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Children’s best learning and memories take place in relationship with adults who matter and in nature – and that includes teachers. At Kakapo Creek we take special care to maintain reliable, long term teachers so that the child-teacher relationship is optimised. Your team is carefully selected to ensure they are nurturing, warm, kind and fun – creating an emotionally safe and happy place for your children to thrive. We’ve also designed an environment that is rich in nature including our native forest school.
Ian and Kaye (owners and managing directors) are parents of four sons and have worked in family enrichment and therapy for over 20 years. Passionately committed to an attachment framework, matched with neuroscience, they are committed to creating a childcare that is a true extension and support for families. They are intricately involved in Kakapo Creek on a day to day basis.
In today’s fragmented world, parents need more than a baby sitter and academic teacher for their child. They need more than a safe, clean, educational environment. Parents need a childcare that is like extended family. That’s what Kakapo Creek wants to be for you and your child.
Ian is the founder and Clinical Director of the Parents Partner and is passionate about helping families be their very best.
For nearly 30 years he has been writing and presenting family workshops in Australia and New Zealand. He has extensive training and experience in how families function and what couples and parents need to create closeness, love and happiness in their relationships.
Ian brings a wealth of experience working with parents of young children to optimise children’s learning, behaviour and emotional maturity. In today’s world of alarmed, anxious and stressed families Ian has the answers for parents facing times of stress. Ian’s clinical services are offered free to all our Kakapo Creek parents.
Kaye is the owner and managing director at Kakapo Creek. Kaye long dreamt of operating an early childhood centre that provides an uncompromising service and meets the holistic needs of families. Mum to four boys, and Parent Consultant with post graduate qualifications in Guidance Studies, Social Welfare and Education Kaye has spent 20 years working with parents who have behavioural and developmental parenting challenges.
Passionately committed to the quadruple bottom line philosophy, Kakapo Creek is carefully designed to meet these aspirations. Kaye’s practitioner interest is in the holistic needs of families. She has a soft spot for parent deprived children and as a result began her own charity to care for orphaned children in Russia and Rwanda. She heads Lighthouse Orphan Foundation which currently supports deprived young people in Rwanda become their very best. Kaye has an educational approach to growing happy families. As a High School teacher Kaye was a gifted and competent teacher who was well loved by her school and students. She loves teaching, presenting workshops and training and is delighted to provide bespoke early childcare and education at Kakapo Creek.
Joy is a fully registered early childhood teacher. She has been teaching in Early Childhood Education for over 2 decades; and has been in leadership roles for over 12 years.
She is also a qualified nurse, a mother, wife, gardener and sensational cook. Joy is multilingual, plays the guitar and the ukulele, and has a flair for photography. She lives on a little lifestyle block with her family, a rabbit, and a lot of free range chickens.
Joy has a love for people, nature and excellence and she leads our Kakapo Creek team with compassion and professionalism. Always seeking ways to improve, Joy’s goal for Kakapo Creek is that we become the childcare equivalent of “Four Seasons” Hotels and lead the early childhood sector both in New Zealand and internationally.
Originally from China, Maggie has been living in New Zealand for over 17 years. She holds a Master’s degree in Engineering and a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching.
With over 10 years of experience in Early Childhood Education (ECE), Maggie is deeply committed to fostering a learning environment where children thrive through responsive and reciprocal relationships. Grounded in attachment theory, Maggie recognises the importance of secure, trusting relationships as a foundation for learning. She encourages children to participate in meaningful interactions, empowering them to be active learners and constructors of knowledge as they explore and engage with the world around them.
Maggie’s love for nature plays a significant role in her teaching philosophy. She believes that the natural environment offers children endless opportunities for exploration and discovery. Her aim is to nurture a sense of wonder and respect for the world we live in, encouraging children to develop a deep connection with nature that will enrich their lives and learning journeys.
As the Head of Preschool, Maggie is honored to lead and collaborate with a team of dedicated and professional educators. She takes pride in fostering a positive, supportive environment where we work together to create enriching experiences for our children.
Melissa is our specialist farm school teacher. Melissa is originally from Christchurch and has been a kindergarten teacher for many years. She loves the outdoors, gardening, exploring beaches, parks and landscaping and knows so much about New Zealand and our natural ways of living. She is married with two school aged sons.
Melissa is loving the challenge of adding new enriched learning for our tamariki as they explore, learn and grow at our weekly farm school excursions.
Laura’s impressive aesthetic background enables her to develop rich attachment with children and whanau through a beautiful environmental setting, active communication and relationships.
