BestStart Parkside provides quality childcare and education in a specially designed centre with separate nursery and preschool play spaces. We are conveniently located close to Christchurch Public Hospital and the Addington Business District and offer full-time, part-time and sessional (morning or afternoon) hours.

Our Happy Place For All

Our team of qualified teachers provide a beautiful environment that is welcoming, respectful, safe and fun for all children and families. The atmosphere is both calm and playful and children experience loving relationships with teachers and develop a strong sense of belonging and empowerment.

Advantages of our mixed age classrooms - Our mixed age group classrooms allow children to interact and learn how to get along with peers of varying ages. This is a great opportunity for developing social skills and building confidence. Older children learn compassion, patience and problem-solving skills as they interact and assist younger children, while younger children will find themselves challenged by the older children and able to participating in more complex activities with their older peers.  Our teachers focus on the individual learning needs and skill levels of each child and proud for providing a tailored individual programme that celebrates diversity in a home-like environment.

Meal times - We provide healthy cooked lunches each day by our qualified chef on site. We can cater for allergies and special dietary requirements.

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.

BestStart Buchanans Road in Yaldhurst is an early learning childcare centre designed with children in mind. Our centre has a warm and welcoming environment with happy children who experience quality care and education. We are conveniently located on Buchanans Road which makes us a perfect option for families commuting into the city for work.

We are open from 7am to 6pm and only close for public holidays. We offer 6 hour sessions, as well as half-day sessions and full time care for children aged 3 months to 6 years. We really can cater for any family’s needs!

Our learning environment - We believe that every child deserves the best care and learning opportunities, within a carefully planned environment. This ensures children can grow in a supportive atmosphere. We have created a well-balanced and safe environment for children and their families/whanau to ensure they feel relaxed and secure. Our physical environment provides both indoor and outdoor excitement, enabling children to grow and learn to their full potential.  Our large outdoor play areas provide children with opportunities for exploration, building co-ordination and developing their gross motor skills with challenging interchangeable equipment.

Our learning programme - Our early learning centre has a passionate teaching team who provide a programme that is child initiated, based on current individual and group interests, needs and developmental stages. Teachers stimulate children’s play and learning creating the opportunity to not only have fun, but to enhance the total development and skills of each child and build a sense of belonging. We encompass the rich diversities within our community, believing that everyone brings something unique and exciting to our centre.

Our relationships - We are proud of the excellent relationships we have developed with our families as well as the close, trusting bonds we have formed with our children. We respect and encourage families/whanau to share their beliefs, values and traditions to ensure that we are an inclusive environment where everyone is valued. Our dedicated teachers are passionate about building relationships with all 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.

BestStart Salisbury Street is an early learning centre conveniently located in central Christchurch and is open from 6.30am right through to 6.00pm, making it perfect for working families. We cater for children from 3 months up to 6 years old in two specially designed learning environments .

Nursery - Our Nursery provides care for children under two.  Our Nursery teachers have a vast amount of experience and passion for caring for infants and toddlers. We run a primary care-giving programme which sees each child have one ‘special’ teacher. Teacher and child develop a strong rapport, teachers gain a greater understanding of the child’s needs, being responsible for their care requirements and documenting their learning along the way.  They work alongside parents to ensure that your home routines and aspirations for your child are met.

Preschool - In the Preschool Room we have children from 2 years until school age. Our Preschool children are supported by qualified teachers who are attuned to their interests and extend their play into valuable and meaningful learning experiences. Children have daily access to messy activities, outdoor play, art experiences, music, science and dramatic play.

Our Preschool teaching team have worked in both the Early Childhood and Primary sector. These teachers lead our Be School Ready initiative. They draw on their knowledge of the primary school curriculum to plan and implement experiences that support children’s readiness for school.

We have a generous outdoor play area which provides children space to actively explore and gain confidence in their bodies in a safe and fun environment.

Healthy eating - We provide morning and afternoon tea, along with a nutritious hot lunch, made onsite daily by our centre cook.

