About us

Learning Land is a privately owned and operated early childhood centre situated in the heart of the beautiful city of Nelson. The centre opened in July 2000 and has established an excellent reputation within the Nelson community. Children aged two to six years old attend our centre. Each session is a group of 25 children with a team of four qualified, registered teachers. This favourable ratio of teachers to children enables us to build respectful and reciprocal relationships with our children and their whanau forming the foundation of our centre philosophy and teaching practice.

Our Philosophy

Learning Land is a safe and caring environment that fosters social competence. Our vision is to be an inspiring community of teachers and learners, celebrating and sharing the cultures of our centre. Our Mission is to form strong and authentic relationships with children and their whanau so that we can all be confident, connected, actively involved lifelong learners supporting our values for teachers, children, families and management.
Teachers are strongly committed to ongoing professional development.

Our curriculum

Our curriculum is based on the NZ early childhood Curriculum Te Whariki. Below is a summary of how we incorporate the principles and strands of Te Whariki.

The four Principles of Te Whariki

Empowerment/Whakamana:
We empower children to learn and grow in a group setting by getting to know each child, valuing their interests and ideas, and by encouraging them to get to know and value one another too. The freedom to play is important and valued.
Holistic Development/Kotahitanga:
We recognise the holistic way that children develop their cognitive, physical, emotional, spiritual, social and cultural attributes.
Family and Community/Whanau Tangata:
Parents are acknowledged as the child’s first teacher and the people who know their child the best. Establishing a meaningful and collaborative relationship with parents is paramount to respecting the aspirations held by whanau for their child.
Relationships/Ngā Hononga:
Kaiako/teachers are committed to offering positive encouragement, warmth and acceptance of the children in our care. Children make sense of their world through the relationship between people, places and things

The five strands of Te Whariki

Wellbeing/Mana Atua:
Each child’s individuality is respected and time is taken to understand the child within the context of their whanau/family. The concept of Aroha is used for children to develop a sense of connection, responsibility, empathy and justice with everyone looking after everyone.
Belonging/Mana Whenua:
Children’s play is valued as meaningful learning and they are trusted to approach learning that interests them using the concept of Ako (reciprocal learning). Children move from co-dependence to independence as they grow and develop using the concept of tuakana teina where older children help care for younger children
Contribution/Mana Tangata:
Children’s knowledge, skills and dispositions are developed through our curriculum. Key areas of emphasis are emotional resilience (courage), problem-solving (curiosity), challenging learning experiences (giving things a go, taking risks), nurturing creativity holistically (persevering) and developing a wide range of skills in a fun way (playfulness)
Communication/Mana Reo:
Opportunities for both group and solo play, discussing ideas and revisiting learning is encouraged. Children have opportunities to share their panui (news) and mihi (introducing themselves and their family) with the group
Exploration/Mana Aotūroa:
Children’s emerging interests and ideas are woven into our curriculum. We foster respect for the natural world using our tree, composting, worms, growing edible plants, caring for our pets, recycling, using resources thoughtfully and having regular local excursions. There are opportunities to experience new and familiar things.