With over 10 years teaching experience, a Masters Degree in Education and a PhD in Aesthetics, Laura is passionate about helping families find the very best for their children while meeting the needs of those from diverse backgrounds.
Laura moved to New Zealand with her husband and son from China where she also worked in education. Laura’s teaching philosophy is to empower children in their unique pathways to holistic development.
Tracey is a Montessori teacher and has worked in early childhood for many years. Tracey has held management and leadership responsibilities and her gentle and fun ways with children are a testament to her devotion to her chosen profession.
Tracey has additional training in Neuro-educational Movement Training and her love for children is evident in every interaction she has with our Kakapo Creek children.
Tracey moved to New Zealand with her husband and two children from South Africa where she was a well loved teacher and ECE leader.
Jolly, a passionate teacher with 12 years of teaching experience in the Philippines holds a Master of Arts in Educational Management and expertise in Primary and Early Childhood Teaching; she is recognised for her cheerful and optimistic approach, making her a cherished teacher and team member.
Jolly champions hands-on learning, carefully organising interactive activities that captivate children’s interest. An outdoor enthusiast, she values nature as the ultimate teacher and sees teaching as a heartfelt mission. Jolly prioritises building strong relationships with tamariki, whanau, and the community, seeing each interaction as a chance to inspire young minds. Her hobbies are reading books, meditating, and enjoying music.
Having relocated to New Zealand with her spouse, Jolly is excited to start their new chapter in Aotearoa, bringing joy, fun, laughter, and her expertise to Kakapo Creek Children’s Garden.
Michelle joins Kakapo Creek with 17 years of teaching experience in both Korea and New Zealand. She is trained as a primary school and early childhood teacher, and she loves enhancing children’s learning through free play and exploration of the environment.
Michelle is passionate about supporting children as they explore at their own pace and in their own ways, helping them navigate their emerging life skills. Her educational philosophy centers on fostering a nurturing and inclusive environment where each child feels valued and empowered to learn. She believes that learning should be child-led and experiential, encouraging curiosity and a love for discovery.
Married with a 10-year-old son, Michelle balances her free time between reading books, spending time with her family, and enjoying the beauty of Auckland. Michelle speaks English, Korean, and Japanese.
Natalia loves children, nature and attachment-neuroscience practice which makes her a perfect fit for Kakapo Creek Children’s Garden.
Natalia’s strong gifts in nature based education, her artistic skills and her musical skills all come together to create an outstanding teacher at Kakapo Creek.
Natalia is fluent in English, Russian and passionate about Te Reo Maori and Maori tikanga. She creates outstanding, fun learning environments where children laugh, explore and are valued.
Natalia has a Bachelor of Education (ECE) and brings to us a wealth of knowledge in art, crafts, nature education and music. She is also well read up on attachment based pedagogy and child development and is passionate about this for all children.
Raychel comes to Kakapo Creek from the Phillipines via Singapore where she has been teaching in international schools for a number a years. A highly talented and gifted teacher, Raychel has her Bachelor Degree in ECE and a Masters in Educational Management. Raychel is excited to participate in messy play and outdoor play more than she was able in Singapore.
Collette is a fully registered Early Childhood Educator with more than 20 years experience working in New Zealand’s ECE sector.
She builds warm, supportive emotional bonds with the children in her care and loves being a part of their learning journey.
She lives with her husband Sean and their 3 children and loves experiencing family adventures together. She will often be found on the soccer or netball sidelines as she supports her children’s love of sports. She enjoys being out in nature exploring bush walks with her dog or nurturing her garden.
Collette’s sense of fun helps her to create wonderful experiences with the children at Kakapo Creek as they explore the natural and educational resources on offer. She isn’t afraid to get messy and follow children’s inquisitive natures of exploring with all their senses.
Collette leads our Tuakana (School readiness program) where children’s early literacy and early maths skills are supported. Creating a fun, engaging, well planned program children are able to feel confident and develop a love of learning and discovery as a foundation as they prepare for their school journey ahead.
Collette’s gentle yet knowledgeable ways with children help to build strong, warm and trusting relationships that enable children to optimally grow and develop as they feel safe and nurtured.
Rebecca has been teaching in ECE for 15 years in Zimbabwe and comes to us keen to learn more about New Zealand and our world renowned curriculum.
A much loved teacher in her homeland, Rebecca has a wealth of experience and has a contagious, fun and dynamic relationship with children, teachers and parents.
