Ngaio Playcentre -Te Whare Tākaro o Ngaio

Ngaio Playcentre borders onto the beautiful bush and tui, kereru and kākā of Huntleigh Park.

At Ngaio Playcentre, you and your children will forge friendships that last far beyond the pre-school years. Working and training alongside other parents builds unique bonds, and our children learn how to play well and adapt. Playcentre believes child-led play creates the happiest, most confident and competent learners. Our children choose from a huge variety of play areas and move on when they want to. As parent-educators, we’re trained to facilitate and extend play.
Our huge natural outdoor play space has been upgraded recently and features a river bed and water pump, huge sandpit, mud-kitchen, tree-houses and lots of climbing and hiding areas within the beautifully planted seasonal gardens and mature trees. Our modern interior has been designed to create learning spaces where tamariki can access their own resources and facilitate true child-led learning in a sound sensitive environment.

Check us out on Instagram , Facebook or our centre Website to see all the fun stuff we get up to on sessions.

Reorua / Bi-lingual Session 

Ngaio Playcentre runs one of four Reorua / Bi-lingual sessions in the Wellington area. On our Tuesday Reorua session we employ a fluent Kaiarahi Māoritanga to support our pakeke ( adults) and tamariki ( children ) to learn Te Reo Māori in an authentic, immersive and safe environment which goes beyond basic kupu and greetings. This session is designed as a catalyst for the learning to flow on into all of our sessions. 

ERO report excerpts

We are, officially, a gem among early childhood education centres. In their May 2017 report, the Education Review Office placed Ngaio Playcentre in the top 10% of all Early Childhood Education providers nationwide.

We love ERO’s recognition that in our mixed-age sessions, our trained parent-educators provide the best possible learning environment for our children.

If you’re at home with your pre-schooler, and want to join an amazing community focused on fun and learning, get in touch.

“The high levels of involvement of the centre’s community and a sense of collective responsibility to all children, provide a positive platform for learning. New members are carefully mentored and appropriately supported.”

“Strengthened and regularly reviewed initiatives continue to deepen children and adults’ understanding of te ao Māori. [These] experiences…highly engage children.”

“Literacy, mathematics and science activities are core components of children’s daily experience. The youngest children are embraced and nurtured within a culture of care.”

“Children’s social skills and developing relationships are well-supported. A positive tone and inclusive practice are highly evident… [Parent-educators] provide challenging and thought-provoking learning experiences that respond to children’s interests.”

Member Reviews

“We love Ngaio Playcentre. Beautiful centre, lovely people, and plenty of learning. At Playcentre I’ve gained a much greater understanding of my daughter’s play and behaviour, so I can support her as she grows. We now have our son there too, and he is loving being exposed to the Playcentre environment from an early age.” 
Leah Hamilton

“Ngaio Playcentre is our home away from home. My kids (6 & 4) have had the most amazing opportunities to play, learn and explore the world around them in a fun, safe and extensively resourced environment. We have a great outdoor space that has the most beautiful outlook onto native bush with frequent visits from native birds…Now I’m looking forward to number 3 having the same fun as his big brother and sister. Ngaio Playcentre is a great choice for families who want to play and learn together.” 
Meg Craig

“My son loves his time at Playcentre. By nature he is a very inquisitive child who loves to explore, so Playcentre is an ideal environment for him to grow and develop. Ngaio Playcentre has provided our family with a caring and supportive community which we love being a part of.” 
Ann Reed