BestStart Parklands offers quality education and care for children aged from 3 months to 6. years old. We have large outdoor areas in both the preschool and nursery that provide plenty of space for children to develop their gross motor skills in a natural environment.

Belonging, being, becoming me!

A child from even before birth is linked to family, community, culture and our place - Aotearoa. Through these key relationships in the lives of our tamariki, a child's development and learning takes place.

Belonging is important for tamariki when developing their own identity, this helps to develop a sense of connection.

Being is about children expressing themselves as individuals and developing their personality, culture, and learning.

Becoming is about our tamariki learning and growing, allowing them to understand and build on skills and relationships, and become an active member of society.

Our friendly, home-like centre has qualified and experienced teachers who believe in providing a respectful and fun environment and who are passionate about teaching. We value parent/whanau involvement and regularly provide social opportunities for you to stay and play. We provide healthy morning and afternoon snacks which the children often help to make themselves, providing learning opportunities in maths, literacy, numeracy, turn taking and the opportunity to develop social skills. They also develop their knowledge of healthy and nutritious foods.

We provide regular excursions to the local library, Parkview School, local park and the Parklands shopping centre. We have a strong relationship with Parkview school and we take children from the preschool over to the school on their school visits to support our families.  We have access to the school’s library and we have relationships with all the new entrant teachers, ensuring that the transition to school is smooth and enjoyable.

Our unique Be School Ready initiative is available for all children regardless of their age. Our teachers individualise our programme to suit each child and how they learn, ensuring all children develop the necessary skills and are prepared for starting school.

We celebrate many special events at BestStart Parklands, both culturally and for fun. Some of the exciting events you will see in our centre are Plunket week, Easter weekend festivities, Matariki, St Patricks day, Halloween, scooter/bike weeks, NZ Sign Language week, Te wiki o te reo Maori, Waitangi Day, Chinese New Year and so much more.

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.