BestStart Papamoa Plaza

BestStart Papamoa Plaza is a new early learning centre in Papamoa Plaza providing quality education and care for children aged between 3 months to 6 years old. Part of the award winning BestStart family, voted Most Trusted childcare provider, we’re open from 7am to 6pm weekdays - only closing for public holidays - we also provide nutritious food everyday for all our children.

Growing Young Kaitiaki

At BestStart Papamoa Plaza we empower our tamariki to become kaitiaki/guardians of our environment with genuine Manaakitanga relationships.

Our environment is a place of beauty both inside and out. Our learning spaces are enriched with love and the atmosphere is calm and nurturing. Our indoor spaces are built to support the learning and development of every age group with high quality resources designed to spark curious minds. We have an expansive outdoor playground where children challenge themselves, building their independence and self-confidence. 

Learning through nature - We foster the innate tendency children have to seek connections with nature and other forms of life. This happens through taking learning out of the classroom, re-introducing the outdoors whilst enhancing all areas of their development through a natural discovery approach.

Exploration - Children enjoy the freedom of leading their own learning, exploring and discovering uninhibited in our environment. Children learn most effectively when they are connecting deeply with nature through play experiences. This is about creating interactions with people and the places where they play, being a kaitiaki of the land, learning to care for nature and the world in which we live.

Connection to nature - The concept of sustainability is introduced through experiential learning. Being outdoors in a natural setting enables children to develop a connection with the natural world that can lead to long-term environmental awareness and understanding as well as positive outcomes for their developing views of the world.

Our Centre Whakatauki

Ko au te whenua, ko te whenua, ko au. I am the whenua, the whenua is me. The land defines my quality of life. Land is our place to stand, our tūrangawaewae, and it is what makes Aotearoa New Zealand home

Our 0-2 year olds The nursery provides a calm, safe and inviting play space which empowers the children to be who they are. By offering the children space, time, and the support to be themselves they learn to explore and discover the world in their own unique way. We use effective respectful communication to encourage positive interactions and talk to children throughout the day during activities and transition times to reassure and help them.

Our 2-5 year olds Our children are respected and trusted for their inner potential and celebrated for who they are and where they have come from. They are valued for their meaningful work and purposeful child-led play – being active participants in their own learning journey. Our children are celebrated and respected for their capacity to investigate, explore and maintain curiosity in the world around them. We offer BestStart’s Be School Ready initiative for our preschool children, which is incorporated into everyday practice, assisting with the next step in their learning journey. The initiative encourages children to use their developing self-help skills and provides a range of opportunities to extend their independence.

Our teachers work alongside children and remain true to their role of nurturing, encouraging and inspiring the holistic development of all children. Our teachers thrive through their respectful engagement with children, sharing and celebrating in their moments of unplanned, unexpected and unlimited experiences. 

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.