67 Main South Road, Riccarton, Christchurch 8042
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Nests stands for Nurturing Environments & Sustainable Teaching
Cathy Hide has been involved in training early childhood teachers for over 30 years. Having visited over a thousand centres Cathy had a good idea of what she believed was an ideal centre. The most important was to operate as a home rather than separate licenses where siblings were kept apart.
In 2010 Cathy and her husband Peter decided to convert some homes and set up a small franchise to enable teachers to own and operate their own early learning centre.
There are now over 200 families in Christchurch who are part of the nests family at any time and hundreds of past nest families
Nurturing children is vital if they are to grow to be healthy happy individuals. Nests centres are small with one licence that means babies toddlers and young children are able to interact with each other. which is particularly important for families with more than one child at the centre and for children without siblings
Environmental/taiao factors are of utmost importance at Nests Centres. We have a large backyard with a vegetable garden and fruit trees for tamariki to harvest food and then prepare it into snacks. Although we have a large play area with a fun climbing equipment, a sandpit and small native bush area, we have regular excursions to Marshland Domain which is next door. Our indoor taiao has been decorated to be homelike and restful for tamariki while offering a variety of spaces and equipment to play. We have a separate enclosed sleep area for the babies/pēpē
Sustainable schools are about looking after our future by ensuring economic, social and environmental dimensions are in balance. The sustainability factor is considered with everything we do from recycling to sourcing equipment. We believe children learn by example and by modelling good practices they will be inspired to think about how to use our resources.
Teaching by well qualified Kaiako is based on the Early childhood curriculum; Te Whāriki. Tamariki are assigned a primary kaiako for the entire time they attend Nests Centres. This kaiako will liaise with parents to ensure integration between home and the centre. The Kaiako also have a major input into the centre’s news and the child’s learning journey.
"Awesome preschool. Such a great family environment and incredible staff. Takes the worry out of leaving the kids"
"All of my children went to nests and we absolutely loved it. The teachers are warm nurturing and welcoming and the children had so much fun. Even though they are all at school now they often mention their nest centre"
