Kura Kainga Care
A Māori - owned small business based in Gold Coast Queensland providing education and care options to whanau living in Australia.
We are passionate about guiding tamariki growing up in Australia to make connections to their culture and to the Māori community in which they live to create a sense of belonging in who they are.
Tēnā koe,
Ko Maungataniwha te maunga
Ko Te Moho te awa
Ko Tokerau to moana
Ko Parapara te marae
Ko Ngāti Kahu toku iwi
Ko Dawn Priestley toku ingoa
Kia ora, my name is Whaea Dawn, I’m a teacher, a Māmā and the founder of Kura Kāinga Care.
I was born and raised in Manurewa, South Auckland and moved to the Gold Coast in 2019 with my two teenage children.
I have a long career in Early Childhood Education, of 15 years on the floor teaching both here and back home in Aotearoa.
Upon moving to Australia I realised that there are a lot of Māori here that felt disconnected from our culture and that the mainstream education system here was so different and not always suitable for our own tamariki. I became passionate about filling this need by providing alternative care options and te reo Māori resources to support whanau in keeping our culture alive in their homes for our tamariki growing up away from Aotearoa.
Child Care Services
My first venture after establishing the business brand Kura Kāinga Care in 2022 was setting up the Hire a Whaea babysitting services.
As the name suggests the kaupapa is all about providing quality care and education within the home environment. Whānau were able to ‘hire a Whaea’ to come to their home to care for their children while they worked or had down time.
Our Whaea were equipped with kete of knowledge and resources that they would take to jobs with them to actively engage children in learning about te Ao Māori through waiata, games and books.
Between July 2024 and February 2025 I was also offering Kura Kāinga Casual Care, a small family daycare setting from my home in Willow Vale. With a small group of 4 tamariki at a time I felt truly in my element offering quality care and education with a focus on nature and sensory play. I really felt like I was living my dream to be doing this!
These were extremely successful elements of the business and we were providing care to many regular happy whanau. We are however taking a break from offering these services as I am currently hapū expecting a baby boy in October :)
Cultural Educational Resources
I am extremely passionate about sustainability and kaitiakitanga of the natural environment and this shines through in my teaching approach. I value promoting connection and curiosity in nature through sensory play and mindfulness practices. These beliefs are the foundation of the creation of the cultural educational resources that we now offer through Kura Kāinga Care.
We believe that learning happens first within the whare - home within the whanau connections. Our resources are made to motivate whanau to play and have fun teaching and learning te reo in the home. They are also made as teaching tools for our Whaea to take on babysitting jobs to teach our tamariki.
Our resources are envisioned and created with aroha and intention to immerse your tamariki in Te Ao Māori. With a natural wooden ahua our resources are designed to inspire and empower our children to learn and develop sense of cultural identity and connection to who they are and where they come from.
Other Kaupapa
There are a number ways that we have been involved in the community since our establishment in 2021. We have been active stallholders at Waitangi Day and Matariki markets and festivals in the Gold Coast, providing care options and arts and crafts activities on the day.
I have also created a few other kaupapa on the side over the past few years .
The Māori Homeschooling Community was established as a Facebook group where whanau who homeschool could align and connect with one another for social and educational projects and workshops.
Mana Wāhine in Business is a group for wahine entrepreneurs to network, collaborate and promote their business ventures. We have held a number of workshops and events over the years
Whakamana Wāhine is a facebook page that I created as a space to share my personal self-healing journey and was my very first business venture. From this platform I offered a number of personal development courses and workshops using Whare Tapa Whā as a health model to promote women empowerment and healing. While I haven’t been active on this page for some time, there’s still a bit of content there that may land and inspire you :)
Māori Homeschooling Community
A Facebook community formed to support and connect Māori whanau who are Homeschooling their tamariki.
Whakamana Wahine
A Facebook platform created as a safe space for sharing stories with a focus on women empowerment, self-healing and personal reflection and growth.
Mana Wahine in Business
A business networking group for Wahine Māori in Business
We acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people as the original and traditional custodians of this land and respect all Elders past, present and emerging. We respect the spiritual connection the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples have with this land and show gratitude for the opportunity to live, work and play upon this land.