Te Marua/Mangaroa Playcentre

Te Marua/Mangaroa Playcentre is located in the north of Upper Hutt, in a semi-rural community. The playcentre runs on a sessional basis, five mornings a week and caters for children from birth to school age. 

Innovation

The Playcentre runs a SPACE session one afternoon a week for first-time parents and very young babies. Led by trained facilitators, the sessions provide opportunities for parents to meet and network, discuss information on infant development and parenting, and introduce rhymes, books and music for infants to enjoy. Invited guests lead many discussion sessions, often at the instigation of the parents in the group. SPACE programmes have had rapid take-up in recent years, visit the SPACE website for more information.

Centres of Innovation (COI) research

Major research questions:

How does the SPACE (Supporting Parents Alongside Children’s Education) programme for new parents and infants implemented at Te Marua/ Mangaroa Playcentre support and foster their learning? How does the SPACE team and programme network and support collaborative relationships amongst individuals and agencies?

COI tenure

Calendar years 2005/2006/2007.

COI research associates

Dr Val Podmore, Victoria University of Wellington
Sarah Te One, Victoria University of Wellington

Service location

7 Emerald Hill Drive, Birchville, Upper Hutt, New Zealand.

Visitors

Te Marua/Mangaroa Playcentre has completed its COI contract and is no longer resourced to accommodate many visitors.

Contact details

Postal address: 7 Emerald Hill Drive, Birchville, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
Telephone: 04 526 4574
Email: temarua.coi@paradise.net.nz