Under two care

We focus on nurturing the whole child particularly during those intimate ‘care’ moments when the child and teacher are fully engaged with each other such as nappy change, sleep routines, and feeding/mealtimes. Our Kiwi room has a ‘homelike’ environment designed for babies. The senior staff offer ongoing, training, support and guidance to teachers in how to look after infants and toddlers so that they know how to take good care of them and make sure they help the baby’s brain develop.

Our teacher training is based on our belief that young babies and children should be exposed to respectful practice in line with the Pikler and Gerber philosophies. For example, babies have reflexes that can be developed, they should have freedom of movement; we know what kind of toys they need to develop the muscles in their hands. We provide an abundance of resources so your baby or toddler can have access to probably more stimulating toys and equipment than you can possibly provide at home.

The most important part of taking care of your baby is to develop a strong parent/centre partnership. Each child has a key teacher who will develop a close relationship with you so that together decisions can be made on how to best support your child.

At KiwiLearners we have high adult to child ratios; small groups; ongoing teacher training from an overseas trained and experienced Centre Director; we focus on responsive care giving; provide well defined spaces for under twos including non-mobile babies; believe that involving parents is essential; focus on health and safety; and ensure that teachers practice is culturally and developmentally appropriate.

Primary care is a term commonly used to describe the relationship between an infant and the most significant person in their life - usually their mother. Every child at at KiwiLearners will have a designated “key teacher” who will develop a close relationship with both the child and family and will be the first port of call for communication between home and centre.

While this is not exclusive care, the primary caregiving approach at KiwiLearners ensures children experience consistent care and attention from a teacher in the centre who knows them well.

Primary caregiving is particularly important to our youngest children as this supports them to navigate the layers of relationships in the wider centre environment. When a child begins attending KiwiLearners we discuss the selection of a key teacher to make sure the best fit is achieved for each child. Your key teacher will support you and your child to become familiar with the centre environment, routines, practices and other staff.

Children’s health and safety during sleep routines is securely protect ted by the detailed KiwiLearners
Sleeping children policy which is available for parents to read onsite.

KiwiLearners takes particular care that children at each age and developmental level are given the appropriate food and drink. A comprehensive Food and Drink policy is available onsite for parents to read and on enrolment preferences, allergies and any other individual needs that children have will be recorded and addressed.