BestStart Greenwood Street

Our roots are something to be proud of. Our stories are begging to be told. Our lands, our marae, and our taonga are to be treasured. Our language is precious. Our traditions are beautiful. Our history belongs in our future.

Our roots run deep

At BestStart Greenwood Street, we know how important culture is to our future. We are connected to these lands, to Papatūānuku, to Ranginui by both sun and by moonlight, to the bounty of Tangaroa, and to the wind song of Tāwhirimātea, bound together by the embrace of Tāne Māhuta.

As you walk into our whare, you will feel the wairua and be greeted by kingitanga hanging in our rooms and hallway. This is what connects us to our past. We are driven by aroha, whānaungatanga, wānanga and start everyday with morning karakia.

Our kaiako believe in celebrating your heritage, the language that your elders speak, and the mighty tipuna who paved the way before you and your whānau. We teach our tamariki to appreciate the humble ways our people lived and thrived.

Our whare is a house of learning, a house of fun, a house to explore our culture and all things unique to you. Our kaiako share stories and legends handed down from generation to generation to help us learn about the world around us. We learn to be strong like Māui, to shine bright like the seven stars during Matariki. And we learn to be kaitiaki like the taniwha that swims in the mighty Waikato River.

In the Kererū room, we operate from the kaupapa belief “it takes a village to raise a child”. We have communication books that allow you to see the most important way our kaiako are growing our pēpi and connecting them to the life source of aroha, manaakitanga – love and nurtured learning. We go at the pace of your pēpi, catering to their needs and interests while connecting with you as much as possible to strengthen our relationships. 

In the Kea room, our kaiako work with whānau to support the tamariki by using centre hui and whānau events so that they stay connected to their roots and progress towards developing their own mana. Using language is another way to connect with our whānau. We believe it is important for our tamariki to hear that languages they hear at home so our kaiako greet whānau in languages like Hindi and Māori. Poipoia te kākano, kia puawai  - the root system of our Toddler room is manaaki. We want our tamariki to love learning for life

Our Kiwi room is where our tamariki, filled with culture start on their pathway to kura. We learn about birds, trees, insects, animals and all that Papatūānuku, Mother Earth gives us. We learn about creation and lifecycles, how to care for centre pets and most important how to be a great friend.

We practice our ball skills, we learn to work together as a team and we celebrate our success. Our whānau get behind our Greenwood Gladiators, bringing flags and signs, dressing up and cheering us on during our Rippa Rugby Tournament.

We work really hard making our own costumes and practising our waiata for our Cultural Festival. Our whānau come from far and wide to tautoko us and when our nannies do a karanga, their cry of pride connects us back to what matters the most – our roots.

Our Centre Taonga is our korowai made by our tamariki. As our tamariki leave, they each sew their own feather to the korowai, knowing they will always have a place in our whānau. When your tamaiti leaves us for kura, they will wear our korowai with pride, letting their roots guide their new journey while their friends, kaiako and whānau watch on. 

Kia mau ki tō Ūkaipō - take who you are and where you’re from with you.

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.