Childcare Auckland

Oma Rāpeti Early Learning Centre

Welcome to Oma Rāpeti, a home-style childcare centre in the middle of Auckland City.

We are a small, privately run early childhood education centre with 50 children in our care: 10 under two's in The Burrow, and 40 over two's in The Meadow.

We have a team of highly qualified Kaiako (teachers) who are passionate about their role in your child's future, and committed to providing a premium level of care.

Our centre is inspired by the work of Emmi Pikler and Magda Gerber or RIE®️ as you may know it. Our child-led, play-based space is centred around respect for your child as a whole. We closely follow the 5 strands of Te Whāriki in our curriculum, weaving them throughout the day. They will also feature in regular learning stories you receive about your child.

Want to know more about our approach to early learning? Read about our philosophy here.

We also hold a regular open day, so you can come through the centre and learn a little more. Find out the next date on our events page.

“It’s not about technique but who we are with ourselves”

- Dr. Emmi Pikler

Up To 2 Years

2-6 Year Olds

Visit The Burrow

Visit The Meadow

Our Values

Nurture - relationships are at the heart of everything

Nourish - take care of mind, body, and spirit

Natural - nature provides the optimal play experience

Enquire now or join our open day!

Enquire Now

Come along to our open day

Check out some of our blogs below!

Why an Open Day works for our infants

March 25th 2021Since 2019 we have been moving towards an Open Day format for our Burrow (under 2) space. There are often questions around why we do this as opposed to an individual tour through the space, so weRead more

Finding Treasure - Outdoors, Together.

December 15th 2020Summer is knocking on our door, and with that comes Christmas time. As parents, we’re likely to be spending considerably more time outdoors over the next few months, and many of us will have giftRead more

Risk taking through play for young children

November 9th 2020How many of you have had a moment of terror when you have caught your young child climbing on top of the coffee table or trying to jump off their bed into the floor? I think it’s safe to say if youRead more

Is a Centre or Homebased Childcare Right For My Child?

October 6th 2020You might think because we run a cool little centre in Auckland Central that, in our opinion, provides the best possible care out there and therefore we would be bias towards children being in ECERead more

Embrace the mess | The science behind messy play

September 4th 2020Messy play. Korihori pōrehe. Two simple words that have the incredible capacity to make both parents and educators either recoil in horror, or jump for joy. Why do we intentionally let ourRead more

The Magic Of Rituals | Connection through the everyday.

June 30th 2020From mindfulness to bubble baths, Christmas to birthdays, bedtime to bathtime, many of us use rituals in our lives. Even as adults, we’re often using rituals without even realising. Rituals createRead more

Starting School

June 3rd 2020Written by Claire, one of our wonderful team members who has completed her Masters in Education (ECE) through Auckland University. Transitioning to school is one of the topics Claire is passionateRead more

Upcycling | Turning loose parts into exciting new resources

May 8th 2020Our guide for parents on how to turn everyday objects around the home into educational ECE resources.Read more

Sustainable Parenting

April 15th 2020At Oma Rāpeti we know how important it is to put the environment front and centre of our practices and teachings. We’re also mothers and parents. Busy ones at that. As parents, there’s always aRead more

What you should ask when looking for an ECE centre

March 28th 2020The below blog has been created by our director Nikki after showing many families through Oma Rāpeti and searching for her own child prior to owning a centre. These are some of the common questionsRead more

What's the difference?

December 9th 2019On your search for quality early childhood education, you’ve probably come across some (or all) of these terms. They’re a bit of a mouthful when you put them all together like that too! So whatRead more

How to help your child with their toilet learning

November 8th 2019As a teacher, one of the most common things I get asked about is something along the lines of “how come my child isn’t toilet trained yet?” To start with, at Oma Rāpeti we use the termRead more

Testimonials

"...The rhythms, rituals and songs that you shared and the peaceful place of love and friendship."

"...homely, preservative-free and sugar-free cooking was a big reason we came to Oma Rāpeti and it did not disappoint."

"...The staff are passionate about what they do and the philosophy is wonderful. I am so grateful to have found this place"

Read the full testimonials here!

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We send out occasional centre updates, events, and blog posts - keep in touch!

"Having respect for the world is when you allow people to be what they are."

- Magda Gerber

Dr Emmi Pikler

1902-1984

The Pikler approach is based on a respectful relationship between an adult and child, through tender care moments, a naturally paced motor development, free movement, and uninterrupted play.

"The relationship is all - it is a matter of life to the baby."

- Dr Emmi Pikler

Oma Rāpeti

Location: 1 Pratt Street, Freemans Bay, Auckland. We are a six minute drive from Auckland City.

Phone: 09-376 7282
Email: home@omarapeti.net.nz

To join our waitlist click here

OPENING HOURS

7.30am-5.30pm Monday - Friday

A little oasis in the city