Brilliant Minds Early Childhood Centre

TeWhariki, the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum is the basis of our teaching. We aim to create welcoming, nurturing, home-like surroundings that have the potential to inspire children, where parents and whanau are treated as valued members of our community. At Brilliant Minds, we offer an environment where children understand the foundation of TeAoMaori, TeTiriti O Waitangi and acknowledge Maori as Tangata Whenua. We provide a rich bicultural environment that encourages children to appreciate New Zealand culture and way of life. We respect the diversity of cultures in our centre and strive to build respectful relationships among Whanau, Tamariki, and our educators. We acknowledge all ethnic groups by respecting their cultural identity, heritage and language. We ensure that all children have equal learning opportunities, irrespective of their age, ability, race, or ethnicity. Children learn through respectful, nurturing and calm environments.We derive inspiration from Te-Whariki (2017) where children are active participants in their own learning and develop reciprocal relationships with their teachers. We believe children have many ways to express themselves. They are encouraged to foster critical thinking by exploration and observation. We encourage our educators to respect a child's choices and value child initiated experiences. They challenge and provoke ideas through open-ended questions and allow a child to make mistakes and learn from them. The progress of the child's development and learning is documented, displayed and shared with parents. We aim to create a place for encounter and connection, dialogue and interaction.