Heretaunga Kindergarten Permanent Full-time Teacher

Teaching

Upper Hutt

Permanent / Full Time

28/9/2026

He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Introduction | He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Timatanga Kōrero

At He Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens (WMK), we're proud to support 136 kindergartens across the regions of Taranaki, Whanganui, Central Plateau, Horowhenua, Manawatū, Kāpiti, Porirua, Greater Wellington, Upper Hutt, Wairarapa and Otago. We also offer a unique home-based service, Etu Ao, in Porirua and Levin, with a special focus on Pacific families.

We believe that high-quality early childhood education is a powerful force—for children, their whānau, their communities, and for the future of Aotearoa New Zealand. Our vision is to be a national leader in early childhood education, setting the standard and advocating for excellence and access across the country.

At the heart of everything we do are our values

• Nurturing the mana of the child - Honouring each child's unique identity and potential

• Kounga | Quality - Striving for excellence in every aspect of our services

• Pono | Integrity - Acting with honesty, respect, and transparency

• Kaitiakitanga | Stewardship and sustainability

• Mahi Tahi | Partnership - Working together with whānau and communities

Today, more than 6,000 children are part of the Whānau Manaaki kindergarten family, with an additional 150 children enrolled in our Etu Ao home-based programme. Together, we're building strong foundations for lifelong learning and wellbeing.

Community Description

At Heretaunga Kindergarten we have a strong emphasis on empowering children as learners which assists with their transition times through life, particularly moving on to school. We enjoy close links with the local schools, which enrich children's learning journey. We strive for every child to believe in themselves and leave kindergarten as responsible citizens with a life-long love of learning.

Tamariki are supported to become confident learners by kaiako who respond to each individual child's wairua and diverse way of being. Tamariki will experience a caring and fun environment that is equitable for all and where everyone's contribution is valued.

We have been a part of the Enviro-Schools programme since 2010 and hold a Silver award. The programme encourages children to think and act in sustainable ways and to foster environmental sustainability within the local community. We are currently working towards our Green Gold status.

The kindergarten has 40 children, is a full year open seven hours each day located in Heretaunga, south of Upper Hutt town centre. The families are predominately from the Heretaunga/Silverstream/Pinehaven area and are supportive of the kindergarten and the teaching team.

To apply for this teaching position, you need to address the key skills or abilities listed below. We ask that you talk about these in your covering letter, giving examples of how you have demonstrated these skills/abilities in previous roles. Please remember to attach your covering letter, resume and other relevant information as listed in the Application Requirements on our website.

Full time is 40 hours per week worked 8:00am to 4:30pm.

We are looking for an enthusiastic ECE kaiako who can:

Show confidence to support Te Reo Māori and committed to deepening our cultural journey in Tiriti o Waitangi learning partnerships.

Demonstrates the commitment to providing an inclusive (localised) curriculum in an energic mixed age setting, that reflects children's sense of wellbeing, belonging and the holistic way they learn and grow.

Celebrate other cultures forming relationships with whānau with a lens of supporting their wealth of knowledge they bring with them to our kindergarten learning community.

Engage in pedagogical discussions with team, reflect on practice reflect on practice through Internal Evaluation processes and make improvements to practice to benefit best outcomes for children.

Is responsive when implementing practices that enhance the social and emotional competence of tamariki while fostering inclusive environments for all learners in our diverse community.

Applications close on: Midday, Tuesday 13th October 2026.