Ōtaki Kindergarten

05/09/2026

Rāpare me te Paraire.

29/08/2026

Thursday

26/08/2026

The proposed changes to funding within Early Childhood Education (ECE) will have a wide-reaching effect on everyone who accesses ECE or works as a qualified registered teacher, especially those working in not-for-profit centers (such as kindergartens) or those who actively and intentional hire 100% qualified teachers.
What is clear is that education is not valued in the right way by the current government, with special focus on changing the ECE landscape despite research that supports just how vital education in the early years is!
The impact of these proposed changes will have a substantial effect on the fully qualified with bachelor's degrees, fully registered teachers, some of us may lose our jobs - especially if they remove the funding provided for 100% qualified teachers, others could be paid minimum wage with the removal of ALL pay parity (so not just pay parity between private and public ECE, but the pay parity that Kindergarten has with primary).
We have a world leading ECE Curriculum, yet it feels that we’re not worthy of being called teachers, our bachelor's degrees are not held in high regard, and we can simply be replaced by the untrained, unqualified and inexperienced
This government believes that your children, your grandchildren, your great grandchildren and your mokopuna are not worthy of qualified teachers, or of sufficient funding to do our jobs. This government and the funding review are not even looking at the mass amounts of profit that are being made by large private ECE companies in this country.
We love our jobs! We love TEACHING your tamariki, supporting & helping them grow into strong capable learners but if this government is elected again, it is highly possible that all of this will change, and quickly too.
You and your tamariki matter to us, and because of this we strongly encourage you to enrol to vote (and please vote), ask questions and talk to people about the impact this could have on your whānau and the people that matter to you.

24/08/2026

Remember your pjs this Friday at Kindy!

23/08/2026

A few photos from last week

19/08/2026

Setting up the outside play area and waiting for the tamariki to come to play. How inviting does that look? And what an uplifting way to start the day with a full uenuku in the background.

11/08/2026

Mahi in the sandpit this morning

11/08/2026

Affordable, inclusive and high quality early childhood education is essential for tamariki, whānau and our society on the whole to thrive.

But what does high quality ECE actually look like? Research tells us some of the most important aspects of high quality ECE are:

✅ Fully qualified ECE teachers
✅ Good child to teacher ratios
✅ Warm environment where whanau and parents are welcomed
✅ Celebrating and nurturing of language, culture and identity

At Whānau Manaaki, we believe in the right of every child to quality early childhood education.

04/08/2026

🔈 🙋‍♀️Have your say! Oppose funding cuts for Kindergartens by 6 August, 5pm.

A government appointed funding review suggests less money for kindergartens and more taxpayer money going to private profit-oriented services.

This would mean Kindergartens will be forced to charge more, and some children will miss out completely on early childhood education.

🗓️ Have your say by making a submission before 6 August, when the consultation closes.

Your submissions can simply be describing what effect the rising cost of Kindergartens would have on you and your whānau. Link to submit in the comments below!

03/08/2026