Relationships - We are proud of the rich diversity we have in our centre and the strong relationships we develop with our families. We celebrate our unique cultures every day and come together regularly with fun family events.

Being connected to the community is also important for us. We go on regular excursions to the local library to extend early literacy development and provide our children with fun real-life experiences that help them feel connected to the wider community.

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.

Conveniently located in the heart of Christchurch, Active Explorers Central City is a vibrant, nurturing and high quality early childhood centre. Well resourced, and staffed by highly experienced educators, we support children to tap into their full potential.

Our tamariki are encouraged to explore the world around them through rich, meaningful programmes and regular excursions that can’t help but bring out their ‘inner-explorer’. Children learn concepts such as taking responsibility, independence and helping others, and are part of a learning journey that celebrates and grows enquiring minds.

Our families are a vital component of daily centre life, and we welcome and encourage whanau participation and involvement. The preschool years lay the foundation for a lifetime of learning. Together, let’s inspire your child to reach for the stars.

Why choose us?

Active Explorers Central City gives children the best possible start, setting them up for a lifetime of engaged learning in a safe and supportive environment. Here are just a few of the reasons why we’re the centre of choice for so many local families:

Fun and inspiring activities such as yoga, playball, meditation, vegetable growing, feeding the worms

• Closely connected to our local community
• We make the most of our central location with regular excursions designed around children’s interests (like visits to the local rest home, library trips, art excursions and walks around our community)
• Weekly Hey Dee Ho music sessions 
• We are big on family and offer our maternity mums an extra weekly session for six weeks at no charge when baby arrives (subject to availability)
• We do everything we can to accommodate last minute bookings and offer real value to our families in other meaningful ways
• Our onsite chef provides nutritious balanced meals and snacks made fresh each day with fresh fruit and vegetables. Every child is catered to, including those with intolerances and allergies
• Food is charged at $5 per day. We offer breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, and late snack
• Sunblock, wipes, milk provided
• Multicultural centre where everyone is respected and welcomed
• Purpose built centre
• Great home away from home feel in an urban setting
• Enthusiastic teachers who share their cultures with us

Selwyn Kids offers the community the choice of either the Discovery or the Explorers centres catering for children aged 2 to 6 years.

Selwyn Kids is Rolleston’s only kindergarten - making us unique! Children are encouraged to progress naturally through exploration and develop in their preparation towards independence and acquiring the necessary skills for a positive transition to primary school.

Discovery Centre

Specifically designed for children aged 2 to 3 ½ years old.

The Discovery centre blends both kindergarten and a home-like environment especially for children making those very steps to childcare. Discovery gives children a settled and well constructed place in which to feel valued. All children are encouraged to ask questions within our enquiry-based learning programme.

Explorers Centre

Catering for children aged 3 ½ to 5 years old

The Explorers centre focuses on social competencies, communication and negotiation skills, making good choices and getting the children comfortable with group learning. Selwyn Kids encourages children to develop good listening skills and provides opportunities for them to express themselves in positive ways.

The curriculum at Explorers supports the development of school readiness skills, and we provide many activities to cover a wide range of interests. Activities include singing phonic songs, pencil work, caring for animals, planting the vegetable garden, self management skills and solving mathematical games and puzzles.

.We established Prebbleton Childcare in the year 2000 with the dream of creating a beautiful space for the youngest members of our community to be nurtured, cared for and educated. In the early days Prebbleton was a humble farming community on the outskirts of Christchurch. Over the years we have grown with our community opening Prebbleton Nursery in 2005 and Prebbleton Kindergarten in 2010.

We believe it is important for children to feel secure and valued when in our care. It is our ongoing vision to create 'The Next Best Place to Home'... home representing a place of sanctuary and comfort , a place where we can be with our family, relax, laugh, be heard and be accepted. This notion of home underpins the service we offer our families.

We feel it is important for children to engage with and explore a natural environment and to have fun while doing so. With this in mind we offer large, well considered play spaces, plenty of natural resources, large trees (attracting bird life) and an earthy colour palette throughout (to reflect our rural roots). We have organic gardens, chickens that lay eggs, rabbits, guinea pigs and budgies. Our pets are apart of our centre family.

