BestStart Portage Road Kindy

BestStart Portage Road Kindy is a unique childcare centre for 2 to 5-year-olds. Our childcare centre is situated on the border of Otahuhu and Mt Wellington with an outdoor environment that overlooks the lovely Mt Richmond Park. To support our whānau, our kindy is open from 8am until 5pm.

Kia kaha. We will stand alongside you!

At BestStart Portage Road Kindy we are here when you need us and will work together with you to ensure children get the best quality education and care. Whanaungatanga is important to us as we understand it is through our relationships with our tamariki and whanau that we build strong, resilient, confident learners. 

Our learning spaces

We have 4 rooms designed to meet the social and educational needs of our tamariki:

• Laititi Kiwi Potu  2 year olds
• Te Karearea Whanau  young 3 year olds
• The Pukeko Nest  older  3 - 4 year olds
• Tui Fânau Fale  4 - 5 years old

You will see...

Engaged, focused children who are confident learners

Sustainable practices implemented in the centre such as growing beautiful flowers and yummy vegetables for our shared kai; and gradually phasing out plastic for natural resources and loose parts.

Beautiful, interactive learning indoor environment with lovely outdoor areas facing Mount Richmond

Caring and respectful interactions between tamariki and kaiako

Successful transitions from home to centre, between rooms and to school

Lots of laughter from tamariki and kaiako as we play and learn

We are a multicultural centre with a multi-lingual team, you will hear different languages being used as kaiako talk with our whānau

Kai time

We provide healthy morning tea and afternoon tea with tamariki bringing their own lunches. Meal times are a slowing down time and valued as an environment to further develop self-help and social skills through being respectful, courteous, kind and using our manners.

Our Teaching Philosophy

Naku te rourou nau te rourou ka ora ai te iwi. With your basket and my basket the people will thrive. Our centre philosophy underpins the value we put on learning-focused relationships, we realise that whanau play a big part in successful learning outcomes for our tamariki.

 Our kaiako are caring, fun-loving, intentional teachers who have your child at the centre of their practice. We are reflective and innovative educators, actively seeking ways to transform learning for our 21st century children. We are proud of our tamariki and our curriculum which reflects the creativity and diversity of our centre.

Whānau and Community engagement

This is important to us and we value your involvement in your child’s learning. Whether it is through face to face, a parent evening or through Storypark, it takes a village to raise a child. Even during Covid lockdown we were in contact with our families daily on Storypark and interactively using Zoom.

We value our community and to show our appreciation we host various community agencies including, Plunket B4 School checks, fitness classes and such in our Community Room. We are fortunate to have a van driver so can not only do pick-ups and drop-offs but also visit our local library and park.

Come discover what we can offer your child today!

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.