A family-owned childcare centre that has run in the Albany area since 2003, taking children from five weeks old up to five years. The centre was designed from the ground up as a childcare space, and the owners describe it as a home away from home.
The team focuses on oral language and communication, which the centre links to later success in reading and writing. Children are encouraged to explore and to form their own sense of identity, and the centre respects each child's cultural background, interests and strengths. The programme also teaches self-help skills to make the move to school smoother.
Families from Glenfield and Albany have used the centre for years. One parent who speaks Mandarin at home says the teachers helped their child settle into a new country and language, and that the child grew in confidence and formed close bonds with several teachers. Other parents mention children who stayed from infancy to school age, and staff who prepared them for the move to primary school.
The centre is at 2 Ballyboe Place, Pinehill, on Auckland's North Shore. Enquiries and tours go through the centre directly. Our pick on the North Shore for a family with a baby or toddler who wants a long-term early childhood home.