Jane Corrigan
Centre Manager

Ngaio Infants and Toddlers

Our Ngaio infant and toddler centre is located at 9 Tarikaka Street, in an attractive railway cottage. Our mission is to offer a nurturing, flexible and peaceful environment. The centre is licensed for 25 children under two, offering full-time education and care in carefully thought out spaces. Our centre is set in attractive and natural surroundings which have been enhanced by the use of driftwood, mosaics and a native garden. We are committed to connecting children with nature and reducing our impact on the world.

Our peaceful Caregiving as Curriculum approach to teaching and learning is one of utmost respect for the child. Inspired by the work of Emmi Pikler and Magda Gerber, we have created a peaceful environment which allows children to discover as much as possible on their own. Each child has a primary and secondary caregiver.

This provides them with the comfort of knowing a familiar adult is close by and fully present, sensitively observing their cues and gestures. The child looks forward to the next care moment where they will be engaged in an intimate dance of co-operation and togetherness with their caregiver. This is a place where relationships are the key to everything else that goes on. 

We offer an innovative programming system which celebrates individual children’s interests and strengths in their journey of learning and development. Each child has a profile book which their primary caregiver adds to with stories about their interests and development. We also use an online system called Educa which means that parents have a choice if they would like to be able to access stories and photos of their children through an online system, a great way to stay in touch!

Our centre has 'parent conversations' twice each year. These are a special time where parents are invited to come and meet with their childs primary teacher. They share stories about their child and the teachers respond with a written summary of the childs individual learning and development in the centre over the previous 6 months. This is not to replace day to day interaction with families but to provide a focussed time to share.

Parents are also welcomed to attend workshops provided by the teaching team at Ngaio, our early childhood institute or by an outside speaker. These workshops provide new knowledge for familes and support parents in areas that are of current interest. So far we have had workshops such as, food & nutrition, self regulation, child behaviour, fathering, ukulele and much more!

Our children are guaranteed a space at our Ngaio centre around the time of their second birthday. Our centres are right next door to each other which makes for a smooth transition.

Parent reflection:

 "I looked at a number of childcare facilites when it was time to go back to work and I thought I would just have to settle, until I came to Childspace. The staff were so warm and welcoming, they instantly put me at ease. I felt comfortable that my precious baby would be loved and nurtured".

"Childspace is the most amazing daycare! Our son was 5 months when he started and is now one year old. He has so many friends and the environment and teachers are so wonderful and caring, his primary teacher is the most incredible teacher and friend to us".

"We feel so fortunate to have our two children at Childspace. It is such an amazing feeling knowing that when we drop them off for the day, they are getting the attention, care and love that we are not able to give them while we are at work. It is such a calm and nurturing environment, we would not leave our children anywhere else! Nothing compares to Childspace".