KINDERCARE LEARNING CENTRES
Celebrating 50 years of Kindercare It’s hard to believe that just 50 years ago, early childhood centres were rare, and yet there was a growing need as more women either remained or re-entered the workplace after becoming mothers. Full-time working parents in the early 1970s had few options available for the care of their children. Needing an income while desiring to start a family, Primary School Teacher, Glennie Oborn, pulled together her savings to setup what we know today as Kindercare Learning Centres.
Kindercare’s History
The first childcare centre was established in Glennie’s family home in 1972 as Milford Day Nursery. It was licensed for 32 children between the ages of two and five years old. Seven years later and with three centres on the North Shore, the centres were incorporated to become Kindercare Learning Centres. Remaining a ‘family business’, whānau has always been at the heart of this organisation, with Glennie’s mum and sister involved in the early years, her husband Allan Wendelborn joining in 1980 and making a significant contribution to Kindercare’s story, and all four of their children serving in various capacities over the years. Since 2014, their son Kelly Wendelborn has led Kindercare as the Chief Executive. The original centre in Milford was refurbished in 1990, as a purpose-built facility. This centre is still thriving today as Kindercare’s first, under the experienced and inspirational leadership of Centre Director, Philippa Terei. Philippa has been serving children and families at Kindercare for 32 years, beginning her journey at Kindercare as a Teacher at this very centre all those years ago.
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Issue 132 - July 2022 www.channelmag.co.nz
Local History
Thousands of North Shore children, and their children, have spent their early years at Kindercare. From the beginning, Kindercare has been very much a part of the local Shore community, actively engaging children in creative and innovative programmes that foster respect and appreciation of the environment, music, movement, art and literature, while developing each child’s full potential. On Shakespeare Road, where Kindercare Milford is situated, Glennie’s parents, Flo and Ralph Oborn, had market gardens that stretched back to the Wairau Creek, producing vegetables for the community and cut flowers for florists. As growers and gardeners, they had a roadside stall, selling produce that didn’t make it to the markets. Today, Kindercare is proud to be serving a second generation of young children in this community, with many of them attending Milford Primary School over the past 50 years — like their parents before them and Glennie herself, just as her father did before her.
