Our philosophy

Like our big sister, Seven Oaks School, we believe that by inspiring, engaging and nurturing tamariki, their natural inner brilliance will have the opportunity to develop and shine, setting them up as confident, capable and caring life-long learners.

Inspire

The Brilliant Curriculum is designed to develop the body, mind and spirit of every child and give them a strong voice in their learning and in the preschool environment. Our programme, culture and natural environment empowers and uplifts tamariki to grow their sense of self and their social skills.

Engage

Children live in the real world; they face real issues and have their own interests and abilities. The Brilliant Curriculum deeply engages every child in their learning, putting it into personally meaningful, practical, real-life contexts wherever possible. Core learning is woven throughout the programme, led by the child, and complemented by a range of options and personally selected projects.

Nurture

When students feel safe, heard and valued, they are open to positive learning. Research shows that great teachers achieve outstanding outcomes for children through strong interpersonal relationships. Our outstanding Kaiako have four key attributes in common:

• the ability to genuinely accept, trust and warmly care for every student without judgment;

• inner strength that allows them to hold their realness and self-authority in challenging situations;

• the ability to empathise with each student, to see and respond to their unique situation and experience;

• the ability to maintain a positive learning environment.

Brilliance

Brilliance is a quality available to anyone who commits to developing it. Brilliant people don’t fit into a box; they are open, confident, alive, and understand and love all of themselves. They know what they stand for and their brightness positively impacts everyone and everything around them.

We set our tamariki up to be happy, balanced, capable and successful, developing strong self-awareness, confidence, resilience, creativity and leadership abilities. Here’s how:

Child first

We value play pedagogy and a child-centred approach to education.

Holistic approach

We take a holistic approach to children’s physical, emotional, intellectual and intuition development.

Individual focus

We acknowledge and support the individuality of each child’s expressions of need and learning.

Foster creativity

We are committed to incorporating nature and enhancing creativity in our nurturing setting. We offer quality and developmentally appropriate resources, in a comfortable home-like atmosphere.

Love and respect

We strive to create a place of love and laughter, in a positive and calm setting. Each tamariki is respected, understood and valued.

Natural environment

We create thoughtful and imaginative environments, steeped in nature, so children feel a sense of belonging and are nurtured to learn and grow.

Involving whanau

We believe whanau are the primary educators of their own children, so prioritise a partnership approach, providing regular communications with parents and whanau.

Record and plan

Documenting tamariki’s development and learning contributes towards their sense of belonging and their whanau’s understanding. It also enables our kaiako to reflect and plan, resulting in a more meaningful experience.

Seven Oaks 7 strengths

(and how they link to Te Whariki curriculum)

Self-awareness

Strand 2 – Belonging | Mana whenua

Strand 1 – Wellbeing | Mana atua

Holistic awareness of ‘who I am’ – physically, emotionally, intellectually and intuitively, to develop and use all the innate abilities we were born with. This is the overarching goal of our Brilliant Curriculum.

Emotional intelligence

Strand 1 – Wellbeing | Mana atua

Now widely recognised as the most important factor in personal and professional success in adult life, emotional intelligence (EQ) development is at the core of Building Brilliance.

Resilience

Strand 1 – Wellbeing | Mana atua

The ability to be unaffected by, or to bounce back from, adverse events is crucial in these unpredictable times, so the factors that build strong resiliency are designed into Seven Oaks’ Empowering Environment.

Imagination/creativity

Strand 5 – Exploration | Mana aotūroa

According to Einstein, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution” – this belief is strongly fostered through Full Engagement Learning.

Co-operation/collaboration

Strand 3 – Contribution | Mana tangata

While competition divides and limits us, co-operation and collaboration utilises the unique contributions of many to achieve outstanding results. This is a key outcome of Socio-Literacy.

Ecological intelligence

Strand 2 – Belonging | Mana whenua

A deep connection with, and understanding of, the natural world, as well as the systems we need to maintain to uphold life on our planet are the focus of Eco-Literacy.

Responsibility

Strand 4 – Communication | Mana reo

The ability to respond positively rather than react to situations and make decisions that benefit oneself, others and the environment. This is an outcome of our Empowering Environment.