Ko te Kaupapa a Te Kōhanga Reo he whakakotahi i ngā whānau ki te whakarauora, ki te whakapakari anō hoki i te reo me ngā tikanga.
Ko tā Te Kōhanga Reo he manaaki, he poipoi i ngā pīpī paopao ki te poho o te whānau e tū tangata ai i roto i tō rātou ao Māori, e mātau ai ki te reo me ngā tikanga.
Ko te Kaupapa o Te Kōhanga Reo te huarahi whakapakari i te reo, ki te whakamarae anō hoki i ngā tikanga ki te taha o te whānau. Ka hīkoi tahi te whānau me ā rātou tamariki ki te ako i te Kaupapa o Te Kōhanga Reo.
Ko Te Kōhanga Reo tētahi o ngā pou o te Whare Māori o te iwi Māori. I whakatakotoria te Ara Tūāpae a te Kōhanga Reo hei oha ki ngā whakatipuranga me ngā reanga ka hua mai.
Ko Pukeatua te kōhanga reo tuatahi i tuwhera i te 13 o Paengawhāwhā 1982. Mai i taua wā kua neke atu i te 50,000 ngā tamariki kua puta i te kōhanga reo. Kua pakeke aua mokopuna tuatahi rā, ā, ko rātou ngā mātua o ngā mokopuna kei te kōhanga reo ināianei.
“Thank you for taking care of our tamariki. For helping to grow generations of reo speakers. To all our kaiako and kaimahi, thank you for the many hours of blood, sweat and tears you have given to support the kaupapa. To the founders of the movement, the leaders, the nannies, the aunties, the mothers, fathers and cousins – thank you all. You kept true to the movement and we, as Māori, are better today than we were yesterday because of your commitment.”
(Hon Kelvin Davis, May 2019. Post Budget speech)