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KAKAPO CREEK Children’s Garden offers premium, attachment-rich childcare and education in the heart of Mairangi Bay on Auckland’s North Shore. With our relationship first focus and consistent long term caregivers, our farm-forest school, our environmentally friendly playground and our bespoke architecture, Kakapo Creek offers you the ultimate experience in early childhood care and education.
Amir K17 March 2024I can’t speak of Kakapo Creek daycare highly enough, truly a children’s garden! Kaye and team do their best to create a fun, safe and nourishing environment for kids. I am particularly impressed with the award winning architecture of the place, allowing kids to roam freely and safely, have various sensory experiences in addition to great daily activities. Thanks to teachers, particularly my toddler’s for her loving and caring attitude.Kay Ya22 February 2024Kakapo Creek offers a beautiful environment, high-quality toys, and variable activities. My daughter loves dancing, play ball, carpentry and learning courses here. Most importantly, the teachers here are not just working; they create a lot of emotional value for the children. When my daughter is unwilling to do something, they discuss together where the problem lies and how to help her. When she feels lonely and doesn't know what to do, they guide her in making friends.Yuan Fang16 February 2024My daughter has attended three different daycares and preschools for about a year each. Our experience at Kakapo Creek has been unparalleled. In the beginning, I enrolled my daughter in a nearby center for convenience, but we found some of the teachers there lacking in love and empathy. My daughter wasn't happy there, so we switched her to Kid's Cove, which was better in many ways than the first center. While passing Kakapo Creek's fence one day, my daughter was captivated by its beautiful backyard. We talked to the teachers through the fence, and when they invited us in to play, my daughter enjoyed there and didn't want to go out. Although Kakapo Creek was a bit further from home, my daughter couldn't forget about it. Months later, we decided to switch her there, despite the longer commute. It was worth it. Kakapo Creek is not just a daycare or a preschool, it's a special place where children are truly valued. The founders are idealists pursuing their dream, not just business people looking for profit. Kaye is always there, meeting with the manager or caring for the kids. It is common for me to see Kaye holding a crying kid and coaxing it, read for kids, or play games with kids. The location and construction of the center are a testament to their commitment to excellence. While it's a new center and may have some thing in managerment for improvement compared to more established ones, it's a beautiful, loving environment with enriching activities. My daughter loves woodworking, nature school in farm, and Playball. Some parents may think the fees of Kakapo creek are high, but considering the additional activities included, it's comparable to others good centers. Overall, Kakapo Creek has been a fantastic choice for us.Nick & Tanz1 February 2024Kakapo Creek is a game changer in child development/care and even parenting courses - this daycare has changed our lives for the better! They are really like a second family for our kids and go above and beyond!🥰 Dont miss out on sending your kids here and gaining happy and thriving children! Thanks Kaye and Ian and all the staff for what you do for our next generation!Roberto24 January 2024My daughter loves Kakapo Creek, and to me it feels like they are a big family.Candice ruthven23 January 2024We just LOVE this centre. I wasn’t keen on my son going to a childcare having had several of his siblings in other ones before, until I visited here. Apart from the initial first impressions with the lovely new outdoor focused building, we have been here 18 months and found it’s such a warm, nurturing atmosphere. It feels like Im dropping him off to extended family rather than a business and the owners are so lovely and generous. They have also run free parenting workshops which have been awesome (owners are family therapists that offer free help to families too). We love events such as these and more that involve the parents and families and make it feel more like a community. My son’s key teacher Faye has loved and adored him like her own. And all of the teachers have been awesome and selected for their ability to build strong connections with the children. Really looking forward to my son attending nature/farm school one day a week soon. Everything we have experienced here I find is focused on high quality/ excellence. I haven’t experienced another daycare like this anywhere and highly recommend to all my friendsZari Kazemi22 January 2024I am a qualified teacher in the infant room at Kakapo Creek shortly after it opened and before my time here, I’ve spent 20 years in NZ as a qualified ECE teacher. The room design is a perfect home away from home for our youngest children. As teachers it’s very important for us to recognise and respect our children as individuals with their own cultural diversity , strengths and interests. I have worked in other infants room and preschools in the North Shore area but I have chosen to settle at Kakapo Creek because nothing compares. Kakapo Creek has outstanding and one of a kind environment & resources, has high quality ,experienced and kind teachers, a happy and calm environment along with excellent resources and great management.Ryan Pellett22 January 2024Such an amazing place for children and families. Kakapo go out of their way in everything they do such as offering extras such as weekly farm trips for 3 year olds and up and helpful parenting sessions. Lovely owners, and exceptional staff.Jessamy Bell21 January 2024I wanted to find an attachment based childcare when I had to go back to work when my daughter was 18months old and have loved Kakapo Creek! The teachers and management team are absolutely lovely. The attachment rich relationships are evident and the manaakitanga within the community is wonderful.Josh & Rosie Hunter19 January 2024We are beyond happy to be enrolled at Kakapo Creek and would highly recommend it. We have been blown away by the teachers, care and the huge focus they put on each individual child’s needs/attachments - our son is always so happy to be dropped off in the morning. They also put so much energy into the activities the children do and it’s such a pleasure to see the photos of how my son spends his day.. we notice there’s a lot of sensory rich variety and creativity. There’s also a really strong community feel at the centre and a lot of focus placed on the parents so it feels more like family rather than a daycare. We couldn’t ask for better.Google rating score: 5.0 of 5, based on 20 reviews
About Us
Privately owned and operated by Ian & Kaye McKean, Kakapo Creek is designed using the very best evidence based family research, incorporating attachment theory and neuroscience.
Ian and Kaye worked within the early childhood sector for the past 20 years and have decided that it’s time to create a childcare that really does what is best for children and their families.
Ian has a Masters Degree in Family Life and Kaye has a Masters Degree in Social Welfare. Both are passionate that happy, healthy families are what children need best to thrive.
Kakapo Creek often has a waitlist so advance enrolment is advised. Follow our facebook page for regular updates.
Book at tour to visit us and discover the unique benefits of Kakapo Creek for yourself.
Kakapo Creek is a premium early childhood centre in the heart of Mairangi Bay on Auckland’s North Shore offering attachment rich and nature filled childcare to children and their families.