Raetihi pre-school education advocate

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 36, 24 February 1987, Page 5

Raetihi pre-school education advocate

Raetihi has a new community pre-school worker appointed by the Rural Education Activities Programme. She is Michelle Coley, who is well qualified for the job. Michelle holds a Playcentre Supervisors Certificate, she is an enrolled nurse afid is the mother of four children. The main task of a community pre-school worker is to encourage parents to find some form of pre-school education for their children. This could be at Kindergarten, Playcentre or Te Kohanga Reo, or at a special playgroup set up when none is available. Michelle said from what she has seen there is a real need for her work in Raetihi.

There has never been a preschool worker in Raetihi, she said. She will be based at Raetihi Primary School but will meet with parents at various places including parents' own homes if they wish. Michelle says that preschool education is very important for children for a variety of reasons. Children in groups learn many social skills through play with others of their own age that reduce the trauma of starting school. Health problems are also more easily detefcted when a number of adults have contact with a child. Play groups also benefit parents, says Michelle. Problems with their children can be discussed with her or other parents and solutions more easily found. Michelle plans to run workshops to show mothers that children can learn from play, and playgroups are more than a babysitting service. She will also work with parents to set up playgroups where others are not available. M ichelle can be contacted at Raetihi Primary School.