Little Explorers Preschool is an early childhood centre in Burwood, Christchurch, offering care and education for children from 0 to 6 years old, split between Nursery positions (0-2 years) and Preschool positions (2-6 years). The centre's mission is working together to empower each child to reach their unique potential, with a vision to provide a natural bicultural environment where children have the freedom to explore their working theories alongside links to the local community.
Little Explorers is guided by core values of respect, relationships, freedom and inclusiveness, alongside local curriculum priorities rooted in manaakitanga (social and emotional competence), kaitiakitanga (guardianship of the earth), turangawaewae (a sense of home and belonging), and rangatiratanga (leadership in one's own learning). The centre is owned and directed by Tracey Bentley, supported by Manager Ki Mansell and a team of qualified, fully registered preschool and nursery educators, including Donna Stanford, Katie Crosier, Kezia Donders, Tracy Inglis, Jo Cleverley-Musson, Silke Hardegen, Chris Bennett and reliever Sandra Van Kempen. The centre features large outdoor play areas, including a lawn, sandpits, swings, a shaded nook and playground equipment for both the nursery and preschool spaces.
Tucked into Vivian Street in Burwood, Christchurch, Little Explorers Preschool offers care and early learning for children from birth through to school age, split across dedicated Nursery (0-2 years) and Preschool (2-6 years) programmes. The centre's mission — working together to empower each child to reach their unique potential — runs through everything from its curriculum design to its physical spaces.
Little Explorers' vision centres on providing a natural, bicultural environment where children have the freedom to explore their own working theories, with strong links to the local community. This is expressed through four local curriculum priorities: manaakitanga (a sense of social and emotional competence), kaitiakitanga (guardianship of the earth), turangawaewae (a feeling of home and belonging), and rangatiratanga (children as leaders in their own learning). These priorities sit alongside the centre's four core values — respect, relationships, freedom and inclusiveness — which guide how staff interact with both children and their whānau.
The centre's teaching philosophy treats tamariki as precious, unique and full of potential, prioritising secure and consistent relationships so staff genuinely get to know each child and their family. Play is described as the centre's greatest tool for learning, with kaiako observing, assessing and reflecting to design experiences tailored to individual children and groups. The centre also maintains a strong bicultural foundation, honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi in its decision-making and using te reo Māori language every day.
One of the most consistently praised aspects of Little Explorers is its large outdoor play areas. The grounds include a lawn, sandpits, swings, a shaded nook and playground equipment across both the nursery and preschool spaces, giving children genuine room to move, play and explore. One Google reviewer specifically noted the fantastic facility and amazing outdoor space as what originally attracted their family to the centre, while a parent survey response highlighted how children are encouraged to be resourceful, spend time in the gardens, and learn to be self-sufficient and care for the environment.
Little Explorers is owned and directed by Tracey Bentley, holding a Diploma of Teaching Early Childhood and full teacher registration. She's supported by Manager Ki Mansell, who holds a Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning (Early Childhood), and a team of fully registered preschool and nursery educators — Donna Stanford, Katie Crosier, Kezia Donders, Tracy Inglis, Jo Cleverley-Musson, Silke Hardegen and Chris Bennett — plus reliever Sandra Van Kempen. Parent feedback consistently points to the compassion and structure the team brings, with one survey response describing a smoothly run, well-structured programme delivered with genuine care for the tamariki.
For children under 3, Little Explorers offers half-day and full-day rate options across various time blocks between 7:30am and 5:30pm, along with a capped full-week rate. For children 3 years and older, the centre applies the Government's 20 Hours ECE Free entitlement, covering up to 6 hours a day, with an hourly rate applying to any additional hours, plus a capped full-week rate.
Little Explorers Preschool is open Monday to Friday from 7:30am to 5:30pm, and families interested in enrolment or a visit can reach the centre by phone, email or the online contact form during office hours, 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. With its focus on outdoor space, bicultural curriculum, and a well-qualified, community-oriented team, the centre positions itself as a place where children are genuinely known, valued and given room to explore.