About Us
Your Child's Home Away From Home
Welcome to Kidlywinks, a family-owned and operated early learning center located in Trenam, Upper Hutt. Since April 2009, we have been offering preschool education to children aged 3 months up to 6 years old. Our center allows children to learn and grow together in a nurturing, supportive, family feel environment. Come join us and watch your child thrive!
Our Mission
At Kidlywinks we strive to cater to the individual learning and
development needs of each child in our care.
We aim to provide the highest level of education and care for
your child within a relaxed, loving and healthy atmosphere.
Providing a feeling of acceptance and belonging enables
individual children to feel safe and secure in order to be able
to express themselves in a positive and productive manner.
Our centre is operated by qualified and unqualified teachers
who are passionate about children's early learning and
development.
Our Philosophy
Ko te ahurei o te tamiaiti arahia o tatou mahi/ let the uniqueness of
the child guide our work
Whakamana/Empowerment
Kaiako will provide a learning environment in which tamariki are
encouraged and supported to discover as much as possible on their own.
We recognise that tamariki who achieve through their own experiences
acquire knowledge that is different to tamariki who are offered ready
made solutions. By providing a learning environment where tamariki
are encouraged to explore through freedom to make choices, we believe
they experience the world in their own terms with the support,
encouragement and guidance from kaiako. Tamariki and whānau will
experience a environment where play-based learning is valued.
We believe tamariki learn and grow in a holistic way. their intellectual,
social, cultural, physical, emotional and spiritual learning is interwoven
across all their experiences. We believe in the concept of ako and we acknowledge that whānau, Kaiako and tamariki can both teach and learn
from each other trough shared learning experiences. We will provide
tamariki with opportunities to engage in all curriculum areas regardless
of weather, utilising the gifts we receive from Ranginui and
Papatūānuku.
Whānau tanagata/Family and community
We will provide a korowai manaaki (cloak of welcome and care) for all
whānau and tamariki who attend our centre. We believe in creating a
safe inclusive space for all whānau. Regardless of race, gender age,
ability, social status or whānau structure. Our vision is to ensure each
child has a place and a sense of belonging here at Kidlywinks. We value
the different gifts that each child and their whānau bring to our
community and embrace the different cultures represented at
Kidlywinks.
Ngā hononga/Relationships
We will provide an environment where respectful relationships, encouragement, warmth and acceptance are the norm. Tuakana/teina relationships will be fostered within the centre and the tamariki will be encouraged to work collaboratively to help and support one another.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the foundation for a partnership that is inclusive
of all children and their families.
Partnership: we will develop authentic meaningful relationships with
whānau. We will collaborate and communicate with the whānau of the
tamariki and involve whānau within decision-making by listening to and incorporating their voices. We believe building relationships of trust
with whānau will lead to their involvement within the centre's
programmes.
Protection: We will show our commitment by protecting Māori knowledge, interests, values and other tāonga, identity, language, and culture are important expressions of what it means to be a culturally located learner. We have a commitment to "knowing, respecting and valuing where students are, where they come from and building on what they bring with them". We will weave te reo Māori knowledge me ona tikanga through our daily curriculum.
Participation: We believe by working on strong partnerships,
participation will happen organically. We all come from a place of
honesty and wanting to make a difference for all tamariki and will
demonstrate commitment, honour, faith and respect towards everyone.
Our Facilities
Kidlywinks Childcare is located at 20 Islington Street in Trentham, Upper Hutt. We are approximately 5 minutes walk from both Trentham Train Station and the closest bus stop on Fergusson Drive.
Kidlywinks Childcare is a 'boutique' pre school, catering to a maximum of 31 children 10 of those being under two years old. As a converted home, the centre offers a warm, homely atmosphere for the children in our care.
Kidlywinks Childcare features fully equipped indoor and outdoor play areas, audio visual equipment, two sleep rooms and separate art studio.
We offer a relaxed, slow paced play based learning environment where we try to not interrupt the childrens play as much as we can. We are passionate about the freedom of movement for our little ones and dont place them in to positions that they are unable to get into themselves.
Our children have the opportunity to explore the outdoor environment all day every day regardless of the weather. We firmly believe in "there is no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing".
For our 4 year olds we provide a transition to school programme which we call 'Preschool Time'. This happens each day where the children work with a teacher who provides targeted teaching to help those children learn those important pre-school skills.