Arataki Kindergarten, a public kindergarten in Tauranga, has focused on good oral health for several years. In 2024 they participated in the Health NZ Te Whatu Ora Oral Health Challenge (Western Bay of Plenty) which encourages early childhood centres to educate preschoolers and their whānau about the importance of oral health through fun activities. This gave Arataki Kindy the opportunity to showcase their oral health initiatives. Supported by policies they weave together many factors that support good oral health for young children. This includes a tooth-brushing programme, promoting healthy kai, water-only drinks and education for tamariki and their whānau.
Arataki Kindergarten’s commitment to oral health goes beyond individual activities. It’s embedded in their core values:
Auahatanga (creativity): The team has found lots of creative ways through fun activities and strategies to tackle their community oral health needs.
Kotahitanga (teamwork): Kotahitanga has been woven throughout with whānau, tamariki, health professionals and local community joining forces.
Rangatiratanga (leadership): Arataki kindergarten has shown rangatiratanga becoming champions for better oral health in their kindergarten community.
Kaitiakitanga (guardianship): Kaitiakitanga means taking care of community and the environment, and throughout the challenge Arataki Kindy has focused on sustainable options.
Manawaroa (bravery): Manawaroa has been applied through resilience and not giving up on the importance of good oral health.
Since 2021 Arataki Kindergarten has had a tooth brushing programme. The children have a daily tooth-brushing routine after lunch reinforcing good hygiene habits. The programme is community-driven, born out of whānau involvement when a parent raised concerns about poor oral health in the area. Whānau and teachers came together to try to tackle the issue and decided to begin the tooth brushing programme. Parents have reported positive impacts at home, with children showing more enthusiasm for toothbrushing and even reminding their families to brush their teeth. Supported by ongoing community support the toothbrushes are supplied by a local dentist.
Healthy eating is a key contributor towards good oral health. As children bring lunch boxes from home Arataki Kindergarten has a healthy food policy that encourages whole foods, fruits, vegetables, and water-only options, with minimal packaging. Kaiako work closely with parents to help them make lunchboxes that align with this policy, sharing ideas and photo displays of healthy lunchboxes.
Kaiako created many educational activities including sorting food into "glad mouth" and "sad mouth" food categories and cooking food for strong teeth. Parents reported children talking about healthy food more at home, including what food makes teeth strong and the amount of sugar in food. Children help create a wall display highlighting sugar content in common foods. It was eye-opening for many parents. Check out this poster which shows how much sugar is in children’s drink.
Located within walking distance to a free Children's Community Dental Clinic has further normalised dental check-ups through kindy visits to the Clinic. Through approaching all families teachers ensured 100% enrolment with the free dental service.
Guided by their core values Arataki Kindergarten’s dedication to oral health has produced some great results for the children of Arataki.