BestStart Vivian Street

BestStart Vivian Street early learning centre in the heart of New Plymouth provides care for children from 0 to 6 years old is a lovely environment that feels like home. We're open right through the year from 7.30am to 5.30pm and provide a range of full and part time spaces to suits our community's needs.

What matters to your family, matters to us 

We learn about what's important to each of our families and support our children to discover more. Our children know that who they are and what interests them is important.

Skills for life - We are passionate about working alongside children, following their interests, supporting and encouraging their passions, providing a rich learning environment. This approach means children develop a passion for learning, something that will stay with them as they grow. 

Sense of belonging - We work in partnership with our families and community, to uphold family values, honour aspirations and celebrate their culture. When parents and whaanau feel a connection, this helps children feel safe and supported, knowing that this is their place and they belong here. 

Connection - Children feel connected to the wider community through our regular excursions and centre visitors. They develop their confidence as they engage with a variety of people. We work in partnership with some amazing people who bring their skills to our centre to support our children. 

We invite local experts into the centre often with visits from expert parents, La Leche League and also Plunket.

Our weekly community playgroups offer a chance for parents to connect with each other and our centre. Read our blog about our playgroup here.

Sustainability - We help protect Papatuanuku (our earth) by practicing sustainability in our centre. Children are involved in recycling and the Paper for Trees programme, exchanging our recycled paper for native plants. This helps children practice sustainability from an early age, creating an understanding about the importance of protecting the earth for the future.  

Healthy eating - We provide healthy morning and afternoon tea which the tamariki are involved in making. This encourages children to develop their independence, confidence and capability – skills that will support them in every aspect of their lives. All children bring their lunchboxes with them to the centre. Children have a teacher with them to ensure that there is discussion about healthy options and always keeping them safe.

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.