The Early Years Teams bring fantastic language, communication and Deaf cultural foundations to preschoolers in various settings across the country. The work is broad, varied and such fun!

We are so lucky to have excellent Early Childhood trained Teachers of the Deaf and other fabulous staff who work across the country to provide quality Deaf Education to our youngest learners from birth to 6 years of age. There's so much variety in this kaupapa as we work hard around the country to meet the needs of whānau and families in various ways.

Auckland has seen our Preschool continue to thrive, with language, communication and creating a preschool Deaf space being a significant focus. The team of trained Early Childhood Education (ECE) Teachers of the Deaf, Teacher Aides and NZSL Tutors have frequent visitors from outside agencies meeting the individual needs of the learners. Play-based learning is how the adults work with the children to increase their confidence, sense of belonging and to weave Te Whāriki curriculum into their daily mahi.

In Christchurch, another way of working with the learners includes 1:1 individual sessions with learners and their parents/whānau, followed by a group playgroup session to foster strong connections and share ways of learning through play. A focus on storytelling, music and movement, and free play allows the children to explore and learn alongside their peers and parents/whānau in a fun and focused way.

Our two playgroups in Wellington and Dunedin offer a similar way of working, with parent connections being so valuable, while the children are encouraged to explore, interact and increase their confidence with spoken English and NZSL in a supported way. Our local Resource Teachers of the Deaf, First Signs facilitators and Advisors of Deaf Children all collaborate to support these weekly playgroup sessions.

Our Preschool Residential Courses have also been well attended in the second half of 2022 (they were on hold in the first half due to Covid). Not only have families enjoyed travelling to Christchurch to spend a few days with our team, but we have also got these up and running in Auckland. We are so excited to be able to reach even more families through this fabulous program nationwide. Once again, our partnership with The Hearing House in Auckland made these possible, and our amazing Integrated Services Team within Ko Taku Reo have supported these courses to run successfully.

As I've travelled around these different settings, I've seen engaged, connected and curious learners, parents and whānau. I am so lucky to be part of this in my daily work!

We have also been doing exciting new partnership work with Kidsfirst Kindergartens in Christchurch. We are setting up a pilot co-enrolment opportunity where children can enrol in one of two Kidsfirst Kindergartens and get ECE Teacher of the Deaf support and NZSL language models to provide a fully inclusive environment. Our team and Kidsfirst Kindergartens have been eager to learn, grow and work in partnership to create this opportunity which we'll be starting in January 2023. We can't wait to keep you updated next year as this progresses!

We know from research that if our youngest DHH learners are set up well with good language, communication, and confidence in the preschool years, they can fly when they get to school! We have valued the time with whānau, parents, extended families and all those involved in the village that is partnering to give your DHH preschoolers the best possible start to education. We look forward to more exciting times in the year ahead.