About Us

Our History

In February 1985, a small group of parents and caregivers decided to set up a community crèche, which opened in June 1985 with one paid worker supported by parent helpers.

Over time, the crèche evolved into a fully professional education centre with qualified teaching staff. The community of parents and caregivers still owns and governs the Centre, and the community is still involved in its day-to-day running.

Thanks to the generosity of the Ministry of Education, Wellington City Council, the community, and the hard work of volunteers, new premises were constructed and opened by Hon. Steve Maharey, the Minister of Education, on 8 June 2007.

In 2012, we refurbished the centre with the installation of a wharenui, outdoor teaching and play areas, and other upgrades.

In 2015, we changed our name to Newtown Early Learning Centre to better reflect the importance we place on providing high-quality education and childcare for Wellington children. We also refreshed our ‘look’ and started making plans to further develop our outdoor area, with an exciting outdoor space to be set aside especially for our youngest children.

We continue to provide childcare and education of the highest standard through our talented teaching team, and the parents and whānau of our children still maintain daily involvement in the life of the Centre.

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Newtown Early Learning Centre offers the children of Wellington high-quality early childcare and education.

Our Philosophy

 

Management

  • We provide high-quality care and education for children aged one to five years

  • Our teaching staff are qualified, professional educators whose expertise and knowledge we value and trust

  • We provide our teaching staff with ongoing professional development

  • We maintain excellent child-to-teacher ratios

  • We keep staff turnover to a minimum in order to provide stability for the children

  • We acknowledge that parents and whānau are our children’s first and most important educators

  • We help and encourage parents and whānau to be involved in the education of their children at the Centre and at home

Teaching

  • Whakamana – We nurture and grow children’s mana

  • Kotahitanga – We believe children learn and develop in a holistic way

  • Ngā Hononga – We engage in respectful and reciprocal relationships with children/whānau

  • Whānau Tangata – We value and celebrate all the cultures of our centre’s children/whānau

  • Mana Atua – We facilitate positive and effective transitions for children and their whānau

  • Mana Whenua – We respect, uphold and celebrate Te Tiriti o Waitangi

  • Mana Tangata – We build a collaborative and positive teaching team

  • Kaitiakitanga – We encourage the children to protect and care for our environment

  • We welcome, expect and encourage parents and whānau to be involved in the running of the Centre

  • We expect the Centre to be managed in an efficient and professional manner

  • We occupy and manage purpose-built, well maintained premises

  • We provide the children and teaching staff with a wide range of quality resources and materials suitable for the education of young children

  • We keep childcare costs to a minimum without sacrificing the quality of our children’s care and education

  • We keep our policies and procedures under review, and meet all Ministry and council requirements to a high standard

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What is an incorporated society?

Newtown Early Learning Centre is a charitable organisation owned by the parents and whānau of enrolled children. Our community-based service charges lower fees than private services, and any profit is returned to the Centre.

Community-based services usually employ qualified teachers. Being community-based these services have a reputation for providing staff with better working conditions and pay than within the private sector .

Our parents work with qualified staff to govern and help run the service. It’s important that our parents can have a say in how our Centre is run for their children.

There are a number of different ways that parents can contribute. You can join the governance committee, volunteer your skills (building, gardening, music, etc) or attend our working bees. We are always keen for help with fundraising and grant applications.

You are invited to review our policies on an annual basis, and we also run a parent sub-committee dedicated to policy review and development.

All families are expected to participate in the running of the Centre and we welcome your input.

If you have any questions, please email the governance committee: committee@newtownelc.co.nz or speak to a kaiako.

Governance Committee Roles 2022
Chair
Head Teacher
Treasurer
Secretary
Whānau Liaison

Whānau Roles
Grants Coordinator
IT Support