BestStart Hillcrest

At BestStart Hillcrest we value each child’s individuality, creativity and ideas and love and respect them for who they are. We are passionate about providing quality learning opportunities for all children that build and extend on their interests, offering many experiences to explore at their own pace.  Little Explorers, Big Ambitions

The wellbeing and development of all children is at the HEART of every decision we make.

Building relationships and working in partnership with our families is at the heart of what we do at BestStart Hillcrest. Our vision and philosophy acknowledge the importance of whanaungatanga, using a collaborative approach in ensuring children thrive. Our door is always open to our families and whanau, welcoming you to spend as much time as needed to settle your child into their new environment.

Wonderful environment - The natural environment plays an integral part in children’s learning, they are encouraged to value the natural world, to become kaitiaki (guardians) of their environment and surroundings.

All children have access to a beautiful outside play area where they can continue to explore, run, jump and engage with their friends. Our large spaces allow our children to use nature in their play such as picking flowers, vegetables and leaves. Our wonderful environment provides opportunity for children to explore and connect to the natural world. There are many opportunities during the day for children to be creative, expressive, lead, explore or just sit peacefully and watch the clouds float by.

Community learning - It is very important that our children make community connections, understand their place within our community and learn from our beautiful town. We arrange excursions and invite experts from our community to visit our centre to share their expertise such as Police, Librarians, Dental nurses and animal experts.

Infants and toddlers - At BestStart Hillcrest our babies are cared for by passionate teachers who specialise in working with children aged 0 to 2 years old. Our warm inviting indoor area combined with two spacious outdoor play areas designed for the younger children, offer them plenty of opportunities to explore and grow at their own pace. Our learning programme for our youngest children is nurturing, respectful and guided by each child’s individual needs and interests. Our teachers work with whanau and the wider community to provide an environment that empowers each child to succeed.

Project Hub - Our Tui Room is an exciting project hub, full of interesting, educational opportunities to discover, research and create. Our children are encouraged to plan and implement activities that are of interest to them and they are given the opportunity to experiment with ideas, ways of thinking and doing things. We also empower children to develop those all-important self-help skills, ready for that next part of their learning journey which is school.  Along with this, our unique Be School Ready initiative helps our children develop the skills needed for the transition from BestStart Hillcrest to school.

We welcome you to visit our centre at any time convenient to 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.