Our Curriculum
As an Au Pair with Au Pair Link you will have a unique opportunity to implement a world leading educational curriculum (approved by the New Zealand Ministry of Education) with your children. Au Pair Link was the first Au Pair agency in the world to provide Au Pairs with an interactive educational programme – which is supported by fully qualified Early Childhood Education teachers! You will be able to learn about world leading childcare and education techniques from our qualified teachers as well as participate in playgroups and professional development training sessions!
Te Whaariki is the Early Childhood Education curriculum framework in New Zealand. It covers the education and care of children from birth to school age. Our Early Childhood Education services help your children learn to:
- Be curious
- Become involved/find an interest
- Persist with difficulty (for example, by having ideas for problem-solving)
- Communicate their ideas (for example, through language or art)
- Take responsibility (for example, respond to others and assess their own achievements).
Each child learns in their own way and Au Pairs are responsible for ensuring that they are developing children’s strengths and interests. Our local Programme Managers (all qualified teachers) will help guide you to implement Te Whaariki with the children you care for under 5 years of age – aiding their learning, growth and development.
HOW AU PAIR LINK IMPLEMENTS TE WHAARIKI
The literal meaning of Te Whaariki is ‘the woven mat’. Au Pair Link uses the principles and strands of the Te Whaariki curriculum to weave a programme of learning for our children. The Host Family children’s strengths and interests, all the things they learn as part of their family and the learning opportunities that Au Pair Link provides are woven together to form a unique “learning story”.
Au Pair Link records and communicates your child’s learning story with you in different ways, for example; by using a communication book and portfolio (to record developmental milestones) for each child under 5 years of age. It is imperative that you provide feedback in your child’s communication book and that you take an active interest in their portfolio – as this will allow you to extend your child’s learning. Au Pair Link will also provide you and your child with fun activities to attend such as playgroups, outings and other professional development opportunities.
PLAYGROUPS
Au Pair Link runs weekly playgroups in all of our New Zealand Ministry of Education licensed areas for Au Pairs who have children under 5 years of age. If you have school aged children you are still welcome to come to playgroup and interact with the other Au Pairs and their children. In some areas we run multiple play dates weekly which gives Au Pairs the chance to bring the children along to several different sessions.
MONTHLY MEETINGS
Au Pair Link employs Programme Managers in all our New Zealand Ministry of Education licensed areas and their key objective is to work alongside the Au Pairs to ensure that the children in their care have a suitable learning environment and resources. It’s important that you are always available for your monthly meetings and that you ensure that you fill out the communication book and child portfolio as requested by the Programme Manager. Implementing a New Zealand Ministry of Education approved curriculum is a fantastic opportunity for you to learn professional childcare skills and further improve your English.
AU PAIR & CHILD OUTINGS
Au Pair Link organises Au Pair and child outings on a monthly basis. Generally we invite the Au Pairs and children to the zoo, a farm or the beach etc. If it is an activity which costs money then we will generally subsidise the entire or partial cost for you and your children (this does not apply to Au Pair only outings). The Au Pair and child outings are a great opportunity for you to meet other Au Pairs, their children and your Programme Manager. We ask that you ensure that you attend all outings throughout the year.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Au Pair Link organises bi-monthly Professional Development sessions for our Au Pairs – conducted by our qualified teachers. These are a fantastic opportunity for you to learn more about childcare, civil defence, child nutrition, behaviour management and so much more! Please note that it is compulsory for Au Pairs to attend workshops, outings and activities.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Au Pair Link has free educational resources that you can have access to as part of our Ministry of Education licensed programmes. These include children’s books, toys, music and resource kits. Our educational resource kits have been especially developed by our qualified Early Childhood Education teachers and are based around the different interest areas of children (e.g. art, music, dinosaurs, insects, the alphabet etc). They are designed to be used in the home and can be borrowed for 1 month at a time.