Childcare options in Inglewood

BestStart Inglewood early learning centre is in the heart of our community and has community at heart. We're open from 7.30am to 5.30pm right through the year, only closing for public holidays and offer a range of full and part-time spaces to suit our community's needs.

At BestStart Inglewood we want our children to feel connected to our wider community, to understand our history, our people and their place within it. 

A sense of belonging is important to us. In our centre this starts with strong, trusting relationships. Children are supported to try new things when they are ready. Their sense of belonging supports them to discover the unknown, to try something new, to speak up for what we believe in because they feel confident and trust us.

Success in our centre is not about excellence or being the best – it’s about each child doing their best and achieving their goals by working in partnership with whanau. Success depends on effort and anything can be achieved when you try your best. Children set goals, persist, adapt, and celebrate. To us, working in partnership with whanau is communicating values and beliefs and embedding these within our daily curriculum. 

Kindness is a key attribute we instill in centre life and is embodied in many ways throughout our centre – children help each other by serving their friends, helping with their shoes, encouraging them to try new things. 

We celebrate events such as Puanga and Chinese New Year within the centre as well as being involved in the events from the local community including the annual Inglewood Parade. We have close relationships with whānau, promoting tuakana-teina between the tamariki, as well as strong relationships within the community. 

We support tamariki and whanau with transition to school programmes and we are involved with all the local schools new entrant teachers to provide the easiest transition possible for you and your child.

Kaiako take pride in our roles. We are calm, happy and engaged with our children. We respond to their cues and interests and extend upon them through intentional teaching. We support children to develop their skills to become capable, confident learners.

Who is BestStart?

BestStart is for families who want more from early-childhood education. Safe, nurturing and educationally focused, we’re committed to growing caring people with curious minds.

Together we teach, learn and nurture.

Our vision is to work in partnership with families, whanau and communities to enable children to achieve their learning potential.

Ko tō mātou tirohanga hei mahi ngātahi i te taha o ngā whānau me ngā hāpori, kia āwhinatia ngā tamariki, kia tū pito mata ai rāatou, hei rangatira mō āpōpō.

We are committed to being a progressive and responsive leader in early-childhood education. We do this by enhancing our services, investing in our people, developing our support structure and continuously improving the educational outcomes and experiences of our children, families and the communities we serve.

Some facts:

• We’re licensed to educate and care for 15,000 full-time children daily.
• 18,000 families use BestStart services annually.
• We have over 270 centres nationwide located from Whangarei to Invercargill.
• Each centre is managed by a Centre Manager who is supported by a local Area Manager. This gives our centre teams ongoing quality training and support.
• Te Whāriki, the world-wide acclaimed national early childhood education curriculum, is used in all centres.
• We have over 4500 permanent teachers nationally. Over 90% of our permanent teaching staff are either fully qualified with a diploma or bachelor of teaching (ECE) or higher, or are in training. These figures are very high by national standards within the ECE sector.
• We provide a two-year Advice and Guidance Programme for all recently certified teachers, providing further mentoring and training. This gives strong support for teachers from provisional registration to full teacher registration with the NZ Teachers Council.
• We regularly spend around $4 million on teacher training per annum.

We’re for children

At our heart is our commitment and passion for children. Central to this belief is our focus on the holistic development of children. We support children to explore the world around them, learning through relationships, creating a love of learning in an ever-changing world. Exploration, friendship and fun are part of the journey.

We’re for good

BestStart is a registered charity owned by the Wright Family Foundation. We support initiatives and programmes within BestStart and the wider early-childhood education sector (ECE) that support good outcomes for all children. We do this because we want to make a positive difference to the lives of all children.

Innovation leads us

At BestStart, innovation guides our thinking. We advocate positive change for learners through our research and practice. We’re proud to be thought leaders within ECE, openly challenging ourselves to think differently to provide the best for our children, families and staff.

