Thames Kindergarten is a whānau-focused kindergarten at 308 Grey Street in Thames, part of the Central Kids Trust. The trust is a non-profit kindergarten association that has run early childhood education since 1951, with 47 kindergartens in 26 towns across the central North Island. The kindergarten follows a child-led, play-based programme using Te Whāriki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum. Whānau are welcome to stay, have a cuppa and spend time at the kindergarten.
The kindergarten has a large outdoor area with new activities, and a garden where children plant and collect vegetables and herbs that are used in daily baking. Older children spend one whole day a week in a local bush reserve on the weekly ngāhere programme, which the website says builds respect for the natural world. The trust's kindergartens teach children to be kaitiaki o te taiao, guardians of the environment, and the trust says it offers flexible financial options to help families with fees.