Open Spaces Preschool

About

Open Spaces Preschool. The natural choice for early learning. Our hours are: 7:00am - 5:30pm. We are open all year 'round including school holidays.

Story

Our Wild Woods Programme is unique in Northland. Because the centre is located next to a family trust farm, we have access to the 'back' of the farm - an area of native trees four paddocks back from Ngunguru Road. Some of the trees in the area are over 400 years old!. This bush slopes down to the Waitangi Stream which eventually joins the Ngunguru River. The area has become know to the children as "The Wild Woods" (borrowed from Claire Warden in Scotland).

Mission

Our Philosophy

'Titiro Whakamuri, Hoki Whakamua'

We are the future, the present and the past


Open Spaces is a loving and engaging place of learning for our babies, tamariki/young children, kaiako and whānau. We provide a safe, secure, educational, nurturing and fun environment for our tamariki.
Our number one objective is to provide high quality early childhood education and care.

Open Spaces is a nature-rich community and our relationships with Papatūānuku guide our values and practice.

Through Kaitiakitanga / Guardianship we:

emphasise a nature-based education for its breadth of learning;
offer meaningful connections to Papatūānuku throughout our curriculum;
promote respect, care and protection of all life;
want tamariki to know the joy of being with nature;
look to the past, work in the present, envision the future.

We believe that Ngā Hononga / Relationships are the foundations for all learning; where respectful, reciprocal, honest and trusting relationships create a sense of well-being, a strong positive identity, self-esteem and confidence to climb the tallest mountain. Through free-play and intentional teaching, tamariki learn both independently and alongside their peers and teachers. We value and practice tuakana-teina and the notion of interdependence.

We value learning dispositions such as curiosity, imagination, creativity and perseverance. Whakamana / Empowerment sees tamariki initiate and lead their own learning, accept leadership and responsibility. Our project approach promotes intellectual goals over academic skills.

We recognise and value Whānau Tangata / Family and Community as experts and as partners in the nurturing of tamariki. We support the cultural capital of tamariki and their whānau and endeavour to incorporate family perspectives and expertise into the curriculum.

We acknowledge Te Whāriki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum. It guides and inspires everything we do as teachers.

We acknowledge, respect and promote the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and ensure our tamariki experience an environment that values and promotes Te Ao Māori.

At Open Spaces we welcome, value and respect the diversity within our centre regardless of ethnicity, culture, socio-economic status or gender differences.

"A small, private Early Learning centre licenced for 30 children. We are situated on the rural outskirts of Whangarei, and have daily access to an old growth forest called 'The Wild Woods'. Much of our tamariki's learning takes place in Nature. We allow tamariki to find their own challenges as we believe children are their own best risk managers!"