We established Prebbleton Childcare in the year 2000 with the dream of creating a beautiful space for the youngest members of our community to be nurtured, cared for and educated. In the early days Prebbleton was a humble farming community on the outskirts of Christchurch. Over the years we have grown with our community opening our Nursery in 2005 and our Kindergarten in 2010.
We believe it is important for children to feel secure and valued when in our care. It is our ongoing vision to create 'The Next Best Place to Home'... home representing a place of sanctuary and comfort , a place where we can be with our family, relax, laugh, be heard and be accepted. This notion of home underpins the service we offer our families.
We feel it is important for children to engage with and explore a natural environment and to have fun while doing so. With this in mind we offer large, well considered play spaces, plenty of natural resources, large trees (attracting bird life) and an earthy colour palette throughout (to reflect our rural roots). We have organic gardens, chickens that lay eggs, rabbits, guinea pigs and budgies. Our pets are apart of our centre family.
We understand it is essential to have teachers who are warm, caring and demonstrate a passionate commitment to teaching children to be 'lifelong learners' all while fostering strong relationships with children and families. We have carefully selected our teaching team because they are able to demonstrate these qualities that are so important to our service.
With this in mind we hope you feel like you have come home when you walk through our door! We warmly welcome you and your family to our service...
~ Melissa, Rodger, Gem & Mel
Our
Story
Our
Nursery
As well as servicing the beautiful community of Prebbleton, Prebbleton Nursery is only a 5 minute drive from Hornby, Halswell, Lincoln & Templeton, making it a fantastic option for families in our surrounding communities.
Prebbleton Nursery is one of a kind because we are a purpose built centre designed only for children under 3 years of age. We are licensed for 35 children and are divided into 2 core areas; The Infant Room and The Toddler Room.
Prebbleton Nursery draws its philosophy from Reggio, Pikler, RIE and Playcentre early childhood development philosophies. We've identified what we believe to be the most optimal strands of these philosophies and we apply them to our everyday teaching and Nursery environment.
Our incredible teaching team sets us apart from many centres. Over half the Nursery teaching team have been with Prebbleton Childcare for over a decade. Our teachers applied teaching practice is of the highest quality and their interactions with children are exceptional. You only need to spend a few minutes in the Nursery to see the delightfully warm and playful, reciprocal and respectful relationships between teacher and the children.
If your child is over 3 years then Prebbleton Preschool www.prebbletonpreschool.co.nz
or Prebbleton Kindergarten www.prebbletonkindergarten.co.nz will be a good option for you.
We offer a 1:4 ratio in the Infant Room. Our teachers follow individual routine requirements as requested by parents. Our experienced teachers offer calm and attentive supervision. Greater learning experiences over and above routines are facilitated for the children, and one-on-one interactions between teacher and child are a priority, leading to more robust, more nurturing and reciprocal relationships between teacher and child.
We invite babies and toddlers to actively participate in caregiving activities like nappies, kai time, bottles and nap time rituals and give them our full attention during these activities. This inclusion and focused attention nurtures our teacher-child relationship, providing children the sense of security they need to be able to separate and engage in self-directed play.
We allow children to develop motor and cognitive skills naturally according to their innate timetables by offering them free play and movement opportunities in an enriching environment, rather than teaching, restricting or otherwise interfering with these organic processes. Our role in development is primarily trust.
Your baby will be busy learning new things about themselves and those around them. They will have fun reaching developmental milestones and exploring social skills alongside others. Listening to stories, singing, playing games, participating in art & enjoying messy play help develop language and vocabulary, new concepts, movement and sensory motor skills.
The Nursery has a separate inside and natural outside area. This ensures your baby’s freedom to explore and interact with teachers and the environment with no interference from older children. It is a place where parents are assured their baby will be safe and secure
The
Infant
Area
The
Toddler
Area
We work on a 1:5 Ratio in The Toddler Area
Two year old children have unique needs that differ from babies and from older preschool children. This is the time in a toddlers life when they begin understand and master the world around them.
We encourage children to express their emotions by openly accepting and acknowledging them and we recognise that children need confident, emphatic leaders and clear boundaries.
Our approach values your toddler as strong, capable and resilient; rich with wonder and knowledge. Every toddler brings with them deep curiosity and potential and this innate curiosity drives their interest to understand their world and their place within it. When weaving this all together we believe toddlers are capable of constructing their own learning!
We focus on teaching our 2 year old's values and qualities that we believe are important. These include kindness, empathy & patience.
The development of social skills is important at Nursery, along with the skills to work co-cooperatively with others and to understand basic concepts about rules, rights and fairness. This is essential knowledge for all children and is important in your toddlers lead-up and transition to Preschool or Kindergarten.
We understand the power of our modeling and recognise that our children are learning from us through our every word and action about love, relationships, empathy, generosity, gratitude, patience, tolerance, kindness, honesty and respect. Most profoundly, they’re learning about themselves, their abilities, and their worth, and their place in the world.
