Wellington Kindergartens

What happens when a kindergarten becomes a hub for its local community?

Taitoko Kindergarten in Levin is part of a pilot project that has seen it form strong ties with the people and families around it. When Taitoko Kindergarten in Levin became apart of the Early Childhood Centre Based Parent Support and Development Project, Head Teacher Caryll Resink and her team adopted a whole new philosophy to their teaching.

This project, being trialled by the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Education, looks to turn kindergartens into a type of hub for the community to come together and form networks. Taitoko Kindergarten came on board with the project two and a half years ago and Caryll says the changes have been amazing.“We would hate to go back now; we’ve seen the difference it can make.”

"The kindergarten is located in an isolated part of Levin, it’s a good 20 minute walk to the shops and there is no bus service. The only other communitybuilding in the area is the local primary school, and in the past there was no common meeting point for members of the community. Caryll says they want the kindergarten to be seen as a hub for local families,with people welcome to drop in, even if they don’t have children at Taitoko.

“We want to be relevant in the community.” Because the project is still in the pilot stage, the Kindergarten files a quarterly report to the Ministry of Education outlining how different aspects of the initiative are progressing and different activities that have taken place at Taitoko. When the initial proposal to be part of the project was put together, it outlined four expected outcomes, which are updated with each report. These expected outcomes include:· a programme that supports effective parenting;· increased participation in ECE by children and their families;· development of connections between a child’s learning at home and· the ECE centre and parents supported to link to wider social service and community networks. 

As well as working to these new goals, the Kindergarten still runs its scheduled sessions, and Caryll says over time the face of these sessions has also changed, with more parents staying to join in and help. “There are parents now who want to come and stay, it’s created a family  atmosphere at the kindergarten.”

To allow for more indepth work towards these goals, Caryll is given a certain amount of ‘release time’ each week where she can meet to talk with parents or network with other groups or organisations in Levin.The reason for this networking is to support parents who may approach a teacher at the Kindergarten with a particular problem or request. They can then be referred in the right direction for help. “We’ve had a big focus on listening to what our parents are saying, what ideas they have and support they request,” says Caryll. “They might reveal to you something that you can pick up on and provide help.” To help them create more of a hub environment, some changes to Taitoko Kindergarten have been made over the past few years, including the creation of a whānau room, and a bigger kitchen.

Senior Teacher, Margaret Bleasdale, who has helped with the project at Taitoko since it began, says it’s a great way for a kindergarten to be instrumental within a community. “It has been an opportunity for the Kindergarten teachers to do what they do all the time but do it in a way that’s more effective.”

Also, in the past few years,Taitoko Kindergarten has created a position for cultural kaimahi – community people who come into the kindergarten and help with the children but who are also there for the parents to speak to.  Margaret says these positions were introduced to create stronger ties with Maori and Pacific Island groups in the area, and they have been very successful.

While some aspects of the project had to be planned for in advance, Caryll says there have been many unexpected positive outcomes over the years. “Something we’re seeing quite a lot of now is networks being formed with people. They pass baby things around and are babysitting for each other and meeting outside of kindergarten hours. There’s some spinoff that may not have happened in the past if it was just a traditional kindergarten.”

Over time a netball team has been formed, made up of parents and teachers, parents have taken cooking lessons, a coffee group is flourishing, and of course children get to spend much more time learning with their parents around. Caryll says three staff members who recently started at Taitoko have commented on the strong family atmosphere, and the benefits of having parents around during sessions. 

The outcomes of this kind of initiative arelong lasting for parents, their children and teachers at the kindergarten, says Margaret. “The benefit for the children is that their parents are now linked in with their learning and the parents have a better understanding of how children at that age learn.” And Caryll says often the teaching team are talking about how this kind of project fits in with their philosophy of teaching and education. “It’s changed our teaching role and our view of what we’ve traditionally done… it’s been a huge shot in the arm for the community; amazing and challenging, quite a journey really.”

There are other early childhood centres around the country that are also taking part in this pilot project. The projects are currently being evaluated and in 2009 the Ministry of Education will assess the success.

Read another Wellington Kindergartens case-study: Maraeroa Pasifika Project