A new early childhood education company has launched in Hawke’s Bay. Tiny Nation is a home-based education and care provider with a vision to shake up the sector by delivering a model based on innovative and high quality care and education.
Tiny Nation was founded by parents who are passionate about giving New Zealand pre-schoolers the best start in life. With a leadership team that has over 50 years’ collective experience in early learning, Tiny Nation has set out to make home-based early childhood education a more mainstream choice for families and educators. The vision behind Tiny Nation connects with the research around what children need most in their first years of life – strong attachment relationships in nurturing environments. Founding Director Erin Maloney says, “Creating Tiny Nation has been a dream of mine for a long time now. The early childhood education sector is going through a lot of change and there’s a bigger conversation at play around what the future of early learning looks like in New Zealand. I believe our children, parents, whānau and educators all deserve more than they currently have access to. I want to create a community where we walk alongside families to enable their children to have the very best start in life. And I want our teachers and educators to have a stronger voice, to be valued more in their roles and to have opportunities to feel supported and thrive.”
Tiny Nation launched last week at an event supported by members of the education industry and community. Keynote speaker at the event was trained teacher, facilitator and renowned leader of heart-based early childhood education, Kimberley Crisp. Proud to be a part of the launch, Kimberley said, “I am always heart warmed when people get behind their passion and make a dream become a reality. I believe that when the ‘right’ people follow their inner authentic calling it is indeed a gift to families and our communities. Tiny Nation has a very clear vision and with educators having a voice and sharing in decision making.” Kimberley went on to say, “We can’t have a wonderful place for children if we haven’t got a wonderful place for teachers.”
The Tiny Nation model is based on sourcing highly trained educators and qualified teachers, and empowering them to run their own unique early learning services from home. Educators and families are provided with ongoing support, training and resources. They have access to personal and professional development and benefit from the partnerships that Tiny Nation has created with industry specialists and expert advisors. Says Maloney, “Professionalising home-based early learning is really important to me. I want to create a new level of excellence in the sector. Children will always be at the heart of what we do, but we also know that we can’t care for our children without providing our educators and teachers with great working conditions. We partner with our educators to empower them by offering ongoing support, connections, resources and learning.”
A focus on innovation and technology sets Tiny Nation apart from other early childhood education providers. All educators are equipped with a tablet computer that gives families easy and secure access to their children’s learning journey and updates. The tablets also provide an online sign-in, sign-out portal, an added security aspect compared to the traditional more manual sign-in sheets. Says Maloney, “There’s a huge opportunity to be innovative in the early childhood education sector. We want our educators to be able to focus their time on the children in their care, so we’re looking for ways to remove outdated and time-consuming paperwork and systems.”
Along with expertise and experience, Tiny Nation has strong values based on authenticity, belonging and child-centricity. Marketing Manager Kate Scott explains, “We believe in the power of curiosity, the importance of play and the need for authentic connections. We know that the early years of a child’s life are crucial to their emotional and mental development. Having a safe, secure and consistent network of caregivers is vital to help them develop into well-adjusted adults. We created Tiny Nation to support strong, nurturing connections between our young children and passionate educators.”
Tiny Nation has launched in Hawke’s Bay and has plans to extend the network to other areas in New Zealand.
More information can be found online at tinynation.co.nz and facebook.com/tinynation and by contacting Founding Director Erin Maloney on 021 633 784.