The Sunbeam Success story

When a perfect storm of external factors started to eat away at the roll at Kidsfirst’s oldest kindergarten, the teaching team knew they had to take action – fast.

Their local community had always been stable and predictable, but things had changed. And while the drivers of that change were outside of their control, kaiako weren’t about to sit back and watch the decline continue.

"It was a number of things all at once," says Head Teacher, Neroli Gardener,

"Whānau were finally getting earthquake repairs done and moving away. COVID also changed the makeup of the community. A large number of children all left at the same time to go to school, and, as if that wasn’t enough, roadworks closed our street for nine months."

The kindergarten had gone from a full teaching team, five days of the week, to having a reduced number of regular staff, and ten less children per session.

Neroli says the kindergarten has always worked hard at keeping its name front and centre in the community – now, that was more important than ever. The team doubled down, doing more of what had worked for the kindergarten for over a century.

"If we bumped into parents in the park with prams, we would make sure they knew who we were and where we’re from," says Neroli "We’re also intentional and deliberate in the way we talk to people, and we talk to everyone – we’ll stop by local shops to say hello, and we work hard to put out this really positive view of not just who we are, but also where we are. We are tucked away, and a lot of people don’t even know we’re here."

The Sunbeam team has never underestimated the power of word-of-mouth marketing, and their instincts are borne out by the numbers: friends and family remain our strongest referral source, accounting for (Almost half? More than half? Need to check this number) of all new waitlist applications or enrolments.

The team also knew that visibility wasn’t enough on its own – they needed to continue to boost their role as active members of the local community to get the numbers moving in the right direction again.

Initiatives included a stall at the local School Fair and other activities that encouraged participation.

"We do big quiz fundraisers across the road at our local," Neroli says. "It’s great because people get to join in and get a sense of being part of things."

‘You’re always welcome here’ is a phrase that has long-resonated with the Sunbeam team, and they love to invite visitors, and potential whānau into their space.

"Ours is an open-door policy. We tell people they’re more than welcome to pop in whenever they want, and we give a lot of attention to anyone that walks in the gate," says Neroli. "We offer them a cup of tea, and make sure they’re happy, and invite them to stay for as long as they want. It’s a great way for them to experience the kindergarten difference."

It can take a few visits for whānau to make the all-important decision to add their name to the waitlist or enrol, and Neroli and her team encourage visitors to come back as many times as they need to until they feel comfortable making the commitment.

"The more chances and time we get to talk to parents, the more opportunities we have to impress them and let them know this is a great place for them and their tamariki."

The Sunbeam team isn’t shy to make a clear sales pitch – based on what they know about their competition and each individual family.

"You have to be able to tell parents how you’re better than the centre down the street that says they have these 'accelerated learning programmes' for schools, or that teach your child to read and write – we have to really be able to say ‘Hey, this is why we do what we do,’ and you have to believe it."

Neroli says that the extra effort is always worth it.

"As an older teacher, it’s harder on my body to work with 40 children, but we knew that if we didn’t get our numbers up, we’d lose one of our teachers. So we have worked really hard at it – but you have to want it, too."

After a few months of intensive effort, Sunbeam’s rolls are headed back in the right direction, with the team picking back up 40/30 days, five days a week, and Neroli says that it’s been a great effort by the whole team.

"We have to remember that it was a whole number of factors that contributed to getting our numbers back up. It’s important to be positive about it – put your head down and grab the opportunity."

Read all Issue 17 stories