural play space that allows inquisitive minds to develop and grow amongst nature.

We believe that children learn through play. Through thoughtfully planned experiences children are encouraged to explore, experiment, discover and solve problems in imaginative and playful ways.

We provide experiences that support children’s developing knowledge of numeracy and literacy.

We embrace cultural diversity, learning about and celebrating our similarities and differences.

We are proud to be a member of Enviroschools – teaching children ways to care for the environment.

In partnership with parents and the local community, we work to build a strong foundation for your child’s journey of lifelong learning.

Counties Manukau Kindergarten Association

We are a community based not-for-profit organisation, proud to be providing quality and affordable early childhood education in the Franklin and Counties Manukau areas for over 60 years. Our kindergartens and early learning centres provide high-quality environments that reflect the local community. We are New Zealand owned and operated and provide more qualified staff, equipment, learning opportunities, ICT, excursions and large attractive educational environments.

Book a visit today, we look forward to meeting you soon!

BestStart Waiuku is a centre where everyone joins in and has lots of fun! We're open 6.30 am to 6.00 pm all year round and care for children from 0 to 6 years old in our beautifully age-appropriate environments.

Nurturing the learning journey at every age and stage

We provide a warm, safe, and friendly environment for our children to grow and develop. Our three buildings cater to the individual learning needs of our children. We pride ourselves on being an open centre where the children transition between rooms effortlessly, allowing them to explore new areas and resources as they grow within the centre.

The Kowhai Room. This is set up for children who are learning to roll, move, sit and eventually walk. We have a cosy room set up with age-appropriate equipment to cater for children from birth till approximately the age of 18 months. Our caring and thoughtful primary care programme allow children and teachers to develop their relationships and be in tune with the routine set by our families; however, we can also set a routine if parents wish. 

The Matai Room. This room caters to older infants who are confident on their feet and gives them more room to explore. It has a great outdoor playground which provides many opportunities for physical development, including a bike track, sandpit and covered-in shed to use when it’s wet. The large open indoor play area offers lots of fun and engaging places for children to explore.  This room also provides age-appropriate equipment to cater to young children’s development.

The Manuka and Nikau Room. These rooms offer a stimulating and safe environment for our tamariki aged 2-4 years to explore, learn and discover. The younger children are learning important skills such as communicating their needs, knowledge of themselves and also each other. For the older children, the teaching team fosters independence and self-help skills. As educators, we value our individual learners and encourage their contributions both within their own and within others’ play. Through this, we embrace child-led activities and encourage leadership skills. We promote our learners to make discoveries, explore their natural environment and develop their own working theories first hand. Our children explore expression and creativity on a daily basis to enhance language and communication skills, numeracy, emotional literacy, problem-solving, and developing new perspectives.

The Kauri Room. This is for our biggest tamariki, which represents the Kauri Tree. The children are confident learners who participate within their large converted villa, again a home away from home. They have a large outdoor playground with swings, a magic garden, and a huge sandpit! The tamariki were involved in the planting of the Kauri Tree within the playground, and they love exploring the natural environment outdoors. They also have their own chickens that they regularly feed and their own gardens where they help to weed, plant, and harvest their own vegetables.

Tamariki (children) and kaiako (teachers) go home with sand in their shoes, big smiles on their faces, and great stories to share with their families. BestStart Waiuku is your child's destination for early learning.

Who is BestStart?

BestStart is for families who want more from early-childhood education. Safe, nurturing and educationally focused, we’re committed to growing caring people with curious minds.

Together we teach, learn and nurture.

Our vision is to work in partnership with families, whanau and communities to enable children to achieve their learning potential.

Ko tō mātou tirohanga hei mahi ngātahi i te taha o ngā whānau me ngā hāpori, kia āwhinatia ngā tamariki, kia tū pito mata ai rāatou, hei rangatira mō āpōpō.

We are committed to being a progressive and responsive leader in early-childhood education. We do this by enhancing our services, investing in our people, developing our support structure and continuously improving the educational outcomes and experiences of our children, families and the communities we serve.

Some facts:

We’re licensed to educate and care for 15,000 full-time children daily.

• 18,000 families use BestStart services annually.
• We have over 270 centres nationwide located from Whangarei to Invercargill.
• Each centre is managed by a Centre Manager who is supported by a local Area Manager. This gives our centre teams ongoing quality training and support.
• Te Whāriki, the world-wide acclaimed national early childhood education curriculum, is used in all centres.
• We have over 4500 permanent teachers nationally. Over 90% of our permanent teaching staff are either fully qualified with a diploma or bachelor of teaching (ECE) or higher, or are in training. These figures are very high by national standards within the ECE sector.
• We provide a two-year Advice and Guidance Programme for all recently certified teachers, providing further mentoring and training. This gives strong support for teachers from provisional registration to full teacher registration with the NZ Teachers Council.
• We regularly spend around $4 million on teacher training per annum.

