Typically responds within
A few hours
Vacancies
Limited availability
Strong partnerships with your child and their important family members means together we can nurture, love and provide abundant learning experiences. Teachers get to know each child and design learning experiences suited to their interests, age and stage.
The space for our youngest children is a calm and nurturing environment where our curious babies develop naturally and in their own time. Always experiencing respectful interaction, the infants enjoy open ended play and opportunities to explore and discover. The specialised infant teachers provide sensory play which includes active movement, dance and music everyday to stimulate brain development.
Growing into inquisitive toddlers, our children learn social skills through interactions and gain independence in our safe indoor-outdoor environments. Discovering with their senses means getting messy – loving the waterplay, gardening exploration and art, music and dance. It may look like play however they are busy building social skills so they understand how their world works alongside others. When they are ready, we support children to take care of themselves and their belongings through clearing their own plates/cups after meals, washing their own faces/hands, placing their own belongings in their bags. We plan, support and educate our curious group through an individual focus to allow children to grow and learn at their own pace.
Through our relationships with you and your child, we identify when is the time to start planning the transition to the preschool room. Learning to work together, our incredible preschoolers are becoming their own people, and discovering their own interests.
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 connect with them regularly to ensure children are familiar with staff and the transition to school is streamlined.
Growing Great is a holisitic approach concerned with children’s physical health through healthy food and exercise, giving a sense of belonging through identity and culture, and educational opportunity. Our children are given opportunities to know and share their whakapapa (their family) and participate in Te Reo and Te Ao Māori.
Staying connected with the Community - Fostering a strong sense of community matters to the BestStart Te Atatu Rd team. We support local organisations and involve our whānau in centre life as well as our many events and celebrations. We support our children to have opportunities to be out and about in the community.
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.
