BestStart Waitangirua

At BestStart Waitangirua we care for infants, toddlers and preschoolers aged 0 to 6 years old - one of the only childcare centres in Waitangirua that does!

Growing Neighbourhood Heroes

At BestStart Waitangirua we dedicate ourselves to supporting all our tamariki to be their best. We want every child to understand that they are who they are and to be proud of it.

We are situated in the heart of Waitangirua, a community rich in diversity which provides a wealth of exciting learning opportunities. Our convenient location and easy access makes dropping off and picking your child up each day a breeze.

Options for everyone 

We're one of the only childcare centres in the community providing care and education for children from birth right through to 5 years old. Our families love having siblings together, so this is a bonus in drop offs and pick ups. We are also open from 7.30am through to 5.30pm and throughout the school holidays. It doesn't get more convenient than this, but that's not the only reason we're a great choice. We are a centre with heart, and this is why families join us and stay with us as their children grow.

Relationships 

The relationships we have with our parents and whānau are at the heart of centre life. Our commitment to you, as a member of our whānau is that every child in our centre gets the care, encouragement, and attention to prepare them for a happy, well-balanced and positive future. Our whānau relationships are key because growing heroes is a partnership!

Community connections 

We love being part of the Waitangirua neighbourhood and you'll often find us out on adventures to see what our community has to offer. We also love to give back to the local community heroes who support us. We see ourselves as an extension of our neighbourhood, complete with all its heroes.  Currently every Tuesday we have the Hauora Kai Co-op Eastside using our community room that prepare healthy kai to deliver to the neighbourhood.  This initiative is run by Wesley Wellington Mission.

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.