Our Centre
Inside a graceful historic residence, in the seaside suburb of St Clair, is Bear Park’s southern-most centre. With our unique sense of character, stimulating approach to learning and inspiration from the Reggio Emilia Approach, Bear Park St Clair is a compelling option for parents of Dunedin’s littlest residents.
We value the importance of the environment and have created many inspiring spaces that reflect the character of our centre, our children and our teachers. Our walls are alive with the work of our children, displaying the stimulating journey of learning happening within. We treasure the curiosity of each child, providing dedicated spaces for the discovery and enhancement of their many expressive languages. Our generous outdoor areas and expansive lawns allow children the space to explore and enjoy, and our wonderful garden and vegetable plots enable them to plant and nurture flowers and vegetables.
We hold a deep sense of connection with our children, their families and the wider surrounding community. We aim to foster real collaboration within our learning community, so that every child may feel supported by constructive learning experiences and positive relationships in their early years.
A Place of Engagement
Our Nutrition
Our menus, developed by widely respected paediatric dietician Rebecca Bruce, are prepared onsite by our qualified chef.
Our Community
As a centre, we support charities such as Otago Heart Kids, Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust, and Auckland’s Starship Hospital.
Our Environment
Our educational spaces are full of natural light to promote inspiring teaching and stimulating learning environments.
Our Focus
Our site was carefully designed to ensure the original home and garden were celebrated and respected. We incorporated several of the property’s original features, including the custom-made 1930’s sundial – a firm favourite in the Infant-Toddler outdoor play area.
St Clair Childcare Team
In the Fantail Room at Bear Park St Clair, we work with children aged three months to 15 months. As a team we strive to create an environment which fosters a joy in learning and where children know they have a right to explore and investigate their world; a place where they see themselves as capable and competent learners. We wish to develop a lifelong passion for learning which will enable children to make a meaningful contribution to their world. We believe a strong relationship with children and parents is a key factor in building a solid foundation which will provide an environment where children feel secure and confident. To enable every child to realise their full potential we believe it is important to provide a warm, safe homelike environment where they are valued and have a sense of belonging. As teachers we feel it is important to be co-constructors of knowledge, with and alongside the children. We endeavour to create an environment which is designed to entice children to explore, discover, experiment, invent and dream. A place where children feel safe to take risks and engage in challenges and have the confidence that their teachers will be a responsive resource and support their learning.
The Morepork team at Bear Park St Clair learn alongside the children who are 12 months to two years of age. Our children are developing and learning so fast at this age that we endeavour to give them time to practise and develop their working theories of the world around them. With lots of open-ended resources and respectful interactions, the children learn alongside their peers and their teachers in a caring, enticing environment, where wellbeing and a sense of belonging are fostered.
As a teaching team at Bear Park St Clair, the Kea teachers believe that an environment should inspire children to see the wonder in learning by creating social, engaging spaces which are richly resourced. We strive to create a learning environment that promotes children’s interests through individual and group experiences which embraces the fun in learning. We believe that the culture within the Kea Room supports and welcomes all three protagonists as equal partners in children’s learning.
The Bear Park St Clair Tui team is a unique team of early childhood and primary trained teachers. We strive to create an environment for our three and four-year-old children to encourage children’s creativity in all areas of the curriculum. Our programme has been developed to allow our children the time and space to openly explore the wonder that is their world, creating learning experiences that capture the children’s interests, which lead to theories and discoveries. Staff support these learning experiences by allowing children the time to confidently test their hypotheses and to analyse their own, as well as friends’, theories in small group experiences, in both indoor and outdoor settings.
Centre Information
- 10 Hobson Street, St Clair, Dunedin
- 7.30am to 6.00pm daily, Monday to Friday
Centre Owner/Franchisee:
Tony Stevely
Centre Manager
Karinna Blacklock
Phone:
(03) 456 1010
Age of children catered for:
3 months to 5 years olds
Licence:
60 children
Centre Information
- 10 Hobson Street, St Clair, Dunedin
- 7.30am to 6.00pm daily, Monday to Friday
Centre Owner/Franchisee:
Tony Stevely
Centre Manager
Karinna Blacklock
Phone:
(03) 456 1010
Age of children catered for:
3 months to 5 years olds
Licence:
60 children
