Te Puna Oraka Early Learning Centre is a Barnardos early learning centre at 69B Briggs Road in Shirley, Christchurch. The website says it is open from 8am to 4:30pm, with part-day or full-day options. Children bring a lunchbox from home, and fresh seasonal fruit is shared. The outdoor area has a deck, swings, slides, a climbing rope and a playhouse, and there is a veggie patch and local excursions. Indoors, the centre offers play-based learning. The website says families can enrol and receive 30 hours free for all ages, subject to the centre's terms. The centre manager is Cath, and the centre uses Storypark and a Tāku Pukapuka portfolio to share each child's learning with whānau.
Reviewers describe the teachers as lovely and very involved, with regular updates on what children are learning. They praise the mix of indoor and outdoor play, including messy and water play. One parent says the staff are kind and friendly at drop-off and pick-up, and that the centre handles a boisterous child well.