Playcentre began in 1941 primarily as a support service to women left raising children alone due to partners being away with the second world war. With isolation from lack of transport and low family incomes being the reality for many women, Playcentre's original aims were “to provide leisure for mothers and opportunities for the social development of the pre-school child” (Stover, 1998, p. 3).

The strategy used in establishing a Playcentre was for a group of mothers to roster themselves to care for children in a community hall, and develop management of their group with a strong focus on democratic processes. Playcentre leaders in the early years promoted an emphasis on parent education, which encouraged parents to be well read and have lively debates, both on childhood education and wider topics. These factors meant that, while Playcentres were products of their times and local community, they were from the start a site for women's empowerment and feminist thought (Woodhams, 2010).

The NZ Playcentre Federation was formed in 1948, bringing together already established associations in the Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury regions. The Federation was based on the original philosophies of child initiated play and the importance of parents as educators of their own children.

Playcentre is an internationally recognised early childhood organisation. Today there are 489 Playcentres affiliated to the New Zealand Playcentre Federation through each of the 33 regional Associations, and ten Playcentre established in Japan.

History of Playcentre Tiriti-based partnership

Playcentre made a commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi and biculturalism in 1989. In 1994 Playcentre acknowledged Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Maori version of the Treaty, as the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand. A Treaty audit of the Federation Constitution, conducted in 1999 by YWCA Consultency Group, gave the Federation guidance on how they might improve Federation structures and processes to better reflect its commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Playcentre Federation has been using a version of the Two House Model for reaching decisions by consensus at national executives and conferences since 2006. The Two House Model is a consensus decision making model which seeks to honour the cultural practices or tikanga of each Tiriti-partner and mitigate any imbalance in numbers between the two Tiriti-partners.

At Conference 2011 Playcentre passed a constitutional remit giving Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti members equal rights and responsibilities within Playcentre membership. In addition, they agreed to endorse Federation officers representing both Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti. The federation structure currently has Tiriti-based Co-presidents, Trustees from both Tiriti partners, Tiriti-based Co-convenors of both Education and Association Support Teams, and representatives on each of those two teams from both Tiriti partner.

Stover, S. (Ed.). (1998). Good clean fun: New Zealand's Playcentre movement. Auckland: Playcentre Publications.

Woodhams, M. (2010). Recognising mothering as real work: The role of Playcentre in challenging public discourse. Paper presented at Connecting Women, Respecting Differences, University of Waikato, Hamilton.