Our Philosophy

• "We aim to provide quality childcare and preschool education in an environment that is homely, safe, caring, happy and stimulating meeting the needs of each child and their whanau"
• "We use a mixture of structure, freeplay and carefully planned experiences in both the inside and outside environments. We also use people and places within our Poppies and wider community to expand our children's learning environment, to inspire and nurture in children a love of and confidence to become life long learners" 
• For our full philosophy click here.

Our Programme

Our programme is based on the curriculum for early childhood centres - Te Whaariki. We provide the children with opportunities to explore the 16 areas of play. We carefully plan our indoor and outdoor environments to meet the children's individual learning goals providing them with stimulating and fun activities. The Nursery, Preschool room and Preproom each have a monthly focus coming from the children's interests. Our focus of learning each month relates to the children's interests or happenings within our environment. Planned experiences include dress up days, excursions out into the community and carefully planned activities to extend children's learning.

Profile Books

Each child at Poppies has their own profile book which is a record of their learning journey. The profile books contain learning notes, photos, milestone achievements and learning goals for each child. Teachers then use teaching strategies to support children's learning and development to meet goals. Progress and outcomes are documented through learning stories. 

Your child's learning is also recorded online through an app called Storypark.  Through Storypark you can easily see what your child has been up too, you can contribute and share their learning with extended family members.  

Transition to School Programme

At Poppies we work to ensure your child's transition to school is as smooth as possible by fostering independence, and encouraging children to take responsibility for themselves and their belongings.

In the mornings the older children take part in "getting ready for school mini group". This group time focuses on ensuring the children are ready for school. We work on the five key concepts of maths, literacy, self help skills, social skills and children's choice. 

We have good relationships with local primary schools regularly visiting the main schools we feed into.  We are also part of the local Community of Learning COL. 

Sustainability

We believe in sustainability and respecting our precious environment, each other and our resources.  We follow the enviroschools programme and have vege gardens, worm farms and hens.  You will see some of our produce and eggs available from time to time.