At Kimihia Early Learning Centre the tamariki come first and we know that their parents and whānau will always be their first and most important teachers. With this in mind, we aim to establish and maintain positive, responsive relationships and work in partnership. We strive to get to know children, parents, caregivers and whānau well and ensure their aspirations play a pivotal role in creating an inclusive, equitable community where every child and whānau have a place and a sense of belonging/mana motuhake. Our practice is grounded in treaty partnership with tangata whenua iwi katoa and ensure te reo me ngā tikanga Māori is a visible part of everyday and we work in a bicultural manner.

We value our professional kaupapa and pride ourselves on being attentive in our interactions and actively listening as part of being responsive. We pay attention to wellbeing and appreciate diversity. We recognise that acceptance, love, kindness and laughter make a happy learning atmosphere, and this is what we want tamariki to grow up in.

We appreciate reciprocal relationships and aim to create a community characterised by trust, security and honest and encouraging communication. Kaiako aspire to role model respect, positivity, collaboration and learning, as key features of what it means to be an education professional. We actively ask questions, share insights and recognise ourselves as life-long learners.

We enact Te Whāriki – The Early Childhood Curriculum as the foundation to our teaching. We draw on the curiosity and interests of tamariki and utilise our local resources to explore, investigate and make sense of people, places and things in the world around us. We actively support play as the most profound tool for learning and use creativity and thoughtfully introduced experiences to advance language and learning strategies.

We believe hauora/health, manaakitanga/respect, emotional security/ and te ahuru aronganui oranga tinana/physical wellbeing are critical. To ensure these needs are met, we create nurturing daily rhythms and calm, unhurried experiences so tamariki can engage and play with others, learning to negotiate socially and become increasingly capable of managing big emotions. We aim to ensure a rich environment for learning, where sustainable practice and social contribution is encouraged.