BestStart Raureka

Nau mai, haere mai and welcome to BestStart Raureka. We understand that choosing the right childcare centre for your child can be a daunting task, but let us take the worry away and share with you some of the wonderful opportunities we can offer your child.

Let the uniqueness of the child guide our work

Ko te ahurei o te tamaiti arahia o tatou mahi

Here at BestStart Raureka, we believe that every child belongs in an environment that is warm, safe, friendly and inclusive, where they can develop meaningful friendships and learn at their own pace. We inspire our children to develop important skills such as self-regulation, confidence and to express themselves emotionally and creatively.

Our childcare centre is well established within the community and has been providing quality care and education for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years for the past 24 years. We are positioned on a large back section away from the hustle and bustle of the main road, with safe off street parking. Our environments have been carefully designed by our teachers to cater for all our young learners.

Nga Tipu (Seedlings) (Ages 0-2.5ys) - Our beautiful open plan room offers your baby a home away from home. It is filled with a range of thoughtfully selected resources, soft furnishings and calming colours. Care routines for your child are relaxed, responsive and respectful, allowing your child to develop trusting relationships with their teachers. Our peaceful nursery provides your baby with their own cot with fresh bedding, just like at home. Teachers also work closely with you to develop open and trusting relationships that ensure all your needs are a priority. When your child is ready, a care plan is introduced to help support them on their journey across to the Blossoms Room.

Nga Puawai (Blossoms) (Ages 2.5-6yrs) - Our dedicated and passionate team of teachers work collectively to provide your child with a safe and secure environment, where they feel warmth, dignity and respect.The learning environment is set up to encourage pockets of play, where children can choose to either play alone or in groups. Each of these areas provide many opportunities for your child to practice their communication, turn taking and problem-solving skills. Teachers create interactive learning opportunities, that follow your child’s individual interests and needs and your aspirations for their learning. Relationships (whanaugatanga) are a very important aspect of our centre's philosophy. We believe that building strong, respectful, meaningful relationships help to promote and support all learning within our centre. When your child is ready, educators will further support their learning by offering regular school visits with our local schools in preparation for the next step in their journey.

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.