Learn, connect, flourishWe are a well established early childcare centre that has provided education and care for the last 30 years in Dunedin. As a mixed age centre we value the different learning styles each child brings to our centre.
We are licensed for 35 children from 0-5 years. We are a not for profit community and stand alone who work alongside our board of trustees. We encourage strong positive relationships between kaiako, children and whānau. At Otago Childcare Centre it is a place where we encourage our children to learn, connect, flourish. |
Our StoryThe Otago Childcare Centre became an Incorporated Society on 24th October 1986.
Since June 1987, the Centre has been located at 22 Ross Street. The original purpose of the Centre was to cater for children and parents employed by Government Departments. This has now changed, enabling children from all walks of life to attend. |
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Read Our Philosophy
Koru GroupOur Koru Group is a programme purposely designed for our eight eldest four year olds. This programme supports the children in building the skills that will support them to transition to school. Some of these skills are confidence, resilience, independence, self-help skills and more.
This is a child led Bush Walk and as the kaiako we follow the children’s lead and offer them support if needed. The children are engaging in the Te o Māori worldview as kaitiaki and have a strong focus on developing dispositions for learning and social competence and are relevant and meaningful to the child to being a kaitiaki. Click below to find out more about the Town Belt Kaitiaki. |
culture and communityWe have a weekly engagement with our local rest home residents. All our children are part of this engagement and it is reciprocal.
We are always looking at ways to engage with what is happening in Dunedin. We are active with participants with Keep New Zealand Beautiful, Town Belt Kaitiaki programme, Terra cycle New Zealand, local community events. |
Discover the Journey of LearningIn a play-based curriculum, children are able to choose experiences based on the current interests and learning dispositions.
Learning experiences such as creative arts, literacy, numeracy, social studies, science, etc, are presented to children through our play-based learning curriculum. Kaiako embrace children to navigate their social and emotional skills as they make sense of the world around them. |
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KaiAll meals are provided for children at OCC. The menu is planned by our Cook and Manager and implements the guidelines and recommendations of the Heart Foundation. We provide a winter and a summer menu for our children so that they can experience a variety of seasonal foods. Meal times are a social time at the Centre and a great learning opportunity for children. The young children are given support and encouraged towards self-help skills, such as setting the table and using cutlery.
Any dietary requirements, allergies or food preferences will be catered for in consultation with the Manager, teaching team and cook. |
Teacher RatiosOtago Childcare Centre is a mixed aged group setting. We operate within the Ministry's ratios. We are licensed for 35 children and this lets children have small group experiences.
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Centre Operating TimesThe Centre is open from 7.30 am — 6.00 pm Monday to Friday. We are closed weekends and statutory holidays.
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