Footsteps will be a place where mokopuna feel safe and secure, knowing that they are loved unconditionally and are precious to God. Children will come to know Jesus as their friend, understanding how much He loves them and that they can talk to Him through prayer and through exploring Bible stories and Christian values.

We are committed to upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi by providing a culturally responsive learning environment that supports tamariki in their learning, ensuring equitable opportunities for all.

We celebrate the diverse culture, languages and identities of mokopuna and their whānau in our service. Our aim is to build a community of acceptance so that mokopuna and whānau will have a sense of belonging, feel connected and be able to develop a strong sense of their own identity.

Our focus will be to support mokopuna holistically to develop their social and emotional competencies, physical development, cognitive, cultural and spiritual wellbeing in ways that will build on children’s existing strengths within a rich, stimulating and creative learning environment.

Our learning priorities

• Mokopuna will know that Jesus is their friend through experiencing loving relationships, karakia/prayer, waiata/songs, Bible ngā purakau/stories, and exploring Christian values.
• In partnership with whānau, we will support mokopuna mana motuhake to take pride in, celebrate and share their cultural identities, creating a place where they feel their culture is respected and they have a strong sense of belonging.
• Mokopuna mana atua (wellbeing) will be fostered and grown holistically, with a focus on supporting children’s physical development and growing their social and emotional competencies.
• We will provide a rich learning environment that fosters creativity, supports mokopuna to make sense of their world and encourages the development of foundational oral language, literacy and maths.

Planning processes and assessment
We believe that all childrens’ strengths, interests, languages, cultures, aspirations, dispositions and skills, as well as those of their whānau will be strengthened by individual plans which are contributed to by teachers, children and their whānau.

We create individual plans for each child and regularly revisit these to evaluate if a child’s goal has been met. Learning stories will be used to positively describe children’s learning journey (successes, challenges and explorations), their dispositions for learning and indicate possibilities for ongoing and further learning pathways. Learning stories will be relevant to the current goal/focus for each child.