The Southland Kindergarten
Association provides an effective, high quality Early Childhood Education
service that is affordable and accessible to all families.
Our 21 Kindergartens are in every community - Invercargill, Gore, Te Anau,
Riverton, Winton, Longbush, Drummond and Bluff.
We have been helping children prepare for school and develop their abilities
for over 75 years.
Our Programme
The Kindergarten programme is based on learning through play and follows
the Ministry of Education Early Childhood Curriculum 'Te Whariki'. Teachers
provide a wide range of experiences and resources designed to enrich and
enhance your child's learning and development.
Teachers support, encourage and motivate children through play to try new experiences and develop new skills and knowledge.
Our Structure
Kindergarten is a non-profit organisation, governed by an elected Board
of Governors. Parents are elected to individual kindergarten committees
which support the day-to-day running of the local kindergarten.
Parents are also encouraged to be involved in the kindergarten programmes by helping in sessions with the children.
Our Staff
All our teachers hold a Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood Education)
or its equivalent as a minimum qualification. Most hold a Bachelor of
Education in Early Childhood Education. They are all registered with the
New Zealand Teacher's Council.
Teachers are guided by and appraised against the Professional Standards for Kindergarten Teachers. This ensures high standards are maintained.
About our sessional day
Sessions are offered in the morning and the afternoon. Duration and time
may vary at each kindergarten. We use a waiting list system for enrolment.
Entry age is dependent on the number of children on the waiting list.
Children should be enrolled by their second birthday. Before your child
starts kindergarten, our staff will invite you and your child to the Kindergarten
so both of you can start to feel at home with your new kindergarten.
About our Kindergarten day
We have the Kindergarten day model at several of our Kindergartens. At
these Kindergartens children can be enrolled for six hours per day. Parents
can choose the number of days their children attend and at some they can choose
just to attend for morning or afternoons the same as a sessional Kindergarten.
These Kindergartens either have an extra teacher or lower group sizes.
How do you enrol?
Either visit your local Kindergarten, or contact Southland Kindergarten
Association on 214 0237 and we’ll help you with the enrolment process.
Funding & Fees
All kindergartens are licensed Early Childhood Centres and receive bulk
funding from the Ministry of Education. Over 90% of this funding goes
towards teacher salaries. If you bring your 20 Free Hours to Kindergarten,
you will not be charged a fee. If you do not bring 20 Free Hours, the
fee is $4 per hour. Some Kindergarten committees also do projects as a
fun way to socialise and raise a bit of extra money for special things
at their kindergarten.
What We Do At Kindergarten
Kindergarten is a quality learning environment. Learning through play
means that the children have lots of fun while learning and developing
new skills. Visit any Kindergarten and you will see the wide range of
activities and resources the children are involved with each day.
Southland Kindergartens are the best preparation for school. Click here to contact us.
