Menu
Playcentre is like the village that helps to raise a child.
It’s a place for children and parents to explore, learn and play together.
Welcome to Te Puawaitanga O Atareta Playcentre. We are an early childhood education centre for children and parents/caregivers to attend together. Our welcoming Playcentre whanau includes children from birth to school age, and families from many parts of the world. You will know how true it is that it takes a village to raise a child (and a happy parent!). Playcentre is that village; a place for children and parents to explore, learn and play together.
At Playcentre you will experience:
If you’d like to get a feel for what we do, have a look at our blog, join our Facebook page, or arrange a visit.
Playcentre is a uniquely New Zealand early childhood education option based on the belief that parents play a vital role as their children’s first educators. Our Playcentre is one of more than 500 throughout New Zealand. As parents, we are responsible for collectively running the centre, which means parental involvement is essential. It is so rewarding to be part of our children’s learning and development, and to be there as their play evolves and they master new skills. Parents are offered training in child development, early childhood education and aspects of running a centre through flexible evening and weekend courses.
Our Playcentre sessions are as follows:
Children attend at least two sessions per week with their parent or caregiver. Once they are settled in, some older children may also be able to attend a third session independently.
See our FAQs below to find out more. If you have a question that isn’t answered here, please feel free to get in touch!
Our philosophy is that children learn best through play. At Playcentre our Tamariki make their own choices about how and when they play.
Children have the benefits of older and younger children to learn from and to nurture, just as we experience in real life
It’s like being in an extended family. We offer a supportive environment as some of our children go through the early stages of life
There are a few differences:
You can read more about Playcentre here at the Playcentre NZ website.
Simply put:
There are ad hoc working bees and fundraising activities you can also take part in.
Parents in their first term of Playcentre are not expected to be part of a duty team, take on an office-holder role. For you and your child, settling into our centre and finding your feet are your focus to start off with.
Yes. Many of our children attend daycare or kindergarten on the days they are not at Playcentre and find the combination works really well. As long as they (and you) are able to attend two sessions each week, it is no problem.
Absolutely! Some families have one parent attending each of the two sessions every week and there is no reason an aunt, uncle or grandparent couldn’t do similar. Grandparents often come along as extra caregivers too, especially if they are visiting from out of town. It is important that at least one parent is consistently involved in meetings and education, and is an office-holder. We can discuss this with you.
At Te Puawaitanga O Atareta Playcentre we ask for a $50 donation per family each term.
