Te Wiki o Te Wāhanga Mātauranga Playcentre Education Week – 11 – 17 May! 

Week 4 (11 – 17 May) is Te Wiki o te Wāhanga Mātauranga Playcentre Education Week – a time to participate in and celebrate adult learning opportunities within Playcentre.   

Playcentre Introductory Award 

Did you know that all Playcentre whānau – parents, caregivers and grandparents (including non-NZ residents) – have a unique opportunity to participate in adult learning and complete the Playcentre Introductory Award (PIA) through their Playcentre?  This free, hands-on programme is designed to help whānau find their sense of belonging at Playcentre and empower everyone to grow their skills in their journey as parents/caregivers and kaiako educators.  The PIA also helps your Playcentre to meet licensing requirements. 

There is no formal enrolment required, and no formal assessment either!  Simply pick up a copy of the PIA Booklet at your Playcentre (or find a copy to download online here: Playcentre Education – Where should I begin?) and make a start! 

To complete PIA, you will: 

  • Attend 10 Playcentre sessions and complete a practical wero challenge on each, then ‘Talanoa with a Tuakana’ (reflect on what you have learnt with an experienced person at your Playcentre) 
  • Attend 4 workshops/webinars that will grow your understanding of children’s learning through play and empowering children 
  • Watch 5 videos (between 3-23 minutes long) 

Watch this video to find out more:

NZ Certificate in Early Childhood Education and Care (Level 4) 

For whānau who enjoyed the PIA and are keen to learn more while also adding a formal, nationally recognised ECE qualification to their kete, the Level 4 certificate is the next step in the learning journey.  This free and flexible programme is designed to upskill whānau with more hands-on ideas to support children’s learning and to take on a leadership role on Playcentre sessions while fitting around busy family lives. Find out more about continuing on with the Level 4 Certificate. 

Playcentre Education champions 

Keep an eye out for more information coming your way via centre emails about how you can support your Playcentre whānau with Playcentre Education. You might like to join our Facebook group: Playcentre Education champions – Whakaihuwaka o Te Wāhanga Mātauranga  

You are welcome to join us at one of these upcoming interactive online webinar opportunities. Register in advance by clicking on the link of the time you would like to attend. 

 

Date/time 

Description 

Tue 12 May 

1:30-2:30pm 

or 

7:30-8:30pm 

Whānau Teams Roles – Mātauranga Adult Learning 

Find out more about what is involved in being part of the Mātauranga Adult Learning Whānau Team at your Playcentre. 

Playcentre Professional Learning and Development

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller 

Playcentre Professional Learning & Development (PLD) offers a range of one-off events and short courses to upskill Playcentre whānau and staff.  All current opportunities are free to Playcentre volunteers and staff.   

National PLD Opportunities for Term 2 

Highlights of national opportunities this term include: 

  • Talanoa with a Tuakana – What’s my role? 
    We’ll explore the Talanoa with a Tuakana sections of the new PIA to discuss how to be a supportive tuakana.  You’ll leave feeling confident to take on the tuakana role in conversations. 
  • Whānau Team Roles Support 
    If you’ve recently stepped into a team role in your centre or would like to connect with others in the same role in other centres, come along to a 1hr webinar sessions to find out more.  Each session will key content shared followed by a chance to ask questions. 
  • Tikanga 102 
    Many of you will have completed Tikanga 101, an introductory self-directed course unpacking tikanga Māori within a Playcentre context.  The next step Tikanga 102 is being finalised and will be out in Term 2 – watch this space! 
  • Safeguarding Tamariki 
    This course is a refresher in child protecion for Persons Responsible on Playcentre sessions.  We encourage all PRs to refresh this content two yearly. 

Stay up to date with our latest offerings by visiting the PLD section of the Playcentre website. There, you’ll find full programme details, including available dates and enrolment information

Regional PLD for Term 2 

Keep an eye out for local and regional PLD opportunities happening near you – we have facilitator across the motu.  Here is a snapshot of a couple of the upcoming opportunities in the Lower North Island:  

Lower North Island – the Hutt Valley and Wellington

Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi Wānanga

Nau mai, haere mai, come join us for a day to wānanga discuss and celebrate te ao Māori in Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi Playcentre.  Gather with us for an uplifting day of whanaungatanga connection, kemū games, mahi toi art, waiata singing, ako learning and

 kōrerorero conversation.  

We have a limited number of spaces available for whānau to attend. Whether you plan to participate in one of the three Learning Through Play workshops being held or explore the resources and tautoko support, fill out this registration form: 

Registration link to wānanga – click here  registrations close Tues 5th May, 2026

Details:

Saturday 16th May, 9.30am – 4.30pm at Koraunui Marae, Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt

Pōwhiri starts at 10am, please arrive between 9.30- 9.45am to gather, kōrero and collect koha outside before entering marae together.

Morning tea and lunch provided.

LTP workshops:

  • Ukulele for beginners (all welcome)
  • Harakeke Flax Weaving 
  • Pūrākau and Storytelling

We will finish with a poroaki at 4pm.

There is no cost for whānau to attend our wānanga and we would like to acknowledge and thank the Hutt Association Colleen Chandrahasen fund that is covering the cost of running this event for us all.

There are two online workshops being held before the wānanga to share and discuss pōwhiri protocol and marae kawa.  Please ensure a whānau representative can join one of them. 

Details of when they are being held are on the registration form.

If you have any further pātai questions, email [email protected] and/or [email protected] 

Ngā mihi nui,

Faith Tupou, Liz Neill, Ana Johnston

2026 Whakanuia Te Reo LNI Region

Whakanuia te reo:

An online Te Ao Māori Leadership Professional Learning and Development opportunity for centre whānau at Playcentres in the LNI region. A series of five fortnightly online webinars.

How effectively are we encorporating te reo māori seamlessly into play and activities?  How well are we supporting our kaiako to upskill, learn and kōrero?

Let’s spend some time looking at specific activities and how we can add more Reo Māori. What are your tamariki interested in right now? What kupu can we share, what simple sentences can we use. What do we already know? Where can we find resources to support us?

These online discussion sessions are to share the reo we have already, co-construct resources we can use on session, and grow our own individual and collective knowledge. This is not a te reo class, but an opportunity to work together and encourage each other while creating some practical in the moment resources.

Let’s get te reo Māori off the walls, out of the books and into the mouths and ears of our tamariki. All levels of reo welcome, we will share our skills and create together.

This is a series of fortnightly workshops for us to build our knowledge together over time. Book in for all 5 webinars. The aim is to finish the term with useful, practical and meaningful resources and kōrero to share at our centres.

Open to any whānau in LNI Playcentres, if possible, bring a buddy from your centre with you.

Ngā mihi nui, Liz

Wednesdays 1pm – 2:30pm, fortnightly 29 April to 24 June

Register here: LNI Whakanuia te Reo | Join meeting in Teams | Microsoft Teams