Cai’s gentle and effective teaching practice ensures our preschoolers feel safe and loved while at Kakapo Creek.
Her engaging mat times, creative classroom set ups ensure that children receive the best of both nurture and learning. Cai is a qualified teacher and is married with one child.
Her hobbies include food, travelling, reading, arts and crafts, and enjoying time with family.
Ivy holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education (Philippines), a Graduate Certificate in ECE (Australia), and a Higher Certificate in Infant Care (Singapore). With a rich and diverse background in education, Ivy brings a wealth of experience and passion to our Kakapo Creek community.
Since 2007, Ivy has continuously inspired and nurtured young minds of various age groups, cultures and countries. Her dedication to fostering a nurturing and dynamic learning environment has ensured her full registration as a teacher in New Zealand which she was able to achieve within only a year of arriving in the country.
Known for her creativity and vibrant personality, Ivy is not only a skilled teacher but also a talented ukulele player and an animated storyteller. Ivy enjoys cooking, travelling, and organising events, bringing her enthusiasm and organisational skills in every endeavour.
Rose is a fully qualified ECE teacher who specialises in infant care. Joyous, warm and professional, Rose has over 10 years experience in early childhood and can offer parents a world of wisdom in raising children.
Rose loves hiking, gardening, travelling and singing – she can frequently be heard singing with children throughout the day. Rose is fit, plays badminton and table tennis and is impressively talented with a number of sports.
Rose is married with one adult child. She speaks both English and Chinese.s
Fay is a fully qualified and registered early childhood teacher who has been teaching for over 27 years, 18 of these running her own home based centre.
Fay was born and grew up in Tehran, Iran and immigrated to beautiful Aotearoa in 1989 with her three young children.
Fay is a very passionate and self driven teacher and working with children is her main passion.
Fay is also a grandmother to three granddaughters She lives locally and her other hobbies are running, cooking music and maintaining a healthy life style. Fay believes that each child is unique and she seeks to love the children in her care by providing a safe, warm and loving environment for them.
Fay speaks English, Farsi and some Arabic.
Rui trained in Film and Media before changing careers to become a fully qualified early childhood teacher.
Rui is kind and gentle and loves working with babies and toddlers whilst her expertise in media and technology are a great asset to our entire Kakapo Creek team.
Rui speaks both English and Chinese and has a love of photography, travel and exercise – running, pilates, yoga and swimming.
Ana has been working in early childhood for over 18 years and comes to us as a Montessori trained Ece teacher. Her passion for children and especially babies and her leadership skills set her apart as a teacher of mana. She loves the attachment based Neuroscience practice that is the foundation of Kakapo Creek.
Impressively, Ana won the Discover’s Teacher of the year award in 2023, something our entire team is very proud of.
Ana is from South Africa and married with 2 adult children and speaks English, Afrikaans, German and Portuguese. She loves traveling, is animal obsessed and supports animal rescue and rehabilitation. She loves everything to do with nature and can frequently be found creating novel arts and crafts and sewing resources for Family, Friends and Kakapo Creek.
Ana has a Diploma in Travel, a Diploma in Modern Montessori and has completed a course in Nature based Education.
Meet Denver, our sensational chef. Denver manages to sneak in all those healthy vegetables in such a way as our children have no idea that they are actually eating healthy. They even eat mushrooms!
Denver has a Diploma in Professional Cookery and Food Service and has been working in the hospitality / food industry since 2002. Denver is married and speaks both English and Afrikaans.
The beautiful aromas that come from our kitchen each day are a result of Denver’s wonderful skills.
Interestingly, Denver is into pigeon racing! A sport we knew nothing about until we met Denver. So if you want a good conversation about the art and science of racing pigeons, Denver is your man.
(Maternity Leave)
Jo is likely the first person you meet when you visit Kakapo Creek. Jo is our receptionist and Office Administrator – nothing is too much trouble for Jo. She can find a sensible fast solution to almost every challenge and is warm, friendly and kind while doing it – awesome!
Jo is ECE trained and therefore manages the role of admin with an expertise that is rare and an understanding that is deep. We greatly appreciate Jo and our parents do too!
Jo lives on a farm with her partner and two dogs, Cosmo and Neo. She loves the beach, reading, exploring new parts of New Zealand and tending to her chickens, ducks, sheep and cows.
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.
09 410 2181
Monday – Friday
7:30am – 5:30pm
409 – 411 Beach Rd,
Mairangi Bay, Auckland, New Zealand