BestStart Roydvale provides quality childcare and education in a friendly, home-like environment in Burnside.

Fun, wonder and curiosity guides us every day

Our centre has a welcoming atmosphere. We are lucky to have two large outdoor areas with vegetable and herb gardens created by our teachers and children which are used in cooking the midday meal and feeding our guinea pigs.  We cater to allergies and special dietary requirements with all the food we provide.  We believe that children need to gain the ability to take risks in a managed environment – through taking risks children allow themselves to be put in unfamiliar situations where they are able to learn and develop new skills.  This is often preceded by their curiosity of new situations.

We offer morning, afternoon and all-day sessions for your convenience and have 3 rooms catering for the particular needs and learning of children.  When transitioning between the classrooms, we make this a collaborative experience as we know parents want to feel secure in the journey of their child.

Relationships - Relationships are important to us. Whanau/family members are welcome to visit at any time and we hold family events to strengthen relationships and provide the opportunity to share valuable information.

Our programme - We provide a child led programme interspersed with some teacher directed learning.  This allows our kaiako to meet the individual needs of your child while providing a learning environment they want to engage with.

Come and visit us to find out more about who we are and what we can do to support you and your family.

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.