Ko Mana tōku maunga

Ko Aroha te moana

Ko whānau tōku waka

Ko au e tu atu nei

Ko Dave Mudford tōku ingoa

I am passionate about making a difference. Creating a seamless Education system starts in the early learning setting.

Ngā Mihi Maioha ki a koutou katoa

Ko Mauao te Maunga, Ko Tauranga te Moana, Ko Tākitimu me Mataatua ngā waka,

Ko Ngāti Ranginui me Ngai te Rangi ngā Iwi, Ko Te Pirirākau, Ngāti Hangarau, Ngā Potiki, Ngāti Hē me Te Whānau a Tauwhao ngā Hapū. Ko Alex Bedford-Rolleston tōku ingoa.

Ko au te Kaiārahi ako ki Above and Beyond Gate Pā.

Nō reira tēnā koutou katoa.

E mihi ana ki a koutou katoa, I am passionate about te ao māori, the natural environment and building authentic relationships with whānau to ensure each child stands proud in their unique identity and confident in their own ability. I am excited to work alongside such knowledgeable and passionate kaiako and leaders. I look forward to bringing the unique ECE view and voice to the Kahui Ako. 

Tēna koutou katoa,

I tae mai ahau ki te Aotearoa i te tau 2004,

No Ingarangi ōku tīpuna,

Ko Tauranga te moana e mahea nei aku māharahara,

Ko Mauao te maunga e rū nei taku ngākau,

Ko Waikato te awa nāna ahau i whāngai,

E mihi ana ki ngā tohu o nehe, o Tauranga e noho nei au,

Ko tēnei taku mihi ki ngā tangata whenua o te rohe nei ko Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Pūkenga,

He kaiako ahau ki Tauriko Tots,

Ko Jennifer Gaylard ahau

Nō reira tēna koutou, tēna koutou, tēna koutou katoa.

Kia Ora, 

I am so excited to have been given this opportunity to join a team of like minded kaiako who are all passionate about Early Childhood Education. Through partnerships across the education setting, I hope that we can work together to be a voice for our youngest tamariki. I am particularly passionate about the inclusion of tamariki with additional learning needs, and advocating for their right to equitable learning opportunities.

In New Zealand, our Te Whāriki curriculum has enormously shaped teachers’ vision of children and the way sociocultural learning communities can be designed to positively nurture learning identities. Our learning and teaching team at Greerton Early Learning Centre focus on the process of what it takes to be a learner, inside a collaborative community where each voice can be heard. As a consequence, dispositions like empathy, courage, imagination, resilience, persistence, and skills and knowledge, catapult to the surface as the natural result of sustained play and thoughtful, cooperative inquiry. In terms of enabling children’s learning to flourish, I think we must always plan for a rich environment, full of intriguing, open-ended resources because the kinds of lived experiences these offer enable agentic learners to set their sights on tricky, challenging goals that satisfy and stretch learning dispositions. Thus, that rich environment for very young children are the people in it. It is the strength of the attachment relationships that enable children to keep stretching their responses to the outside world of places and things. Creating an environment that is calm and predictable for children as they explore, is a goal worth pursuing. Ensuring children feel contentment and curiosity in a relationally warm setting is a moment-by-moment responsibility. I have a long-standing commitment focused on ensuring that the principles of Te Whāriki are enacted in early learning settings, and I advocate for this through my work as a Professional Learning Facilitator with Educational Leadership Project and in my role as a learner, teacher, and researcher at Greerton Early Learning Centre.

I have shown commitment to supporting the Kahui Ako through prior roles attending governance meetings, and the 5 at 5 Junior Primary and ECE hui. I am keen to help develop a strategic plan for ECE and collaborate together on these to help support learning for our tamariki. I have worked in leadership roles for many years now within Kindergarten's and would bring my knowledge and experience to the group.