Whānau Manaaki is a non-profit association providing free early childhood education and community services for whānau across Aotearoa. We offer high-quality teaching and learning with our 100% qualified and registered kindergarten teachers and our skilled and trained educators.

Whānau Manaaki provides administrative, management and property management support to over 100 kindergartens across Aotearoa, supporting educational leadership and professional development to over 800 teaching staff and educators.

A focus on innovation and excellence supports our teachers and educators to provide for the needs of children and their families.

Around 5000 tamariki are enrolled in our kindergartens, and over 80 children are enrolled with our Pasifika-focused Etu Ao home-based services. 

Whānau Manaaki children get a great start to their formal education in a caring community enrionment. Each kindergarten offers it's own individual programme, created around community interests along with Te Whāriki- New Zealand's early childhood cirriculum. 

We’re working hard to meet the changing needs of families, with options of longer hours and greater flexibility, while preserving the things that make the kindergarten approach so special.

We welcome parent involvement, and many of our parents come on trips, share a skill, help with fundraising, or just spend time with us. We welcome parents to share their culture and language and feel that family involvement adds to the richness of our programme. 

Community Support

Whānau Manaaki gets involved in our communities. If we can help, we will. We do many things for our families, from holding giveaway days, to supporting families with supplies so they can afford a birthday party to celebrate their 5-year-old heading to school. 

We also work with many partner organisations to provide additional support.

We encourage people from under-represented groups to train as teachers, so that our teaching workforce more accurately represents Aotearoa New Zealand. We have a programme to support these students, so they are set up for success.

We advocate for children, going to Parliament to seek changes to legislation that affects children and families, including in areas such as housing, welfare, alcohol and drug addiction and debt management.

We are involved in research, so our teachers remain current in their practice and how they work.

When presented with an opportunity, if we can, we say yes. This willing attitude has led to us to being involved in everything from art exhibitions to Samoan traditional tattooing and book publishing in Pacific languages.

When you enrol with us, you become part of something much bigger than an early childhood education service!

In the video below our Kaitiaki o Kaupapa Māori talks about Te Whāriki Early Childhood Curriculum, the bicultural framework for early childhood services in Aotearoa.