Curriculum
At The Learning Lane we work using the Aotearoa Early Childhood Curriculum “Te Whāriki”. Underpinning Te Whāriki is the vision that all children are “competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society” (MOE, 2017).
The four principles of Te Whāriki are:
- Empowerment/Whakamana – Empowering children to learn and grow.
- Holistic Development Kotahitanga – Reflecting the holistic way children learn and grow.
- Family and community Whānau tangata – Including the wider world of family and community as an integral part of the curriculum.
- Relationships/Ngā hononga – Children learn through responsive and reciprocal relationships with people, places, and things.
We are guided by our centre philosophy which values whanaungatanga/a family focus, and reinforces the attributes of aroha/love, manaaki/care and awhina/help.
We have an assessment process for each child, which helps us identify their strengths and interests, and foster their disposition to be a highly, self-directed learner.
We use ‘learning stories’, an approach developed to compliment Te Whāriki, our early childhood curriculum. Learning stories communicate the interests and dispositions of each child, providing a trajectory of experiences and learning outcomes.
These stories will give you a ‘snapshot’ of the learning that is happening here and how we work to support and extend this.
At The Learning Lane we value and welcome Whānau input and would also like to incorporate family/whānau stories, which could include photos and notes about things that are happening outside the centre.
We encourage families to take their child’s portfolio home any time to share their stories and celebrate your child’s learning.