BestStart Dilworth Avenue

BestStart Dilworth Avenue is committed to providing the best early childhood care and education. We offer excellent teacher-child ratios, spaces for extra-curricular activities and a warm, caring and engaging learning environment.

When you enter the doors at BestStart Dilworth Ave, you will instantly feel a warm welcome. You will be greeted by the smiling faces of teachers and staff who care, as well as happy, engaged children with a love of learning. You will see inspiring, well-resourced learning environments, where children feel safe, secure and nurtured. Our excellent teacher-child ratios ensure needs are met and responded to in a way that shows respect and fosters trust. You will feel a sense of belonging, in a place where children and families are cared for, supported and respected.  A place of calm, but fun too, where children are loved, encouraged and empowered.

Our Team - Our team of passionate teachers work hard to ensure quality care and learning. Our teachers are selected for their knowledge, experience, professionalism and their love for teaching. Many of our teachers either hold teaching qualifications or they are supported to obtain them. We invest in the growth of our teachers through ongoing professional development.

Tara Room is for our youngest children, 3 months -15 months and Tui Room is for the children aged from 1-2 years old. A1:3 ratio is provided in both of these rooms. We practice Primary Caregiving within these spaces and our children within the Tui and Tara room attended our weekly sensory class in our gym.

Morepork Room is for the children 2-3 years old and offers a 1:6 ratio. We work with children’s individual routines and help develop their confidence. We have a library that these children visit and they also attended weekly sensory classes.

Pukeko Room is for our 3-4 year olds and the Enquiry Room is for our 4-5 year olds. Both spaces offer a 1:6 ratio. Both the Pukeko and Enquiry room have weekly dance and drama classes as well as a fun weekly sports programme. We also visit the onsite library, gym and project room. All of these spaces as well as our exciting programme prepare children for their transition to school.

Community Links

Here at BestStart Dilworth Ave we visit the local Rest Home weekly, have established relationships with our local schools such as Kings, St Kents and Remuera Primary. We focus on providing opportunities for children to have experiences outside of the centre environment.

Come in and see us, we would love to show you around.

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.