Children aged 6 months to 5 years learn side by side at this early childhood centre on Palmerston Road in central Gisborne, which keeps a maximum of 35 children. The older children are encouraged to nurture and teach the babies, a tuākana-tēina approach that parents praise. One parent says her boys have been together every day rather than split into separate age rooms, and another describes the staff as very friendly. Learning follows Te Whāriki, New Zealand's early childhood curriculum, through play, exploration and connection, and the centre says every teacher is fully qualified and registered.
The centre began in May 1982, when Gisborne had only one childcare centre. Miriam Swarbrick's passion drove its founding, and the first rooms were a weekday crèche at the Central Baptist Church, set up for the growing number of families connected to the local polytechnic. It now sits at 237 Palmerston Road, down the driveway between Guthrie Bowron and the Gisborne Central Baptist Church. Families can send an enquiry or fill in the online enquiry form, and the centre invites them to visit, meet the teachers and see the learning space.