BestStart Johnstones Road Kindy

Welcome to BestStart Johnstones Road Kindy, in the heart of Otara where our children, whanau and community are at the heart of everything we do! Our opening hours are from 7.30am to 4.30pm. We have six ECE Qualified teachers and two teachers in training that have had more than ten years knowledge and experience in early childhood education.​

We are a Reggio inspired centre and we share a diverse community. We believe that children thrive in environments that are suited to their interests, dispositions and developmental stages.  

Our environment is viewed as a place that is welcoming, aesthetically pleasing, culturally representative of community, embraces nature and filled with purposeful materials, that invite learning. Through this philosophy we aspire to empower and support children to become lifelong learners. To achieve this, we build strong partnership with parents, whanau and the community, providing a rich and inclusive environment that foster opportunities for children to grow their confidence, curiosity and perseverance.

Materials are thoughtfully added to the environment to promote creativity, thinking and problem-solving skills, questions, experimentation and open-ended play.  Valuing every child as an individual, promotes the child’s strengths, potential, and desire to discover his or her own world. 

As a team, our beliefs are impacted by our centre philosophy, which is built on a strong foundation of respect, empowerment, family and the relationships among children, families, teachers, and the wider society. Our centre promotes the role of the parents by having an open-door policy, which encourages all parents/whanau to be a part of their children’s and our learning.  The exchange of ideas between parents and teachers is vital in creating a more positive and productive learning environment, that supports us in better understanding the child. We work collaboratively with the local school, to ensure that they children are school ready.

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.