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Welcome from our Feilding Centre Manager
Allie Riddy
Kia ora whānau, I’m Allie. I have a Bachelor of Education in Early Years (birth to eight) and was fortunate enough to complete my study at Massey University College of Education.
I am passionate about supporting families within early learning centres to ensure we understand each child for their full potential and as part of the whānau they belong to. Since I became a qualified kaiako, the greatest privilege in my role is serving our families, tamariki, kaiako, and community.
I believe partnerships between whānau, tamariki and kaiako are what truly makes a difference in a child’s early learning journey. I have been inspired by RIE principles as well as the health model Te Whare Tapa Whā where not one area of development stands alone, we need to embrace all areas of a child’s growth and development (hauora) to encourage them to reach their potential.
I am passionate about ensuring our tamariki grow up being believers in themselves, physically capable and confident, and lovers of nutritious kai that fuels their body. I love Busy Bees Feilding for the small community feel it has. Our whānau community is so supportive and this motivates me to ensure I am doing all I can to support them and their children that they trust us with – their taonga.
Tamariki having kaiako and an early learning centre that cares about them, makes them feel loved and safe, is what motivates me every day and what makes the biggest difference in a child’s whanaungatanga within the centre. Being a friendly face to whānau every day so families know they can come and see me and ask for support or advice for anything they may need help with is such a privilege and why I love what I do so much.
A Nurturing Environment Built on Respect
Tamariki and whānau feel a sense of belonging at Busy Bees Feilding, and we welcome new families to feel right at home in our early education centre, too.
We value every child who walks through our doors and view them as a unique and special taonga. It’s a special place that offers nutritious, home-cooked meals and a backyard play area where our tamariki can immerse themselves in nature.
Our stimulating centre provides separate age-appropriate nursery and preschool rooms, as well as areas where tamariki can come together to engage in tuakana-teina (older-younger child) interactions and share wonderful teaching moments.
Childcare Classrooms at Our Feilding Centre
Busy Bees Feilding Early Education Centre has three classrooms that cater to differing age and developmental stages of young children.
Koru (0-2 years)
Our infant room is focused on teachers and infants building strong relationships with each other as part of a primary care partnership. Teachers help children feel loved, safe, and secure by providing individualised care and support. Teachers also aim to establish close relationships with parents and caregivers to better understand your infant's routines and rhythms, and take pride in mimicking these in the centre. The infant and toddler outdoor environment is shared, so that when your child transitions to Mangopare, our Toddler classroom, they are already familiar with the teachers and children, supporting a smooth transition to the next step in their learning journey.
Mangopare (2-3.5 years)
Our toddler environment caters to children who are ready for the next challenge! This classroom builds children's self-help skills, such as developing independence in washing hands, serving their own water, putting their hats on, and challenging their minds and bodies with sensory and tactile experiences for growing bodies. Teachers build primary care relationships to understand how best to support your child and work with you to plan educational goals for them.
Roimata Kuru (3.5-6 years)
Our preschool is where growing kids can immerse themselves in curriculum areas that support their innate urges. All children are born with a learning style that suits them best. Roimata Kuru teachers use sensitive observation to understand how best to support your child's learning. Roimata Kuru offers a Forest School Trip for children to learn about being kaitiaki of the natural world. When your child turns four, they will attend a daily Fun @ Four session to build the learning dispositions that are needed for lifelong learning and to prepare their bodies and minds for their transition to school. As your child gets closer to heading off to school, they will have the opportunity to visit a local school to understand what a classroom environment might be like, strengthening their learner identity before starting school.
Food & Nutrition
We prioritise the health and well-being of your little ones by offering nutritious meals crafted with care. Our menus are designed by an experienced dietitian to meet the specific nutritional needs of growing children while also being super tasty. Our centre cook takes pride in preparing all meals on-site, adhering to the Ministry of Health's Healthy Eating for Babies, Toddlers and Children guidelines to ensure optimal safety and quality. From wholesome ingredients to balanced portions, every meal is thoughtfully crafted to support healthy development and foster good eating habits from an early age.
Heart Foundation Enrolled
Our dedicated cook and centre team is currently striving towards the New Zealand Heart Foundation Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award. With us, you can trust that your child is receiving the nourishment they need to thrive each day.
Preschool Lunchbox Day
Once a month, on sandwich day, each preschool child is given a lunchbox containing food. They practice eating from them, learning to ration their food rather than eat everything at once. This helps them develop important skills for their transition to school, where they will need to manage their own lunches.
Baking
Teachers also do regular baking with the children, which provides them opportunities to engage and learn fun, crucial food preparation skills and fine motor movements such as pouring, sifting, and spooning. It is a great hands-on sensory experience that helps children develop independence through self-help skills and practice simple maths as they measure and count quantities.
Our Curriculum
Busy Bees follows the New Zealand National ECE Curriculum, Te Whāriki. Te Whāriki envisages kaiako in early learning settings working in partnership with parents, whānau and community to approach education holistically. The expectation is that, in their early years, children will experience a curriculum that empowers them as lifelong learners, right from their early exploration of the world around them, through to preparation for school, at a pace that aligns with their needs.
We also offer a number of fun, engaging programmes unique to our Feilding centre:
Community Kai
- We bake kai for schools with our tamariki, teaching them to give back to the community we belong to
- We have our regular swap your crop events, where we encourage the Feilding community to trade crops for others to reduce waste and be part of a community approach to food sharing
Roimata Kuru Preschool Programmes
- Manaaki Taiao – we visit Awahuri Kitchener Park and support our tamariki to be kaitiaki of the environment
- School visits – we take our oldest tamariki to Lytton St School to explore and understand what new entrant classrooms look and feel like
- Kaiarahi – our four-year-olds have daily sessions to learn and practice skills for life that get them ready for school: sharing ideas, listening to the ideas of others, working on collaborative learning tasks, and being part of a group of learners responsible for fine-tuning their working theories alongside each other.
Our Programmes
Bee Curious, our Busy Bees Curriculum Framework, has been created to guide and inspire kaiako in supporting tamariki through rich, interconnected learning experiences. Built on the strong foundation of Te Whāriki, it reflects the principles of Aotearoa New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum and the aspirations we hold for our children as they grow.
Nutritious food is the foundation for healthy growth and development in our children. Our Nourish menus fuel our children and support full, healthy tummies enabling clear minds to focus on the learning and set children up to thrive at our centre.
Our MOVE programme deliberately sets out physical activities that give children the opportunity to learn, practice and master physical skills whilst developing their resilience, perseverance, patience, co-ordination, gross-motor skills, teamwork and much more, all while having loads of fun!
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