Unfurl
their little
wings and let
them soar!

Pre-school education in Greytown
that’s as dynamic as the world around us

Blue School Approach

What we believe in

At Blue School, we believe we can make an incredible difference to how children flourish and succeed. We believe every child is truly individual and there is no one, single way to teach them.

All children have innate curiosities and an enormous capacity to learn. We foster every child’s natural talents, interests and strengths and teach them in ways that suit them, and with content that excites them.

We believe in drawing from a wide and rich pool of resources and approaches to ensure children’s own needs are met. We believe they will truly fly in the right environment, with the right questions, prompts and guidance from the right teachers.

Our philosophy is evidence-based, and our approach dynamic, so that we are always open to opportunity, new research, new understandings. We welcome every opportunity to enhance and organically grow our offerings.

Our philosophy

The world has changed significantly since we all went to school. Our children are entering a dynamic and ever-changing world. We believe education must be about getting them engaged and excited about life-long learning. Hence, at the forefront of the Blue School approach is our need to prepare children for a very different way of learning.

Quite simply, our approach centres around leading each child on a daily journey of discovery, where they are excited, stimulated and learning naturally and organically. Inquiry-based learning underpins every aspect of our teaching and learning. It is not a subject in itself – it is a way.

We have the freedom to select and deliver only the very best programmes and approaches from both here and overseas, and all we choose underpins this philosophy.

We look for programmes and approaches that support our philosophy of building children’s skills in:

collaboration… communication… creativity… confidence

… all skills we believe they will need in abundance both now and always.

These ‘Four Cs’ are the very heart of our philosophy.

Specific education philosophies/curriculum include…

Inquiry-based learning

Our teaching is supported entirely by an inquiry learning approach, where our teachers skilfully facilitate children’s learning. The inquiry process sees them enable and support children to explore, research, discuss, create and reflect on their own curiosities and questions.

Reggio Emilia – Project-Based Approach

This Italian philosophy champions the principles of collaboration (with others) and interaction (with the environment). It views the child as competent, curious and interested in connecting the world around them. Children learn about the world around them through gathering and sorting through knowledge.

Teachers work alongside children as they undertake projects that might extend over several days or weeks. What begins with a question about the moon, develops into an investigation of the solar system and a then a project about space.

Children are encouraged to work together, respect each other and problem solve as they work through their projects and clarify their own understanding of themselves, the world and people around them.

Te Whāriki – our woven mat

New Zealand’s own framework for early childhood education, Te Whāriki, is underpinned by a vision for children who are competent and confident learners; healthy in mind, body and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they made a valued contribution to society.

Te Whāriki states that children’s learning takes place within a socio-cultural context, and emphasises the learning partnership between kaiako/teachers, parents and whānau/families.

Te Whāriki and its strands are seamlessly woven throughout our Blue School programme.