Our teachers and educators

BEL Experienced teachers and educators

Nurturing. Inspiring. Experienced.

These three words best describe our teachers and home based educators and how they feel about your child’s wellbeing and early learning. Their role in the Barnardos Early Learning family is much more than a job to them. It’s a chance to positively influence the lives of children in their care and give them their best start in life.

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Our early childhood teachers

More than 90% of the teaching staff in our centres are either fully qualified with a Diploma in Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Education), hold a higher qualification or are in training for one. That means they have the best knowledge, experience and expertise when it comes to early childhood education, learning and care.

We devote time and energy to supporting our early childhood teachers. We give them training while they work, as well as professional learning and development opportunities. They’re guided by Te Whāriki - the NZ Early Childhood Education curriculum – and supported by local and national teams of early childhood experts. This means they can deliver the best early education in a way that suits your child’s learning preferences and individual needs.

What does this all mean? It means our teachers have the education, resources and tools to dedicate themselves to developing your child’s potential every day.

Find your nearest centre

Our home based educators

Barnardos Home Based Educators are nurturing, inspiring and experienced individuals who want to make a difference to the future of your child. Before they become Home Based Educators, they must work through an intensive orientation program to make sure they have sufficient early childhood experience and to understand the expectations of being an early learning educator. The Ministry of Education requires all Home Based Educators to have, or be studying towards a minimum of an NZAQ Level 4 qualification. Barnardos Home Based Educators can study for the Open Polytechnic Level 4 course free of charge. Monthly visits from a qualified teacher, programs of ongoing learning modules and first aid training all mean their experience is continually supported by the latest educational training.

Our educators are passionate people with the training and experience to give your child exceptional early learning experiences.

Learn more about Home Based Early Learning

Our environments

Environments that respect and reflect the world around us.

We think it’s important that our centres and educators’ homes reflect the world our children live in. It’s just as important to us that our teachers and educators work in environments where they can flourish and be the best they can be.

Every effort and thought goes into creating beautiful spaces for the children we care for. This reflects our belief that children deserve the very best and that their visual senses need to be inspired in their early years. Children are active learners, so we design our play spaces to be stimulating and offer children endless choices for imagination and fun.

Each Barnardos Early Learning Centre is designed and purpose built for Kiwi kids. Generous outdoor spaces let your child explore while innovative indoor spaces encourage their creativity to flourish – all while helping them to feel comfortable and secure.

Our home based educators’ homes give a reassuring home-away-from-home feel for your child. Their trips to local parks, libraries and playgroups also give your child a comforting link to their local community.

We believe it’s so important each environment supports your child’s emotional wellbeing to their understanding of their place in the world.

Smaller size, good ratios

Our adult-to-child ratios mean our teachers and educators can focus on your child’s individual needs and learning styles. In our centres, we fully comply with the Ministry of Education’s national standards for teacher to child ratios.

In our Home Based environments, one educator cares for a maximum of four children (with no more than two under two years old). This means they can give your child personalised care while allowing your child to develop strong bonds within the small group of children.

Connecting with whānau

Positive partnerships with you, your family and whānau are a key part of caring for your child. Having an open dialogue with you about your child will help our teachers and educators to best cater to your child’s unique personality, learning style and preferences.

You can be involved as much as your time allows – we love hearing about what your family did on the weekends, having special treasures brought in and having parents come in to talk and interact with teachers or educators.

We also provide regular communication to families about what your child is learning thanks to Storypark – our interactive portfolio tool.

“They are not just the teachers, you can see they care about the kids, you can see they care about the families"  

Helen, parent