FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS?
Do you offer 20 hours ECE?
Yes, we offer the Government’s 20 subsidised hours for children aged between 3-5 years. This is available for up to six hours per day.
What age do you accept children from?
Nature Preschool welcomes children from 3 months old up to 6 years – school age.
Each infant has their own key teacher who cares for them. Our teachers also work closely with you and your whanau to ensure we meet your aspirations for your child.
Our centre is small enough to ensure that each child has a personalised and attentive transition into Nature Preschool, and then a focussed and full transition into primary school.
What do I need to bring?
Children bring their own morning tea and lunch while we provide a healthy and nutritious afternoon tea which the children help to make. We provide sunblock, wipes and bedding for our sleeping children. Nappies and infant formula are to be provided by parents. A spare set of named clothes is also a good idea.
Children who participate in the outside classroom need to have appropriate clothing. (We believe in the saying, “There is no such thing as bad weather – just bad clothing choices” – Alfred Wainwright.)
In the summer, children need to have a sunhat and clothing that covers their shoulders, and good functional footwear for climbing. For winter and wet weather, a good raincoat, wet weather pants and gumboots, along with jacket and hat, for our frosty mornings.
What are your opening hours?
We are open 7:30 am – 5:00 pm Monday to Friday, and we are open during all school holidays. We are closed only on statutory holidays.
Do you have a school readiness program?
Yes, we have an amazing school readiness/transition to school program for our 4-year-old children, to help them build on self-help and independence skills. We work in partnership with our local primary schools, to ensure an easy and smooth transition between Nature Preschool and primary school.
A major advantage we offer in our school readiness program is our exclusive parent portal which uses a KIWI invention and award-winning system called Learning Roots and ShootsTM . This clever online tool visualizes your child’s entire holistic learning and beautifully illustrates this as a growing and ever-changing tree. This has proven to be a very useful “head-start” for your child when graduating from preschool and starting primary school. We are the only centre in Hawkes Bay to offer this exclusive visualisation of your child’s learning and development. Click here to read more ….
