Childcare options in Beckenham

At BestStart Beckenham together we grow!

Here at BestStart Beckenham, nothing is more meaningful to us than being a part of your child’s learning journey, seeing them develop as they move through our centre from nursery to preschool, and once they're ready, spreading their wings to fly off to primary school.  We're active members in our community with regular excursions to our local library, Beckenham and St Peters primary schools, parks and we look forward to our annual trip to Ballantynes for Christmas.  We are proud of our reciprocal relationship with Archer Village Retirement home.

Our Team

We are a small but close team with each teacher bringing their own unique skills to the table. With regular professional development and learning from one another we are consistently upskilling to provide the best possible care and education to our BestStart Beckenham family.

What we offer

• Fresh, healthy, nutritious meals and snacks provided throughout the day
• Regular Excursions and involvement within the community
• Healthy Heart Award - nutrition and health is important to us
• 20 hours free for 3-5 year olds and WINZ subsidies available* if required

Our Spaces

We have a fantastic learning environment. Our spacious, purpose-built centre has perfect indoor/outdoor flow with established gardens including large trees that provide shade and shelter while still allowing natural light to flow inside.

BestStart Cashmere is a family focused early learning centre located in the heart of the Cashmere/Beckenham loop. We pride ourselves on our strong community connections and meaningful relationships with whānau and tamariki to ensure that we provide the best possible care and education for every child. We operate between the hours of 7:30am-5:30pm with both full days and sessions (much like kindergarten).

Our learning spaces

We have two fantastic buildings, the first of which is home to our Nursery and Toddler rooms.  It is a lovely villa that has been refurbished to mimic and encompass the inviting and soothing atmosphere of a home. The second building is a new addition which has two separate rooms that have been purpose-built to accommodate 3-4 year old children and 4-5 year old children.

Our great outdoors

Both of our outdoor environments are inclusive of the natural environment and children flourish in the spaces we have on offer.  The 2-5 year old outdoor space is second to none!  It is vastly spacious, brilliantly designed and beautifully resourced.  We also boast a very natural and well enjoyed secret garden area where our children engage in gardening, composting and worm farms.

BestStart Cashmere provides an educational and childcare experience for children of all ages and their whānau that is of extremely high quality.  We combine experience, knowledge and endless passion to produce the best learning outcomes for babies, toddlers and children.

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.

Cherry’s on Riverview St is set on a quarter acre section in a large character bungalow and provides a comfortable home-like amongst established trees and play-gardens. Thorrington and Beckenham Primary Schools are nearby. We have a quiet suburban location street several blocks from the southern end of Colombo Street, in a loop of the Heathcote River at the base of the Cashmere Hills.

There are separate large and well shaded play-gardens for younger and older children, where age-appropriate and challenging physical activites can be organized by teachers. Larger trees include silver birch, walnut, genko, cedar and totara and cabbage trees. Respect for the environment can be seen in the children’s involvement with gardening.

The sustainability theme is carried through to the indoor reaching spaces where natural materials are favoured where possible. The kitchen is central, and children love to be invited to help with baking. Children use porcelain cups, plates and bowls and learn to respect these, as they would in a home.

Cherry’s as an Enviroschool has a living and enduring vision whereby we seek to strengthen our commitment to working towards a sustainable environment and community.  Our children learn to care for their environment within our grounds, and from there learn to love nature in the wider world. Teachers are role models and children learn that they too have responsibilities and can make a difference through their actions. In many, often simple ways, children will gain understandings and skills that will enable them to make future decisions that will progress the movement towards sustainable lifestyles in our community.

Respecting and valuing different perspectives that come from our bicultural past and increasingly from a wide range of cultures helps promote a tolerant and peaceful society. Knowing where they are in a unique natural environment with a rich Maori culture to draw upon helps children learn who they are as New Zealanders. Children will leave Cherry’s with a solid base of values upon which to develop into young citizens better equipped to make choices that will promote a sustainable future.