Key points 

• sustainable, practical model of whānau inclusion 
• immigrant grandparents belonging and learning 

Northcote Baptist Community Preschool in Auckland predominantly caters to immigrant families from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. In their families, it is often the grandparents who are the main caregivers at home. 

Three years ago, kaiako began to notice how isolated many of the grandparents seemed to be – living in a foreign culture with a dominant language that they didn’t speak fluently. When these grandparents brought grandchildren to the centre, they tended to retreat quickly or seem uncomfortable. Kaiako saw some grandparents walking the local streets alone while the children were at the centre. 

Knowing that a confident, connected family contributes to a child’s sense of belonging and learning, kaiako decided to offer a regular grandparent’s morning tea, using a room next to the centre. Three years on, this continues to be an important aspect of “what matters here”. 

Sometimes the grandparents just meet and chat. Other times, there is a topic or a guest speaker. The centre supervisor has always ensured that adult-child ratios can cover the release of one kaiako who can speak and translate in Mandarin. By having a presence, even when these sessions are purely social, kaiako get an insight into what the grandparents are curious to know more about. 

Topics to come out of these conversations have included: 

• mathematics learning in play (facilitated by centre kaiako) 
• reading to children in their home language (facilitated by a school principal) 
• links between oral health and learning (facilitated by an oral health professional) 
• first aid for young children (facilitated by a first aid provider) 
• the value of learning through play (facilitated by centre kaiako) 
• digital technologies with purpose (facilitated by centre kaiako) 
• understanding crime drivers and statistics (parent police officer). 

Kaiako believe that the benefits of these regular morning teas have been significant. Changes they have noticed include: 

• grandparents “striding into the centre with their heads held high” – greeting kaiako, often in their home language, and staying to participate in the learning experiences offered to their grandchildren 
• increased trust and response in situations where kaiako need to have tricky conversations with families about a child’s learning 
• greater confidence to contribute to the curriculum and help with cultural celebrations (for example, grandparents once made 600 dumplings for an event in the Chinese calendar) 
• a more connected relationship with grandparents that in turn impacts positively on kaiako expectations and interactions with the children. 

When a child starts, kaiako make a point of telling the family and signing them into a Grandparent’s Morning Tea WeChat group. These actions have helped to make this initiative sustainable over time.