Who We Are Us - Napier Kindergartens Hawke's Bay

Napier Kindergarten Association delivers exceptional early childhood education across 16 community-based kindergartens in Napier, Wairoa and Haumoana. Our 100 % qualified ECE teachers bring a deep commitment to best practice, professional standards, and inspiring learning outcomes for all of our children aged 2–5 years. Each kindergarten boasts spacious, lush outdoor learning environments. From shaded sandpits to water-play, gardens, and native plantings – inviting children to explore, create, and grow in nature-rich spaces. Rooted in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Napier Kindergartens honour Aotearoa’s bicultural heritage by weaving Māori values, language, and relationships into daily learning, fostering true partnership with whānau and community. As active Enviroschools, the Association embeds sustainability and environmental guardianship into everything, from organic gardening and composting to whānau-led conservation projects – instilling kaitiakitanga values for life from the very beginning.

Strong relationships with whānau and the wider community are central to our approach to learning. Families are actively involved in their child’s learning journey through celebrations, collaborative decision-making, and everyday connections. This partnership fosters a true sense of belonging and shared purpose, ensuring tamariki grow within a supportive, connected community.

We are equally committed to equity and inclusion, embracing and celebrating the unique strengths, cultures, and identities of every child. Our kindergartens are safe, welcoming spaces where all tamariki feel seen, valued, and empowered to thrive as their authentic selves. The impact of this commitment is clear in the confident, capable learners who leave kindergarten with a strong sense of identity, connection to people and place, and readiness for the next stage of their learning journey.

Philosophy:

Napier Kindergartens are inspired by Friedrich Froebel’s vision of kindergartens as a nurturing “garden” where tamariki grow through play, creativity, and connection with nature. We value the holistic development of every child – physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual – with play at the heart of learning. In Aotearoa, this philosophy blends with Te Whāriki, our national early childhood curriculum, which emphasises empowerment, whānau and community, relationships, and holistic development. We honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi by embracing Māori perspectives, fostering belonging, and respecting Papatūānuku, the natural world. Our kindergartens are community-based and not-for-profit, staffed by fully qualified kaiako who are dedicated to inclusive, play-based learning. Here, every child is valued, supported, and encouraged to grow as curious, creative, and connected learners.

Whakatauki:

‘Taku ahi tūtata
Taku mata kikoha’

When my fire is close, my eyes are keen
(when our passion is close to our hearts, it will grow stronger.)

Who we are

Philosophy:

Whakatauki:

Term Dates & Public Holidays

Term Dates & Public Holidays