Our Family Early Learning

About Us

The owners, Debby and Dale Evans, are supported by a small long serving dedicated teaching team.

At Our Family Early Learning we place a high value on providing a family environment where our children, families and teachers feel safe and secure to express and explore.

It is important to us that all our families from a wide range of backgrounds feel valued, respected and accepted, and for our children to be promoters of their culture, values and rights. We acknowledge the dual heritage of New Zealand/Aotearoa and are committed to developing knowledge and understanding through participation, protection and partnership of the Treaty of Waitangi, Tikanga, Te Reo and Te Wheke.

We strive to provide a challenging environment with a high level of self-choice, independence, empowerment and intentional teaching, where the children can explore, investigate and create both independently and collaboratively. The teaching team has a strong belief in Te Whariki- this leads and guides us through our planning, assessment and evaluation. We seek to encourage children to be competent, confident and capable in their own learning.

As educators, we believe our role is to work alongside our children, learning from and teaching each other.

Our Family Early Learning is YOUR home away from home where reciprocal respect, trust and acceptance come first.  We believe in open, honest communication and have an open door policy.

How we help children:

At Our Family Early Learning we believe curriculum represents everything we do, see, hear and touch.  Curriculum is both visual and hidden. It impacts a child’s development, learning and their holistic well-being.

At Our Family Early Learning we are guided by Te Whariki, New Zealand Ministry of Education Early Childhood Curriculum, along with other learning and development theories, our centre philosophy, cultural make-up of the centre and our teacher’s life and teaching experiences.

For a successful curriculum, the partnership between the child, teacher, parents and whanau needs to be strong.  Therefore we believe and seek regular contact with our families to hear and learn about their child’s ongoing interests, strengths and our family’s aspirations.

Our Family Early Learning teachers support a child’s learning through individual observations and discussions with the child, families and their colleagues. It is important to us that we have a strong connection between home and preschool.

We invite you to discuss your child with us twice a year (February and September) We will use the information to create a learning plan with learning goals that together we can work towards.  We love our families to comment and to hear what our families think.

Our Physical environment:

The centre offers a large covered sandpit and outdoor play area, where the children can engage in challenging physical activity, construction, water and messy play while caring for their environment. Inside is bright, light, warm and spacious offering areas for the children to independently be creative as they take the lead in their play.  The children’s learning is visible through documentation on the walls at their level so learning can be revisited and their voice heard.

Our Atmosphere:

As part of the centres life and learning the children, teachers and families engage in significant events both cultural and community based.  These events further strengthen our belief of all feeling valued, respected and accepted.

At Our Family Early Learning, one of our core values is communication – between our team, between the children and team, and between you and our team. We aim to keep the lines of communication open at all times so that you are aware of how your child is doing.  We encourage regular discussions with our team or management so we can continue to provide a high-quality service to you and your child.

Transition to School:

It is important to us your child transitions smoothly to school.  To help with this we work to develop key skills and dispositions your child will need.  We work alongside our local school so the routine and beginning skills taught are familiar to them when they join. Our transition to school programme is led by a teacher who is Primary and Early Childhood trained.

Please check out our website or contact us anytime. You are always welcome to pop in for a chat.