Childcare options in Hoon Hay

When you walk into Pennylane and you will see that we are passionate about creating beautiful, peaceful and natural environments for our children.  

Our Centre is purpose built with children in mind. 

We provide an extensive range of resources to assist in capturing your children’s curiosity and growing their minds.  

We believe in the power of nature and are proud of the beautiful outdoor spaces that we have created at Pennylane.    

Our indoor learning spaces and outdoor environments are larger than national requirements as we know that children need space to play!   

Our programme is developed to allow children to learn at their own pace in their own way. We work collaboratively with you and your child to recognise their individual learning goals and aspirations.  

Our teachers provide support and opportunities during their time at Pennylane for your child to reach these goals.

Cherry’s on Maryhill Ave is set on a large corner section in a modern building with shaded play-gardens. Hoon Hay and Our Lady of Assumption Primary Schools are close by. We are conveniently located one block back from Hoon Hay Rd and Sparks Rd, and access to the Centre is from Wyn Street.  

When establishing the Centre we were very mindful of our impact on the environment and recycled all building materials possible. New cladding was custom-made by Halswell Timber. In the play-gardens we used locally sourced macrocarpa and manuka, and sustainably harvested purple-heart was used for the decking. A telegraph pole recycled into a swing frame.  

The natural foundations of the play-garden include recycled Halswell stone, teddington chip, schist pavers, limestone rocks and a wonderful Indian sandstone mosaic. Our gardens and barrels grow a mix of native plants, herbs, perennials, fruit trees, vegetables and…cherry trees. We have a shady garden with large silver birch, cedars, magnolia, and camellias.  

Inside we used natural products. The carpet is wool, the existing rimu flooring was renovated, and wet areas have Artoleum flooring which is biodegradable. The children’s furniture is all birch ply and much of their resources are natural or recycled, including beautiful wood, pottery, glass, china, and metal artifacts for the family play areas. We have only eco-friendly cleaning products. Our pine cots have cotton sheets, pre-loved woolen blankets and cotton quilts. Children drink from small tea cups and use porcelain plates and bowls, and they learn to respect crockery as they would in a home.  

At any one time we have up to 33 children over two years of age at the Centre. We employ four teachers, plus a float teacher. The ratio of teachers to children amongst these older children is between 1:6.6 and 1:8.25. We usually have 12 infants and toddlers, with three rostered teachers and a float teacher. The ratio here is 1:3.6.  

Your child is assigned to a teacher who is their primary care-giver and who will give feedback to you at pickup time. This teacher will also maintain a profile book documenting your child’s progress and interests during your time with us. We encourage parents to contribute to this document as well.

At Cashmere Early Learning Centre we believe in providing children and their families exceptionally high standard of education and care which we are able to provide through our low group numbers and ratio of qualified teachers. In our centre we are licensed for 28 children aged 2-5 years.  

Our kaiako are all qualified or in their final year of training and have their first aid certificates and participate in ongoing learning and development. We believe in providing a programme that is inclusive and meets children's individual needs. The tamariki who attend our centre have opportunities to explore our local community through outings and invited guests. 

Our preschool is small and homely providing tamariki with spaces to play together or by themselves if they wish. Through having a small group of children this ensures that the needs of your child are meet through our programme and planning which grows and extends their interests and is based on our philosophy of how children learn through play.