We’re responsive

Our centres reflect their children, staff and communities. We celebrate individuality, uniqueness and diversity, encouraging a spirit of empathy, understanding and collaboration. Through our responsive relationships and our curriculum, we support learners to choose their own path.

Our people matter

At BestStart people come first. When we grow and develop our people, everyone benefits. We strive for whakamana/empowerment, nurturing a culture of excellence with engaged, talented professionals. Their commitment, skill and passion light our way.

Te Kōhanga Reo

The kōhanga reo movement is a unique initiative based on total immersion in Māori language and values with the aim of passing on Māori culture to future generations.

Kōhanga reo emphasise the revitalisation of the culture through te reo Māori and are dependent on the active participation of the whole whānau. The kaupapa of kōhanga reo aims to strengthen whānau capabilities in cultural, social, economic, spiritual and political matters. Education, health and wellbeing are inherent within all aspects of the kaupapa. The prime focus is the whānau – its collective development, growth, accountability and wellbeing set within a Māori cultural context.

Kōhanga reo do not regard tamariki in isolation, but as important members of the whānau. The kōhanga reo philosophy is that tamariki will benefit when whānau successfully operate according to the kaupapa. Tamariki are an integral part of whānau development.

The following key goals are the foundation of te kōhanga reo kaupapa established in 1982:

• total immersion in te reo Māori me ōna tikanga in daily operations
• whānau decision-making, management and responsibility
• accountability
• health and wellbeing of mokopuna and whānau.

The key goals of te kōhanga reo assure that there will be:

• security in te reo Māori
• a supportive, caring environment for mokopuna
• whānau (collective) sharing of responsibilities, knowledge and expertise
• greater respect and appreciation of each other.

Welcome to Inglewood Community Childcare Centre

Infants

We’ve designed a wondrous world to foster the daily development of infant minds and bodies. More than just a day care, your little one starts his or her learning journey with us and we’ll work with you to make the transition a smooth and happy time, creating a strong bond and a setting that feels like family.

Toddlers

Your children are discovering their world, and we’re here to help them. Toddlers learn best in safe, loving places where they can explore, in their own way. The activities for this age group are built around toddlers’ limitless curiosity and their natural desire to push boundaries.

Pre-School

With improved coordination and thinking the world begins to open up for preschoolers. Our program introduces language, math, science, Te Reo, and social skills in a natural sequence to nourish learning one step and a time, with individual attention suited to your child’s unique needs.

Our Rooms

Mahoe Room

AGES 3 Months - 2 Years

The Mahoe Room offers a warm, quiet and caring environment with age appropriate learning experiences for babies and toddlers (0-2 years). The purpose built facility is designed and equipped to promote physical skills such as crawling and walking. A beautiful and stimulating environment with plenty of sensory experiences.

The Mahoe Room is perfectly equipped with open spaces, a custom designed kitchen, two peaceful sleep rooms, bathrooms, large deck area and safe and private outdoor area perfect for inquisitive toddlers and babies.

Kowhai Room

AGES 2 - 3 Years

The Kowhai Room offers a warm, nurturing environment in which your child can feel safe, happy and ready to soak up the learning experiences we have to offer. It is purposefully designed to start promoting your child’s independence, communication and problem-solving skills.

Tools and materials for arts and crafts are available to experiment with such as paint, glue and clay along with opportunities to learn about their body through movement. The environment of the Kowhai Room is specifically designed to provide sensorial and open ended experiences to foster cognitive, emotional, social and fine/gross motor development.

Rata Room

AGES 3 - 6 Years

Designed to develop and increase your childs independence and social skills to ensure a smooth move to primary school. The Rata Room caters for children aged approximately 3 – 6 years.

The Rata Room has a range of materials that invite children to explore their many languages of investigating the world. In this room teachers provide an environment that challenges and supports children for their widening interests and problem solving capacities.

For a child to enter primary school with confidence they need to have extensive prior learning and experiences which provide starting points for further learning; and the confidence to be in a new setting that requires social skills.