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At BestStart St Andrews early learning centre we encourage, extend and enhance children’s ideas as they actively explore and question the world around them. We're conveniently located in Sunshine Ave, Te Rapa with plenty of off street parking making drop offs and picks ups a breeze.
Growing Great Together
When we all work together our children feel supported and develop trust. It is from here that children build their confidence to try new things, extending their skills and opening up their world. This is our vision coming to life!
Family relationships – At BestStart St Andrews we take pride in the great communication we have between centre life and home and the partnerships we develop with our families. This enables us to take an holistic approach to supporting our children's growth and development. We have a strong process in which to connect to our families from the moment they enter through our doors. A shared plan for each child is developed that reflects parent aspirations. The team work to meet these goals through the strengths and interests of the child. Parent teacher meetings, centre events and the use of StoryPark, enhance these connections to develop authentic partnerships for positive learning and growth.
Culture – Acknowledgement and integration of a family's culture into our programme is essential for us to grow great together. The sharing of cultural celebrations from families that are experts in the knowledge as well as the staff that hold these celebrations and rituals close to their hearts is important. The exposure and traditions create a cultural respect that are essential aspects of a child being firm in their cultural identity. You will see these reflected in the children’s individual development plans as well as through group celebrations such as Matariki, Diwali and Holi.
Community – Our vision 'Growing great together' is important from a community perspective as well. We have created connections with our local community and include these in the learning and development focuses in the centre. Visits to the SPCA to learn about how to care for animals and then introducing a new bunny into our learning environment is an example of this. We regularly show our continued support here through fundraising efforts too. Bunnings is another site we visit to add to our community garden that the children tend to, providing produce for those in need. We continue to strive to include the community in our centre environment and to expose the children to the wider world.
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.
