About

There are a host of reasons why so many families choose Active Explorers Invercargill. Here are just a few of them:

• Ideally located in Invercargill’s CBD
• Primary caregiving/key teacher care system means children forge strong bonds with a key teacher
• Strong in NZSL (New Zealand Sign Language)
• Regular excursions in the local area
• Subsidised swimming programme for 4.5 year olds
• School holiday programme that consists of many different experiences/themes
• Fortnightly visits from a story teller from our local library
• Perform in Polyfest every year
• Celebrate birthdays, graduations, Easter, Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and other meaningful occasions
• Delicious meals, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and late snack
• Lunch box crew for our 5 year olds in preparation for school
• Respect and acknowledgement of te reo Maori and Tikanga
• Excellent teacher to child ratios (1:4 and 1:8 as opposed to Ministry requirements of 1:5 and 1:10)
• Four separate classrooms catering for each age and stage
• Vegetable garden in each outdoor area that the children help tend - these vegetables also contribute to our meals
• Multicultural, inclusive environment
• Focus on becoming more sustainable and have introduced wet bags
• Healthy Heart Rito Award

Active Explorers Invercargill has been awarded the Rito Healthy Heart for 2022-2024

The Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award is a free programme for early learning services, designed to help create a nourishing learning environment for tamariki.

There are three stages in the Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award journey: Rito, Whānau and Pā-Harakeke. Each award is made up of strands to complete with different themes.

Rito is the heart of the plant, where new beginnings start. It recognises commitment in founding a healthy eating and physical activity environment.

Whānau builds on the foundations set at Rito. It helps build and strengthen existing healthy eating and physical activity foundations at our centre.

Pā-Harakeke will weave healthy eating and physical activity practices sustainably into all aspects of our centre.

Active Explorers Invercargill Philosophy

We believe whanaungatanga are the foundation of learning therefore we make it a priority to build strong relationships with our akonga as individuals so we can purposefully provide an environment where unique and authentic learning takes place. This is crucial to every aspect of our profession as kaiako/kaimahi, and we expect a high level of respect from all members of the Active Explorers’ whānau.

We foster whanaungatanga by providing plenty of opportunities for our tamariki to establish and maintain respectful and authentic relationships while celebrating and honouring the diversity that each culture brings, enriching our Active Explorers’ whānau.

Through our commitment to ako, we encourage tamariki to nurture their curiosity, take risks, have fun, and embrace challenges in a rich environment. We are committed to ongoing professional development to further our knowledge and skills.

Using kotahitanga, our curriculum is reflective and ever evolving as our teams pay careful attention to the aspirations set by our whānau and kaiako and will create environments that support these and follow the interests of our akonga. With ukaipotanga (belonging) and oranga (wellbeing) at the forefront of our teaching. We celebrate success with our akonga and whānau while giving freedom to nurture and express their thoughts and feelings safely.

We are a team of dedicated professionals passionate about shaping young minds in their home-away-from-home to be curious, interdependent, socially competent and confident lifelong learners.