Our Program

At Open Spaces the natural environment is our 'third teacher' and the framework for play and learning. We believe that nature provides the best provocations to promote physical, emotional, social and cognitive learning and development. Both our inside and outdoor environments reflect this passion for nature: lush gardens, flowers, bush walks, water, fire, animals, sticks, stones, mud, secret spaces and wide-open spaces! This is education the way it used to be - and the way it should be.

We follow an emergent curriculum that responds to the interests of our children and utilise the 'project approach' to deepen and expand learning experiences. Purerehua is our 'transition to school' group and here tamariki spend time each day pursuing learning goals that draw together dispositions, skills and knowledge from across the curriculum. The Wild Woods is integral to our curriculum and is the 'engine room' for learning experiences that can be further developed back at the centre.

We are a mixed-age centre and actively encourage the mixing of age-groups to enable Tuakana / Teina relationships to flourish. We value interdependence over independence.

While our eyes are wide-open to the world around us, we value the deep connections to our local community and strive to ensure that this sense of belonging and identity is infused throughout our learning journey.