BestStart Cranford Street

Where Diversity Lives and Whanaungatanga Grows

We pride ourselves in being a creative and bubbly centre with four classrooms, supporting productive partnerships (ka hikitia), children's learning and development through every age and stage.  We value children’s play as part of the learning journey through adventure, fun and friendship. Our tamariki (children) develop the independence, confidence and skills to set them up for a lifelong love of learning. Each of our classrooms has been designed to cater to the specific learning and developmental needs of each age group, resulting in an environment where children thrive. We are committed to supporting and empowering each child as unique individuals, helping them become competent and confident learners.

Here at BestStart Cranford Street, we are truly passionate about our outdoor environment which consists of an open shared space for the over 2 year olds. Nursery children can see our over 2's through a fence and are often approached to greet the Nursery tamariki. This allows for amazing tuakana teina relationships as well as nurturing the sibling relationships we have in the centre. Our high quality indoor and outdoor learning spaces are designed to engage and inspire our children as they grow and develop.

We are proud of the open communication and strong relationships we have built with our tamariki and their whanau. We believe children learn through interactions with whanau, teachers and peers (tuakana-teina) and the wider world. We nurture these relationships and provide meaningful learning opportunities that build on their natural curiosity.

Your child's learning journey and milestones are captured and shared through Storypark, our safe online communication system. This is a great way to keep up to date with what your child is doing while at the centre. You can log in to see what's been happening in their day, check out photos of them and comment on their activities, as well as send teachers direct messages if there's something you'd like them to know about your child.

BestStart Cranford Street values, and teaches children:

• Respect - for themselves, diverse cultures, the environment and the people around them
• Empathy and compassion - understanding and being considerate of other children and people's needs
• Independence - being able to do things for themselves in their learning and their routines

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.