Childcare options in Upper Hutt Cbd

Kia Ora - Welcome to our Centre

Stepping Stones provides quality early childhood care and education for infants, toddlers and preschoolers in central Upper Hutt.

Our Aim

Through partnership with parents, guardians and whanau, all children will be empowered to grow up as competent and confident learners by building solid foundations to develop their knowledge, skills, values and attitudes for life long learning.

Our Centre

The Centre has two separate buildings. The nursery caters for children up to 2 years of age and is licensed for 14 children and the preschool is licensed for 28 children aged 2 years and over.

Management

Stepping Stones Childcare Centre is managed by the Upper Hutt Community Children’s Centre Trust which is made up of parents, caregivers and members of the community. It is a self-supporting and non-profit organisation.

Philosophy - Rapunga Whakaaro

Children’s wellbeing is our priority and we achieve this through providing a nurturing and engaging environment.

We work together in partnership with whanau to promote responsive, reciprocal relationships as we believe this is the foundation for learning.

The natural environment is an important part of our curriculum. We enjoy the outdoors in all weather allowing children opportunities to explore, challenge themselves, take risks and learn to connect and care for our environment.

We nurture global citizens who respectfully walk the earth, mindful of the footprint they leave behind.

Te Kaupapa

We believe in fostering an environment which:

• Embraces a key teacher framework for developing authentic, trusting, reciprocal relationships between kaiako, tamariki and whanau.
• Encourages children to take risks, challenge themselves and build social competence in an environment where their interests and strengths are valued.
• Respects and accepts diverse cultures and individuality.
• Inspires tamariki to walk softly on the earth and connect with the environment.

Salvation Army Early Childhood Education Centres are an integral part of a holistic ministry to families - empowering people, equipping children for life and offering a life- changing relationship with Jesus 

At our centre we place a strong emphasis on allowing children to  learn through play. We provide individualised learning programmes based on each child's interest, using a varied range of opportunities and experiences.

Te Whariki, the Ministry of Education's early childhood curriculum is woven throughout our programme. This emphasises the learning partnership between teachers, parents and whanau. Te Whariki ensures that children are taught literacy and numeracy skills in an age-appropriate manner.

Our Kindergarten was named after a Kindergarten teacher and director who was instrumental in the quest to build a purpose built Kindergarten for the children of the Upper Hutt community

Irmgard Ritchie Kindergarten has a large outdoor area with fabulous mature trees, and a garden that is continually developing giving the children and families opportunities to learn about caring for the environment. The children adore having the opportunity to climb and jump from the large willow tree in our play ground.

We believe that education is a partnership and that children learn best in an environment that respects their cultural heritage and strongly values the quality of relationships with whānau.

Irmgard Ritchie Kindergarten offers an exciting programme following the interests and passions of the children.  You will see this learning celebrated with displays around the kindergarten as well as in children's portfolio books.

We believe in teaching children five critical areas of learning:

• Social relationships
• Respect for others
• Risk taking
• Self help skills
• The ability to be flexible in today’s changing world.

We encourage children to develop their learning dispositions such as, perseverance, responsibility, curiosity, and leadership skills.

We have 5 teachers who are all fully qualified in Early Childhood Education, and an administrator.  Our team is passionate about providing a high quality learning environment where children are encouraged to develop as confident and capable lifelong learners.

We believe in planning an exciting and educational programme following the interests and strengths of the children.  These learning opportunities are maximised by the provision of high quality teachers and resources.

We believe in offering children a learning environment where they are encouraged to make their own choices and become independent and confident learners.

Throughout the day we offer a range of experiences and a variety of activities where children can choose to participate in, and through these we try to encourage, support and extend to meet individual and group interests.

Children are also encouraged to show respect and care for each other and our environment.

The Busy Beez early childcare centre philosophy

Here at Busy Beez,  we believe in order for the children attending our centre to develop as confident learners, they need to be exposed to a nurturing, trusting environment, which offers challenging and exciting opportunities, where children can learn through positive role modelling and high quality interactions.

We offer a curriculum based on Te Whaariki, which offers a variety of experiences, including those based on children’s individual interests. 

Allowing children to work and learn at their own pace, in their own environment feeling safe and secure to express themselves freely.

