BestStart Maunu Village

Welcome to BestStart Maunu Village, an early learning childcare centre, nestled next to beautiful bush in the heart of Maunu. We provide quality care and education for children up until they go to school. We're proud of our whanau focussed culture where children are at the heart of everything we do.

Wonder and discovery starts here

“Think and wonder, wonder and think” – Dr Seuss

Nestled against beautiful native bush in the heart of Maunu, lies BestStart Maunu Village. Where memories are created, experiences come alive and adventure awaits. 

Our creative team of teachers are ready to walk beside your child. We provide a nurturing, stimulating environment, that encourages young minds to flourish and grow.

We are a purpose-built centre consisting of 2 buildings complimenting each other with spaces designed to support your precious taonga, from babies up until they go to school.

The newest addition to our family is BestStart Pohutukawa. Here your child can discover who they are, build confidence, and reach their full potential with learning experiences offered to support children to learn at their own pace. Our lovely natural surroundings invite curiosity and a sense of adventure! We have 3 spaces designed to support children’s individual learning and development needs. Our newly opened infant and toddler area caters for up to 10 pepe with our teachers integrating the care of you child with teaching and learning, so that special attentions is given to developing the brain through deep and connected relationships.  

When you step into BestStart Kauri, you'll hear the giggles and busyness of our under two-room. We care for our youngest children in a specialized, nurturing caring Pepe space with a separate outdoor area. The team working in this room has an appreciation for the special needs and attention the under 2 children require as they learn to find their place in the world.

In addition, Kauri has three rooms supporting children from the age of 2 years through to 6 years old. Each room is unique, and the teaching team has designed a transitioning programme where we help children decide when they are ready for the next step in their learning journey to make the move to the next room (Ideally with their friends). There is a focus on community engagement with planned trips to support children to connect with local places and people. Our spaces are well resourced with well thought out teaching strategies to encourage, invite, and delight your child.

We appreciate that your children come to us with their “own kete” and we invite families to share in planning their child’s learning with us. Our Story Park platform is an ideal place for regular engagement and updates where you can be involved, and you will see your child’s journey with us documented. 

The choice is yours. Each space supports individual children, encouraging a sense of belonging and a place where they are free to explore and realize the wonder of learning. 

Come visit us and discover a special place where your child will be treasured.

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.