Dannevirke Kindergarten Association prepares for opening in alert level 3

Laurie Malcolmson of LA Cleaning just finished cleaning Dannevirke's Appleton Kindergarten on Friday in preparation of its opening on Wednesday, April 29.

Dannevirke Kindergarten Association says it's working hard to ensure its services are prepared for the move to alert level 3 level next Tuesday morning.

Its kindergartens are preparing to open on Wednesday, April 29.

"We are contacting our communities to give the Government's message that if parents and caregivers can keep their children at home, then they should continue to do so," says association general manager Antoinette Perry.

"However, the key message from us, is that we are here for those parents and caregivers who have to work and can't leave their children at home. We are all in this together and we see this as a positive way that we can contribute to our community.

"We have been working closely with the Ministry of Education on strict health and safety measures that will provide a safe return for children to early childhood education.

"This is helping us work through the public health requirements that we need to meet. We want to reassure parents and caregivers that we want to keep our community and children and our staff as safe as possible. Overall the message is that we are here to support and look after our families and care for their children, that's what we want to do.

"We know how important it is for parents to feel safe and reassured about their child attending. We will be sending further information about what the day will look like, health and safety protocols, staffing and more. We know early childhood education is stepping up to further support families and communities to help New Zealand's long term recovery.

"Covid-19 has made it hard for many families and we know that some are struggling. Having children return to our services will help in these difficult times," she said.