What make Busy Beez fun!

• Kapa Haka 
• Dance classes
• Mandarin classes
• Lots of walks
• Regular outings
• Library bus
• Sign language lessons
• Tongan lessons
• Four year old transition to school preparation programme
• Separate two year old and three year old programmes 

Titiro Whakamua – Looking Forward

Hutt Valley Teen Parent Programme

We are a secondary school for teenagers who are pregnant or already parents and who are 18 years old or under. The Teen Parent Programme is a satellite of Heretaunga College which caters for the entire Hutt Valley.

Our objectives:

• To maintain and develop the education and training paths of teenage parents
• To foster the development of positive parenting skills among teenage parents
• To enhance the self-esteem of teenage parents
• To enhance the employment prospects of participants
• To support the above objectives by providing an Early Childhood Education Centre.

Our children are supported to become confident, competent self-directed learners through play based around their interests. Our children gain knowledge through play, participation and positive guidance.

Our Children’s curiosity and creativity is nurtured through the fun range of experiences provided … no two days at Playcentre are the same.

Our children develop nurturing and social skills which have lifelong benefits. Siblings attend together, allowing older children to mentor younger children and practise empathy and caring.

Our parental relationships developed through Playcentre provide support from parents and help them develop new parenting and life skills.

Our parents are actively involved in providing our children’s learning programmes. The high adult to child ratio allows a good balance for group and individual support during each session.

There is no other organisation for early childhood education and family development quite like it in the world. Thousands of kiwi children, and their parents too, have grown up with Playcentre … contact us to arrange your visit.  We hope you enjoy our warm and welcoming environment.

Wallaceville Playcentre offers quality early childhood education and is a fantastic place for your child to have fun, learn great skills and get enjoyment from interacting with other children and adults. 

 We run morning sessions in the week, email us to see which sessions have spaces. In term 4 2020 we will have three sessions on Mondays, 10.30am-1pm, Wednesdays and Thursdays 9.30am-12pm. Our sessions are run by dedicated teams of mothers, fathers, grandparents and caregivers  

Play is set up or available throughout the session and includes areas such as playdough, arts and crafts, collages, painting, baking, storytime, puzzles, dress-ups, role playing, sandpit, confidence course, waterplay etc. We love going on trips out into the community and examples of past trips are: Harcourt Park, Wellington Zoo, fire station, Upper Hutt Library Storytime, and Avalon Park bike track.

Te Kōhanga Reo

The kōhanga reo movement is a unique initiative based on total immersion in Māori language and values with the aim of passing on Māori culture to future generations.

Kōhanga reo emphasise the revitalisation of the culture through te reo Māori and are dependent on the active participation of the whole whānau. The kaupapa of kōhanga reo aims to strengthen whānau capabilities in cultural, social, economic, spiritual and political matters. Education, health and wellbeing are inherent within all aspects of the kaupapa. The prime focus is the whānau – its collective development, growth, accountability and wellbeing set within a Māori cultural context.

Kōhanga reo do not regard tamariki in isolation, but as important members of the whānau. The kōhanga reo philosophy is that tamariki will benefit when whānau successfully operate according to the kaupapa. Tamariki are an integral part of whānau development.

The following key goals are the foundation of te kōhanga reo kaupapa established in 1982:

• total immersion in te reo Māori me ōna tikanga in daily operations
• whānau decision-making, management and responsibility
• accountability
• health and wellbeing of mokopuna and whānau.

The key goals of te kōhanga reo assure that there will be:

• security in te reo Māori
• a supportive, caring environment for mokopuna
• whānau (collective) sharing of responsibilities, knowledge and expertise
• greater respect and appreciation of each other.

Our kindergarten opened in 1956 so we have a long history of serving central Upper Hutt and surrounding suburbs with quality early childhood education.     

Our vision is “to grow confident and competent lifelong learners”. We want children to be engaged with learning, to follow their interests, to be stimulated and to have fun.      

One of our most important traditions here is for children to tell themselves at the end of each session that they “are special and clever and great learners”.        

Children  practise, try new things, gain confidence and enjoy success. They learn  about the world around them and how to successfully work in the very important group context. Our equipment supports our curriculum focus on children’s learning through play.

