Our Porirua centre’s wonderful ‘Mums and Tots’ class ensures mothers with pre-schoolers are not isolated at home but can get out and about in their new community.

The mums get the opportunity to meet other mums, learn English, and also get out into the community to learn about opportunities for them and their children as part of their ‘learning outside the classroom’ activities.

A teacher, a Cultural and Language Assistant (CLA) and a childcare assistant work with class members who range from pre-literate through to elementary students (or higher if needs be). Classes run for 10 hours per week.

The learners have spent a couple of their sessions at the library, which helps to ensure they are able to understand how the library works and feel comfortable to go there. Jacqs Wilton, from ELP Porirua says, “We are so lucky with our librarian in Cannons Creek. She’s very passionate about helping people settle, so is very happy to facilitate our class.”

Another activity students have recently carried out was a visit to Reading Cinema for the ‘Spit the Dummy’ session, where they watched the Lion King. This outing has shown the mums an opportunity to get out and about, what the costs are, and also when and where the Spit the Dummy sessions are.

All of this ensures they are learning about activities they can do with their children – in English!