The Nursery

Caring for our Youngest Moas

Our Teachers (Kaiako) enjoy working in their purpose-built Early Learning Centre. From an intimate and nurturing indoor space to an easily accessed garden, which is designed specifically for the safety and enjoyment of the nursery age group, our teachers are dedicated to providing a calm and natural environment for the under-two’s.

Our teachers are both fully qualified and registered teachers who have a great in-depth knowledge of and experience with the particular needs of under-two’s. Research has consistently shown the importance of the caregiver:child ratio, alongside specialisation in the area infant pedagogy and a low-stress environment, in the education and care of infants under two. With responsibility for a smaller number of children and ongoing, specialised training teacher/caregivers can be more attuned (and so responsive) to the individual needs of very young children. Secondly, attuned teacher/caregivers and high-quality environments are now understood to have a very real impact on the ongoing development and learning of children.

It is for these reasons that in the Nursery we focus on providing a peaceful approach to teaching and learning, based on our philosophy of taking the time to build respectful, reciprocal care giving relationships with our infant/toddlers.

We abide by the philosophy of Magda Gerbber and RIE (Resources for Infant Educators) to provide this practice. The basis of Magda Gerber’s RIE philosophy is “respect for, and trust in the baby to be an initiator, an explorer and self learner.”

This means we ensure we are resourced to take time, to slow down and to observe and really see what is happening in our teaching/learning environment. As far as possible, our children’s play is uninterrupted and unhurried and we give them the freedom to make their own choices whilst learning how to control and move their bodies.

Your nursery-aged child will be assigned to a teacher who will be their primary care-giver and who will give you detailed feedback about your child’s day at pickup time. This teacher will also maintain a profile book documenting your child's progress and interests during his/her time with us. We encourage parents to contribute to this document as well.

Read here how the philosophy of Respect is applied in our nursery.

Kaiako Philosophy of Respect

R esponsive
E mpowerment
S pace
P otential
E xplore actively
C ompetent
T ime