BestStart East Tamaki Road

BestStart East Tamaki Road is a new childcare and early learning centre in Papatoetoe, located close to Hunters Corner. We care for children from 3 months to 5.

At BestStart East Tamaki we believe that each child is precious. We welcome you and your child into our centre family providing you a community of support and connection. You will watch your child grow into an independent and competent learner who will leave us ready for their next adventure.

A place of belonging. A place to connect

At BestStart East Tamaki our vision is to create a warm and welcoming learning atmosphere where our children and families/whanau feel they belong. Walking into BestStart East Tamaki gives one a sense of calm and connection. Our teachers get to know the children and their families, including them in a vibrant centre life.

If you wander upstairs into the infant room, Nga Kakano, you will find our youngest explorers learning about the world in the safe inside/outside flow environment.  Infants create attachments naturally, as teachers we treasure these relationships and understand that they are necessary for them to explore, learn and relate to others. With an enviable 1:3 Teacher to child ratio, each child has its care routines established and supported by the nurturing and experienced team.  

The curious and active wanderers in Te Rito, the toddler room, love getting messy and learning about fun social interactions. You might come across an impromptu Tutira mai performance or a group-build of a tower. Watching toddlers respectfully wait their turn at the lunch table, say their karakia, self-serve and put their dishes on the cleaning tray shows their independence and social learning.

In Nga Rau, you will come across inquisitive pre-schoolers deeply immersed in a topic they are interested in – sparking their thinking and setting up life-long learning. Teachers organise excursions to support the topics and bring the knowledge and skills alive. 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.

Rich cultural diversity

Each child’s home culture is valued. Inclusion is significant part of our practice and we believe that all children should be offered equal opportunities. We take every opportunity to celebrate, share hospitality 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. We acknowledge Tangata Whenua of the land by including Te Ao Maori world view in our daily practice.

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.