Our Kindergarten in Trentham, Upper Hutt has been part of the community for over 40 years. During this time we have developed close relationships with local schools and our community.     

We are a welcoming, diverse, friendly and well-resourced kindergarten. We provide high quality teaching and learning interactions which build and extend on children’s thinking and learning. We offer a spacious outdoor area where children have the opportunity to explore and engage in physical challenges.     

Our centre has a strong focus on providing an environment that promotes and nurtures the health and emotional well-being of all children. We do this by using a social competence programme called ‘Playing as a Good Friend’. Children are also encouraged to develop knowledge about keeping themselves healthy through our Healthy Heart programme.    

 Sustainability is also a key feature in our kindergarten as children are empowered to learn about creating sustainable communities through the Enviro-schools programme..        

 Our teaching team is made up of five fully qualified and registered teachers and one administrator. As a team we are passionate about delivering quality education and care.     

At Cottle Kindergarten we create a community of learners that values diversity and respects the environment through relationships, social competence, risk-taking, sustainability and literacy/numeracy knowledge.  

The philosophy of our programme is that children learn best in an environment where they feel comfortable and secure.     

We value responsive and reciprocal relationships with children and their families and invite parent/whanau input into all aspects of our programme.

Welcome to our purpose built centre in the heart of Upper Hutt, specially designed for early learning education and care.

We are conveniently located opposite the Upper Hutt train station. We are also close to primary schools, the big H2O swimming pool, the library and over the train track from the main shopping area of Upper Hutt.

Fantail Room is a beautiful nurturing home from home for our babies and young toddlers and Tui room is our safe, active room full of fun toddlers and young children. Both our Fantail and Tui rooms share an outside area, with a shaded deck that allows our children to be outside in any weather.  

The Kiwi room is home to our big proud pre-schoolers and we have a spacious outdoor area just for them. Lots of great learning and specialised care and education goes on and we are always proud of our big school children when they head off to school, knowing they have had years of great early childhood education.  

Our outside areas are wonderful and have their own shaded sandpit, climbing obstacles and challenges. We have a large pirate ship, climbing domes and large blue boxes to encourage our children to use their imagination and enjoy their play.

Our kindergarten philosophy: Our children are nurtured, and their learning is supported and extended in a natural environment.     

Children’s interests are the starting point to learning. We have a strong focus on our natural environment which is continually evolving. Exploration and discovery are encouraged as children try new things – their own way and in their own time. This is extended by nga tamariki ngahere, the bush programme we run for the oldest children weekly.     

We build strong relationships with our children and their families and support the children to gain confidence over time and to develop a ‘can do’ attitude. Our team ethos is: “If you go home clean – you haven’t had a good day.”     We have a real sense of family and community where we all support each other, young and old and all are welcome.    

Our children are free to follow their interests within a well-resourced environment. There are opportunities to develop physical and fine motor skills and literacy and numeracy skills. Children can experiment with materials such as paint, clay, inks and dye. We offer ephemeral art opportunities, collage, carpentry, stone carving, puppetry, music and dance, imaginary play and drama.

Supporting children to develop social competencies and to view themselves as confident and competent underpins everything we do.

Our bush programme for the oldest ten children supports collaboration, responsibility, leadership skills and independence. The environment is the teacher and the children determine their own learning. Our oldest children also visit the library bus fortnightly and visit Birchville School’s library regularly.

A positive transition to primary school is important for children’s ongoing learning and we support children and their families throughout this process.

Our main focus is to provide children an environment where they are encouraged to become independent, confident learners who make their own choices while still showing respect and care for those around them.

Throughout the day, the children can participate in a range of activities and experiences. Through these activities, we try to support, encourage and extend to meet each child and group interests.

Elizabeth Avenue early child care philosophy

We believe that the curriculum we offer is based on the children’s own interests, needs and ideas.

This curriculum is grounded in the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum Te Whãriki.

Within our curriculum we provide support and guidance for children so they can learn, grow and develop in a holistic way.

We provide a child centred programme that gives children the freedom to make their own choices and learn at their own pace.

What makes Elizabeth Avenue FUN!

• Mandarin classes
• Dances classes
• Kapa Haka
• 3 year old extension time
• 4 year old extension time
• library bus