Manawa Children's Village is an early learning centre at 70 Ward Street, Trentham, Upper Hutt, for children from 6 months to 6 years. It is built around HomePods, small mixed-age homes where each child stays with the same kaiako, and the homes circle a shared whare called the HeartPod. The website says children do not move to a new room each year. The centre is open weekdays from 7:30am to 5:30pm. The website says its ratios are better than Ministry ratios.
The centre describes daily life as slow and calm, with fruit, toast and milk at the table, a hot lunch cooked on site, time in the garden and outings to Wallaceville Park. Child-led play and the Circle of Security approach are part of the programme. Parents say the mixed-age model and the way staff celebrate different cultures stand out, and they describe the relationships with kaiako as warm and long-term. One says the place feels like family.