BabySpace Philosophy

BabySpace’s Curriculum is influenced and inspired by Te Whariki, Te Tiriti O Waitangi and the Pikler Philosophy.

Te Whariki our Early Childhood Curriculum, identifies the importance of developing respectful, responsive and reciprocal relationships between teachers, children and their whanau, as a crucial element in the provision of quality care.

We acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of New Zealand/Aotearoa. We have a commitment to celebrating and supporting children and families to be comfortable and confident in their own culture, while also recognising and respecting our bicultural heritage. This is supported through te reo Māori me ōna tikanga through language, waiata and the incorporation of appropriate cultural practices.

Our practice and beliefs relating to the care and education of infants and toddlers is also inspired by many aspects of the Pikler Philosophy. For us this means respecting infants and toddlers for their confidence, competence and ability to make choices, be initiators, explorers and self learners. In practice this means we value freedom of movement, allowing children to develop physically at their own pace. We support children to solve their problems by having a trusted adult close by to offer support without unnecessary intervention. All children have a relationship with a consistent trusted adult who knows the child’s personality and needs.

The BabySpace environment is designed to provide for the diverse needs, abilities and interests of infants and toddlers. We believe young children learn through observation, imitation and exploration, and through play they demonstrate, practice and refine their skills. Therefore we place importance on the learning that occurs from children following their own interests supported by attentive teachers working in partnerships with whanau. Exploration, curiosity and creativity is supported within a well resourced safe environment with a range of open ended materials and resources that support all areas of the curriculum, with a emphasis on learning in the natural environment.

BabySpace teachers provide (an environment) or (experiences and resources) that enable young children to build positive dispositions to learning and strong foundations of literacy knowledge and skills. We view literacy as including language acquisition, mark making, engaging with texts, creative self expression, ICT, social and emotional literacy. Teachers support the developing social competence of infants and toddlers by modelling respectful relationships, carefully considering the language used to promote successful interactions and positive behaviours and by being attuned to the needs of individual children.

The teachers view BabySpace as a community of learners valuing the Maori concept of Ako; recognising the individual knowledge of tamariki, whanau and teachers that they may bring to learning interactions. BabySpace teachers view themselves as reflective lifelong learners, acquiring knowledge and skills through a variety of professional development opportunities.

Kohikohia ngā kākano, whakaritea te pārekereke, kia puāwai ngā hua Gather the seeds, prepare the seedbed carefully, and you will be gifted with abundance of food.