Prize giveaway from Wednesday 10th January when we reopen our doors for 2024! Every day that your child attends
one of our kindergartens or early learning centres in January 2024 will earn automatic entry into the draw for a $200
supermarket voucher.* There is one prize per centre, drawn following the closing date of the competition.
*Terms and conditions apply.

Terms and conditions

• Competition will run from 10th January 2024 – 31st January 2024.
• One child attending = One entry per day.
• Offer includes any child who starts attending a CMKA kindergarten or ELCM early learning centre during the
  competition period.
• One prize draw per centre will be drawn following the closing date of 31 January 2023. We have 22
  kindergartens and 6 early learning centres.
• The voucher will be for a supermarket local to the centre holding the draw, as chosen by Counties Manukau
  Kindergarten Association.
• Multiple entries are permitted for each child, this includes multiple children from one household.
• Prizes will be drawn between 1st – 8th February 2024.
• Prize winners will be notified by their Head Teacher or Centre Manager following this date.
• This competition is open to all children enrolled at one of our kindergartens or early learning centres except
  for the children of employees of CMKA and ELCM.
• Attendance data will be recorded and reported using our Discover software

Early Learning Counties Manukau (ELCM) and Counties Manukau Kindergarten Association (CMKA) are involved in advocating for pay parity and pay equity for the Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector.

We are therefore pleased to announce that from 2 May 2022, all support staff employed in services operated by ELCM and CMKA will receive increases to the rates published in their Collective Employment Agreement. The rate increase will range between 5.2% – 5.8% with an average increase of 5.5% for our valuable support staff who work in positions including Teaching Assistants, Unqualified Teachers, Cooks and Administration Assistants. 

“We have liaised with NZEI Te Riu Roa about this decision, and received their agreement to vary the Collective Agreement rates accordingly” says ELCM/CMKA CEO Calmar Ulberg. “We know that hourly rates for support staff working in Early Childhood need critical attention, and so have made a decision to move towards addressing the gap for our own support staff, within the funding constraints facing our organisation and others in the sector.”

NZEI organiser Ben Rosamond, says “We were very pleased to hear about the pay increase. It’s great to see the organisation taking steps to address the matter of pay equity. We wait to see what’s in the budget in terms of extra funding for early childhood providers. As always, members are welcome to get in touch with any queries.”

We continue to work together with NZEI and other organisations committed to the continued progress towards pay equity and the improved funding across ECE.

Kawakawa Bay kindergarten was recently successful in receiving a grant from Dragon Community Trust to go towards replacing some of their fence panels with acrylic panels. This is so their tamariki can see through to the river running past the kindergarten. The tamariki love watching the local wildlife – shags, kingfishers, weka, pukekos -and it helps to create a serene and soothing environment for all.

Thank you Dragon Community Trust for the grant to pay for this project.

To learn more about our centre, please visit our page | Kawakawa Bay Kindergarten