BestStart Harrison Street

At BestStart Harrison Street we support our children to build their self-esteem, social skills and self-help skills to encourage a love of learning. We care for children from 0-6 years old and are open all year, only closing for public holidays.

Growing A Community

Our centre whanau and community are an important part of centre life, as we all come together to enrich the lives of our children. This reflects our vision of growing a community.  We love to give back to our whanau and community in as many ways as we can.

Here at BestStart Harrison Street, we know that children are active learners and we support their independence and choices, following their interests and extending their skills and knowledge. We nurture their relationships and support their learning and development through playful exploration so they can be happy, confident and capable learners.

Flexible and convenient – We provide quality education for children from birth to school age and have a wide variety of booking options to meet each child and family’s individual needs. We’re conveniently located in central Whanganui and are open from 7.30am – 5.30pm and throughout the school holidays. We also provide healthy and delicious morning and afternoon kai.

Sense of belonging – Parents and children experience a sense of belonging at BestStart Harrison Street. Families are at the heart of centre life and we value the rich diversity and contribution every family brings to our centre. Connections with our whānau community is core to our vision and centre philosophy. Our teaching team are open, friendly and welcoming and value the aspirations and expectations whanau have for their child.

Cultural connections – We acknowledge and promote New Zealand’s bi-cultural heritage by embracing and developing a deeper understanding of Te Ao Maori. We are proud of the cultural heritage of Aotearoa, New Zealand, the cultural diversity of our own community and of the exciting world around us.

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.