About Us

The basis of the philosophy at Barbara’s Place is respect. This encompasses respect for all
children and all adults, whether they be teachers, whanau / families or visitors to our centre.
There is a very strong atmosphere of acceptance, and of valuing each person’s uniqueness.
We celebrate our collective interests and individual skills. We also highly value the diverse
ways in which each child and each adult choose to share their creativity, their insights and their wisdom.

The children at Barbara’s Place form the very centre of our focus and planning. We want every child to feel they have a special place, and to feel valued and accepted. Together we work to create an environment that we all love spending time in. We continually find the children’s thoughts and ideas innovative, inspiring and worthy of our focused consideration.

 

We like each child to have an influence on the atmosphere and the environment of our centre, it helps to make it a very special place to spend time in. We follow and are inspired by Te Whaariki (the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum). We are also inspired by the philosophies of Emmi Pikler and Magda Gerber. Within these guidelines we are committed to the life long benefits, creativity and emotional freedom that comes from a philosophy of free play for children. We believe that children’s personalities develop in the most natural and inspired way possible when their own minds and imaginations set the path. Each child brings us a slightly different way of seeing the world. It is this wonderful uniqueness that creates a truly special, ever evolving atmosphere of creativity and learning. At the heart of our philosophy of respect, is the presence of a primary and a secondary teacher for each child.

 

This enables a special relationship of trust to be formed between each child and a teacher. It is an essential part of helping children to feel relaxed and comfortable within a new environment. Once a child feels ‘at home’, they have the peace of mind to explore freely
in their environment. Likewise, a relationship of trust and sharing between primary teachers
and parents / whanau is truly valued. We want parents and whanau to feel just as comfortable, supported and relaxed  at Barbara’s Place, as the children and teachers do.