Our Curriculum
A curriculum that is intentionally designed to grow confident, capable learners.
At Capital City Preschool, we follow the principles of Te Whāriki (2017), New Zealand’s Early Childhood Curriculum, alongside the National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) and the guiding whakaaro of Te Whatu Pōkeka. We employ a team of highly qualified, experienced, and passionate teachers who are committed to ongoing professional growth and reflective practice. Our curriculum reflects a strong commitment to honouring identity, culture, and belonging, while nurturing each child as a competent and confident learner. We offer an individualised teaching and learning programme where we intentionally grow the interests, strengths, and passions of our tamariki. Our programme provides a rich balance of play-based exploration and purposeful group learning experiences, supporting social competence, collaboration, and deeper thinking.
In addition to our daily curriculum, we enrich our programme through specialised experiences led by experts in their field. Our tamariki participate in kapa haka with our dedicated kaiako, strengthening their connection to te reo Māori, tikanga, waiata, and Aotearoa’s bicultural heritage. Through Moving to the Beat with Jo, children explore rhythm, movement, and musical expression, building confidence, coordination, and creativity. Playball with Coach James develops fundamental movement skills, teamwork, and sporting confidence in a fun and engaging way.
Why this matters: Exposure to specialist teachers broadens children’s horizons and deepens their learning. Tamariki experience excellence, expertise, and authentic passion from leaders in music, movement, sport, and culture — all within the safety of their preschool environment. These experiences build confidence, resilience, creativity, and cultural understanding, strengthening the foundations children need not only for school, but for lifelong learning.
Playball
This year we are excited to have James from Playball join our extra-curricular programme each Friday. Playball is a fun-filled, high quality session where our tamariki are encouraged to engage in a wide range of age appropriate physical experiences which will prepare them for a life-long love of sports participation.
Music
Our music teacher Jo from Moving to the Beat teaches our tamariki music theory which includes learning about tone, pitch, beat, and rhythm as well as about different musical instruments and the sounds they make.
Little Learners Love Literacy
At Capital City Preschool, our literacy approach is guided by our Liz Kane Literacy framework using Little Learners Love Literacy, a research-based structured literacy programme designed for young learners. We intentionally weave phonological awareness, oral language, and early alphabet knowledge through play, storytelling, music, art, and everyday conversations, ensuring literacy learning is joyful, meaningful, and developmentally appropriate. Aligned with Te Whāriki and our mana-enhancing philosophy, this approach supports all learning styles and nurtures confident, capable communicators who develop a genuine love of literacy as they prepare for school.
Excursions
Excursions provide us with the opportunity to explore the Central City and make the most of places such as Te Papa, Waitangi Park, The Botanical Gardens, Frank Kitts Park, Capital E and the Wellington Museum. This provides tamariki with the opportunity to form relationships with people and places, as well as to teach our tamariki about road rules and how to keep safe.
Thunderbirds
Pathways to School Group
Tamariki join our pathways to School group 4-6 months before they start School. The focus for this group of tamariki is to ensure that they have the independence and self-help skills needed for School, as well as a basic understanding of literacy and numeracy concepts, social skills and the ability to listen and pay attention at group times, all of which will support a smooth transition into School life.
Te Ao Māori
At Capital City Preschool, we are committed to honouring and embedding a Māori world view (Te Ao Māori) within our daily practice. This encompasses the revitalisation and natural use of Te Reo Māori, alongside tikanga practices, mātauranga Māori, and values such as manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, and kaitiakitanga. Te Ao Māori is woven authentically through our curriculum — in our pepeha, waiata, karakia, storytelling, localised learning, and everyday conversations. Our Kaiārahi and leadership team intentionally embed these principles within our strategic planning and documentation, ensuring that te ao Māori is not an add-on, but a living, visible, and thriving part of our preschool culture.