We’re for children

At our heart is our commitment and passion for children. Central to this belief is our focus on the holistic development of children. We support children to explore the world around them, learning through relationships, creating a love of learning in an ever-changing world. Exploration, friendship and fun are part of the journey.

We’re for good

BestStart is a registered charity owned by the Wright Family Foundation. We support initiatives and programmes within BestStart and the wider early-childhood education sector (ECE) that support good outcomes for all children. We do this because we want to make a positive difference to the lives of all children.

Innovation leads us

At BestStart, innovation guides our thinking. We advocate positive change for learners through our research and practice. We’re proud to be thought leaders within ECE, openly challenging ourselves to think differently to provide the best for our children, families and staff.

We’re responsive

Our centres reflect their children, staff and communities. We celebrate individuality, uniqueness and diversity, encouraging a spirit of empathy, understanding and collaboration. Through our responsive relationships and our curriculum, we support learners to choose their own path.

Our people matter

At BestStart people come first. When we grow and develop our people, everyone benefits. We strive for whakamana/empowerment, nurturing a culture of excellence with engaged, talented professionals. Their commitment, skill and passion light our way.

This isn’t just a place to drop your kids

You could say education and learning are second nature to myself and wife Ranji. I was brought up in an education rich environment as the son of two teacher parents and Ranji is a teacher herself. Indeed, it’s this real life experience that has given us a true appreciation of the huge difference that inspired learning can make in a child’s life.

It’s why Little Ants is so much more than just a child minding service. So please don’t think of us as that. Instead, we’re here to encourage and develop your children into bright, adaptive, free thinkers. Happy kids who are engaged with the wonderful world around them.

Both Ranji and I are proud to be owners of Little Ants and we look forward to welcoming you and your children.

Opening Hours

The Centre is open between 7.30 am and 5.30 pm Mon- Fri for full-day sessions and 6-hour sessions.

Settling Children In

We want you to be comfortable about leaving your child with us so we encourage parents/caregivers to spend as much time as is practical settling in your child, including visits to the Centre with your child prior to them starting.

Our Teachers

We have a commitment to employ qualified teachers with a passion for working with young children, 80% of our teachers are qualified with a diploma or degree in Early Childhood Education. We strive to achieve a teacher/child ratio that is higher than the ratio stipulated by the Ministry of Education.

We aim to ensure that our teaching team undergoes ongoing professional development, to ensure that their skills are relevant and current.

Meals

The Centre provides a nutritious morning and afternoon tea and water to drink. Parents are required to provide a packed lunch if their child is at the Centre between 12.00-12.30pm. Our aim is to encourage healthy eating habits and we request that parents do not include lollies, chocolate, potato chips, etc in lunch boxes. On the last Friday of the month, we offer an optional lunch at a cost of $2 per child, orders can be placed at the office.

Toileting

Younger children are regularly encouraged to use the toilet and all children have free access to the toilet. Please let our teachers know your child’s preferences for using the potty or toilet and we will support your home toilet training regime. Nappies and baby wipes are provided by the Centre.

Sleep Time

Children who need to sleep have their own bed and space. A staff member is always present while your child is sleeping and sleep records are available to parents on request. Children under 2 are allocated their own cot in the separate baby sleep room.

Clothing

Don’t be proud, please dress your child for play. There are lots of wet & messy play experiences throughout the day, aprons are provided but accidents happen so we request that you provide an extra set of clothes each day. In summer your child will be required to wear a hat and our teachers will apply sunscreen throughout the day.

Communication

Communication is the key to a successful relationship. We aim to make communication with parents as regular and informative as possible. With day-to-day feedback, we also have a parent notice board, program planning around the Centre, and regular newsletters. Books and pamphlets on a variety of early childhood-related topics, Centre policies, and procedures are available at the Centre.

Management

Waiuku Early Learners is a non-profit community centre run day to day by a Centre Manager who reports to a Governance Committee.

All parents are welcome to attend monthly meetings and stand for election on to the Governance Committee.

School Holidays

We remain open throughout school holidays with the exception of Christmas & New Year when the Centre closes for a period of up to 3 weeks.

Fees

We aim to keep our fees as low as possible without compromising our standards and quality of care. New enrolments will be asked to pay a nonrefundable administration enrolment fee of $20 to secure a place at the Centre.

We offer parents a number of ways in which they can reduce their childcare costs including:

• 20 hours ECE per week
• FREE for all 3 & 4-year-olds
• Discounts for 2nd & 3rd children
• Work & Income subsidies accepted

Please contact us for our current fee schedule.