BestStart Lytton

BestStart Lytton provides quality educational childcare in a caring and supportive environment. Our experienced and stable staff team have warm and positive relationships with whanau/families working together to meet children’s development goals.

Our centre is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 5.30pm and cares for children up to 6 years old. We have available full day, morning and afternoon sessions, and offer the Government 20 ECE hours that are free for 3-5 year olds.

Celebrating the many cultures of our children and families, we encourage whanau to join in our celebrations so we can learn and grow. At BestStart Lytton we believe healthy bodies create healthy minds. All our meals are prepared onsite by our chef and use natural ingredients. Children learn about the world through play and our centres and teachers provide a nurturing, open and fun environment. 

Age specific, tailored spaces - Our teaching programme is based on values of respect, responsibility and community through exploration and discovery in a supportive and enriching environment. We have three dedicated rooms caring for children of different age and developmental stages. Each room has their specially designed indoor and outdoor areas, and the teaching team in each room implements teaching methods and strategies tailored to your child's individual interests and needs. Our programme follows Te Whāriki (Early Childhood Curriculum) and BestStart’s unique Be School Ready initiative.

Infants - The infant teachers form close, nurturing relationships with families and we follow each child’s home routine. We create a calm and loving place for our youngest children filled with cuddles and smiles. Culture is a very important part of BestStart Lytton and we have many ways and experiences to help develop cultural identity. Our experienced teachers plan exciting and challenging learning opportunities and environments to stimulate young minds.

Toddlers - Our toddlers are exposed to sensory exploration and encouraged into group play to develop social skills and independence. The children are offered lots of fun and challenging experiences every day. Our very skilled and experienced teachers work closely with the children to help them develop social and self-help skills as well as starting their early literacy and numeracy learning. The teachers are also very experienced in helping children during toilet learning to ensure that they are fully competent and capable when they move to Takaro room.

Preschoolers - The transition into the kindergarten room is carefully planned to ensure the child is developmentally ready and moves with their friend group. The kindergarten room is an exciting place for children where their learning is developed to fulfil their potential. BestStart’s unique Be School Ready initiative prepares children individually and in groups for primary school focusing on literacy, numeracy, socialisation and independence skills.

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.