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BestStart Ferry Road is a brand new early learning centre in the heart of Woolston. We provide quality education and care for children aged between 3 months to 5 years old.
Where Culture Thrives
When you walk into BestStart Ferry Road, you feel the sense of belonging. Strong relationships with each child and teacher/parent partnerships are the foundation of the centre. A rich programme celebrating cultural diversity develops learning, fun and discovery.
We have three rooms named after our local water ways: Ōpāwaho, Ōtākaro and the Ihutai Rūma. These names are special to who we are - they create a link to place based curriculum and children and family can whakapapa to this.
Our indoor spaces are built to support the learning and development of every age group – Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers. Each room is equipped with natural, high quality, focused resources designed to spark curious minds. We strive to meet all curriculum areas to support our children’s learning journeys, milestones and development.
Tuakana-teina relationships - Our centre values and extends tuakana (older) – teina (younger) relationships. The older or more experienced children take the younger ones under their wing and support their learning. They do this by celebrating with them, inviting them in to play and ensuring they get a turn. We role model inclusiveness and all our children feel connected and involved in centre life, with a real sense of belonging.
Rich cultural narrative – Each child’s home culture is valued. We take every opportunity to celebrate, share knowledge and learn about each other. We use a wide range of teaching approaches and strategies when working with our children and use the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum, Te Whāriki, to provide engaging and stimulating programmes that are exciting for all the children in our centre.
Be School Ready - Our Be School Ready initiative is carefully designed to support children’s next big learning step when they move to primary school. We support parents and children as they develop the skills and attitudes for being a lifelong learner. We have a unique advantage with strong relationships with Te Waka Unua, St Anne’s and Linwood Primary schools. We connect with them regularly to ensure children are familiar with staff and the transition to school is streamlined.
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.
