Harry Tolchard 3, Oaklyn Harrex 1, Eathelyn Harrex 3, and Ezra Fialele 1, enjoy a lunch break at the Rapanui Brunswick Playcentre.
Photo / Liz Wylie
Harry Tolchard 3, Oaklyn Harrex 1, Eathelyn Harrex 3, and Ezra Fialele 1, enjoy a lunch break at the Rapanui Brunswick Playcentre.
Photo / Liz Wylie
After moving to a strange new country young mother Kerry Terrey desperately needed company and support.
From Scotland, she had married a Whanganui farmer and settled with him in rural Brunswick.
Terrey found what she needed at the Rapanui-Brunswick Playcentre in the former Rapanui School building and 30 years latershe is still devoted to Playcentre and can be found there with three of her grandchildren.
"When I first came here I didn't know anyone in the community," Terrey said.
"I was a nurse and I felt there was societal pressure for me to go back to work after I had my first baby.
"I tried it for a while but juggling shift work with caring for a baby was a miserable experience."
Terrey is frustrated and disappointed that Playcentre has been "left out in the cold" after the Government's budget announcement of a $280m funding boost for early childhood education.
Playcentre was allocated a total increase of $3.1m over four years.
The increase amounts to about $675,000 a year, or just $1,685 per centre per year.
"It shows a lack of awareness about the educational and social benefits to children and the supportive environment it offers to parents who can also gain valuable training and employment through Playcentre experience," Terrey said.
Kerry Terrey (left) found her niche as a young mother at Playcentre and now enjoys being there with her grandchildren. Photo / Liz Wylie
Whanganui is home to four of New Zealand's 420 Playcentres and around a third of those are serving rural areas like Brunswick where they often provide the only centre-based service.
While Playcentre teaches more than seven per cent of New Zealand preschoolers it has received less than one per cent of the Government's funding for the ECE sector.
Playcentre Aotearoa general manager Sean McKinley said underfunding now places about 100 Centres at risk of closure and poses a real threat to many jobs.
"To be frank, we spend more than $1,685 on arts, crafts and playdough.
"Then you have to look at all our overheads – heating, insurance, rates, first aid courses and some really eye-watering property maintenance costs."
Terrey's daughter Syndi Harrex has four children of her own and attends Rapanui-Brunswick Playcentre with her daughters Eathelyn, 3 and Oaklyn, 1.
Her sister Raewyn Fialele also attends with her 1-year-old son Ezra.
"Being a Playcentre child gives you incredible social confidence and the ability to build very strong networks," says Harrex.
"I still have friends I made when I was here as a child and now my own children are building those relationships."
As a parent, she says there are high-ratios of adult-child interactions that you don't find anywhere else.
"If I'm facing challenges as a parent, I have this incredible support from others who can give me the benefits of their experience and training.
"I'm not saying there is anything wrong with other early childhood education because I know parents need to work and be away from their children but Playcentre has a vital place in the sector."
Playcentre mum Syndi Harrex with daughters Oaklynn 1, and Eathelyn 3, at the Rapanui Rd centre.
Photo / Liz Wylie
Louise Tolchard and her son Harry 3, are newcomers to the Rapanui centre having recently moved to Whanganui from Auckland.
"We have moved here so I can help care for my brother who has Down Syndrome and dementia," says Tolchard.
"Harry loves it here because we were attending a rural Playcentre before and he loves being here - it has really helped him to feel at home after our move and then being in lockdown."
Like Terrey, Marlene Cooper has been involved with the Rapanui-Brunswick Playcentre over three generations.
"I was a parent when we set up here in 1986 and I have grandchildren attending now as well," she says.
"Over the years, we have done a lot of fundraising to build an extension and maintain the outdoor areas."
"It is very much the heart of the community here."
Education Minister Chris Hipkins has said the Government wants to see Playcentre survive and thrive into the future and will talk to the organisation about how to provide more support.
Terrey said that is encouraging and hopes there will be more financial support as she hopes to see future generations of her family enjoy Playcentre.
The first centre opened in 1948 when the organisation was named the New Zealand Federation of Nursery Play Centre Associations.
