The Early Years teams at Ko Taku Reo are starting to step up their work with our youngest learners and the support they can offer by sharing practice with the wider Ko Taku Reo teaching teams.

Our Early Years teams are spread across the country, from our Preschool in Auckland, Playgroups in Wellington and Dunedin, and our Early Years Whānau Centre in Christchurch, which has now also started offering their playgroups from Prebbleton Plunket rooms! We still have been running very successful Preschool Residential Courses and connecting many parents and whānau across the country through these, starting a journey of friendship for many of our youngest Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) learners.

The team have proudly engaged with learners, their whānau and the wider community as they have worked as part of a well-functioning team around the child to meet their needs best. I am always so amazed and proud to see the language, learning and wellbeing journeys our learners are open, and I love the opportunity to spend time and get to know our preschool children as much as possible. From meeting them in playgroups, playing trains or doing puzzles with them to just hanging out on the playground - it's fantastic to see first-hand how children want to connect naturally, and using visuals, gestures, and NZSL is such a great way to engage them in their learning through play.

I am also proud of the internal documents we have created that highlight our essential role in the Early Years mahi and how we meet the needs of those 0-5 children whom we can work with directly. The team have stepped up and updated our website to reflect our thinking and ensure we have an accurate picture of what we do at Ko Taku Reo.

It doesn't stop there! We have plans in 2024 to start virtual playgroups - a concept we have seen work successfully in Australia. We are keen to keep advocating for the 0-5 learners to have access to early language opportunities and will continue to work collaboratively with Advisors of Deaf Children (AoDC), First Signs, Cochlear Implant programmes and parent groups to keep finding ways to reach as many 0-5 DHH learners as we can.

Thanks to the teams of Resource Teachers of the Deaf (RTDs) across Aotearoa who work so hard with increasing numbers of preschools, and thanks to the key Early Years team members who continue to share their practice.

I'm looking forward to 2024 and celebrating some new learning.