Welcome

Welcome to Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa – Playcentre Aotearoa.

Playcentre Aotearoa is proudly recognised by the Ministry of Education as an early learning service, but we are so much more.

What started in 1941 as a support service run for and by women, has grown through the years to become the largest parent-led provider of early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Playcentre Aotearoa is open to everyone – mothers, fathers, grandparents, extended whānau; all caregivers. We are proudly ‘New Zealand Made’. We are the only early childhood educator that is cooperatively managed by parents. All centres operate with the support of our regional and national personnel.

With 425 centres across the country our programmes are available for parents and caregivers to participate with their children from birth to school age. This is your chance to learn new skills alongside showing your child your existing skills…or revisiting the paintbrush and paints and creating something new together!

We invest all our resources back into the Centres within the communities from which we operate to ensure that our purposed-designed premises meet the strict licensing and other regulations governing the early learning services sector.

We also have our own Tertiary Private Training Establishment that operates across our Centres. If you want to pursue an NZQA approved early childhood education qualification while you play with your tamariki, we will support your training. Our free education programme will equip you with a recognised qualification based on:

  • Child Development
  • Play and Learning
  • Parenting Skills
  • Planning and delivering Early Childhood Education
  • Facilitation and Management Skills.

Our focus is all about families growing together and we recognise that parents and caregivers are the first and best educators of our children.

We do encourage you to contact your local centre and experience first-hand what Playcentre offers. Each Playcentre offers three free visits before membership so come along for a visit, we would love to share with you what makes Playcentre special.

 

 

Sean McKinley