BestStart Warrington

BestStart Warrington is an early learning childcare centre located just ten minutes from the centre of Christchurch, on the corner of Warrington Street and Hills Road. We cater for children aged 3 months to 5-years-old.

Weaving Children and People Together

Nursery (3 months - 2 years) - In our nursery we have a strong focus on each individual child’s care and learning. We ensure all interactions are authentic and responsive, where needs and wants are heard and met. Interactions are respectful, informing children about what is happening and letting them feel empowered in their environment and building their sense of contribution. Respect, independence, love, security and a sense of belonging happens.

Preschool (2 years - 3.5 years) - Our preschool provides a fun, meaningful and child-driven learning environment where fun and a sense of humour are essential. The preschool places an emphasis on promoting respect, communication and independence. We use rich language, encouraging the use of both verbal and non-verbal skills to communicate and resolve conflicts. Supporting children to express themselves in a variety of different ways helps provide them with skills and strategies to build and maintain relationships with others.

Prep School (3.5 years - school) - In the prep school we have a developed transition to school programme which supports both children and parents with the next stage of their child’s education journey. Our environment is set to spark curiosity, encourage collaboration and strengthen communication. We focus on ensuring our children are respectful, confident, competent and responsible and who are flexible thinkers that have a real love of learning.

What to expect?

- Regular excursions into the community

- A centre that is purpose built with three classrooms

- A super engaging, fun, happy place to be

- We believe in collaborating in partnership with educators and parents, enabling children to reach their full potential holistically

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.