Criterion C209#

The service curriculum provides children with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development – both indoors and outdoors, individually, and in groups.

Curriculum criteria documentation required

Guidance#

Te Whāriki interprets the curriculum broadly, taking it to include all the experiences, activities, and events, both direct and indirect, that occur within the early childhood setting.

Educators and coordinators should enable mokopuna to engage in meaningful interactions with people, places, and things.

Educators anticipate children’s needs for comfort and communicate positive feelings in an environment that is calm, friendly, and conducive to warm and accepting interactions.

Educators and coordinators are mindful of all learners when planning social, sensory, and physical environments. They are intentional and deliberate when selecting resources, teaching strategies, and learning experiences based on knowledge of the child and the local context.

Educators and coordinators support tikanga Māori and the use of te reo Māori, they encourage mokopuna to engage in kaitiakitanga with regular opportunities to connect with the wider natural environment and materials drawn from nature.

The curriculum encompasses different cultural perspectives, recognising and affirming the primary importance of the children’s families and cultures.

The whole of the environment, indoors and outdoors, is used as a learning resource. Educators provide opportunities for exploration, curiosity, and for mokopuna to test working theories.

The outdoor environment is accessible for all children and offers varying degrees of physical challenge and managed risk including opportunities for children to exercise their gross and fine motor skills in this environment.