We understand it is essential to have teachers who are warm, caring and demonstrate a passionate commitment to teaching children to be 'lifelong learners' all while fostering strong relationships with children and families. We have carefully selected our teaching team because they are able to demonstrate these qualities that are so important to our service.

With this in mind we hope you feel like you have come home when you walk through our door! We warmly welcome you and your family to our service...Our

Philosophy

At Kindergarten we believe children learn through their play and our teachers intentionally set up our environment to support and extend the learning and interests of children within our centre. We provide extended periods of play and a variety of child led and teacher initiated experiences. Teacher’s individual philosophies connect us as a team to provide a calm, caring and nurturing environment where children are respected and empowered through reciprocal and meaningful learning focused relationships.

Our teachers view children as holistic learners who have a natural sense of wonder and curiosity. We value children’s voices and encourage them to develop confidence in expressing themselves. We focus on teaching social and emotional competence through respectful relationships and problem-solving skills within our learning community. Our teachers also value developing their own skills and knowledge through professional development and collaborative relationships with whanau and the wider educational community.

We provide an environment that promotes your child’s health and well-being through connections to the natural world, through providing experiences in growing and harvesting food in our garden and through caring for our guinea pigs and birds. Kaitiakitanga is one of our values and this means we see ourselves as gaurdians of the environment. We model sustainable practice to children and teach respect for our wider natural environment through recycling and maintaining our worm farm. We strive to be the ‘next best place to home’ and offer regular baking activities to promote healthy eating and sharing of kai for every day and as well as celebrations.

Prebbleton Kindergarten supports your child to become 'school ready'. Located next door to Prebbleton Primary school, we support children’s transition to school through weekly visits to the school grounds and our close relationship with the school teaching team. We also facilitate a termly visit to the new entrance class. We promote 'school ready' skills throughout our curriculum supporting your child to develop and gain confidence in a broad spectrum of areas. These areas include self care, taking responsibility, building relationships with their peers, strengthening knowledge around literacy and numeracy, and  developing both fine and gross motor skills.

Welcome to Blossoms Educare Rolleston providing inclusive and family focused early learning and care services in Rolleston

Our vision

“Mana of the child and everyone involved in their Care and Education is our core focus, where they have unreserved and unconditional access to Early Childhood Education and Care, in partnership with parents, whanau and community”.

Information for Parents, Family/Whanau

The subsequent information will help you understand our methodology and what you can expect. You are free to discuss any queries you may have with any of our teachers or administrative staff. We encourage you to visit, explore, and ask questions regarding any aspect of our service you need clarity on. You can also arrange for an appointment with our manager, if needed, to discuss things over.

Be rest assured that your child’s development and well-being is our main priority. Find out further how you can get acquainted with the administrative process at Blossoms Educare.

Complete involvement of family
We believe in an open door policy and involve parents and family members in everything we do. Ensuring participation of parents makes the child feel comfortable and has a strong positive impact on the child. Keeping this in mind, we warmly welcome parents to the centre anytime.
The teachers and staff at Blossoms sincerely take care of the child’s happiness and comfort. We regard a three-way relationship between parents, caregivers and the child as an indispensable part of the child’s well-being.

Keeping track of everything
We make sure that parents are well-informed at each step of the way. They are provided with everything they need including newsletters, invoices, receipts and copies of learning stories.

Events and Outings
We believe that interaction and communication is vital. Keeping this in focus, we organize cultural events to help Blossom Educare members interact with other families and children and also with the teachers and staff. We are always on the lookout for such events and they form an integral part of our calendar.

Training for new teachers and volunteers
Volunteers and new teachers are thoroughly screened before getting onboard with us. They are required to meet our standards and adhere to our philosophy. Volunteers interact with the children and keep them engaged. Students of early childhood teacher training courses are properly supervised at the centre.

Facilities for availing subsidy
Our ‘Work and Income’ department operates a subsidy for parents. The subsidy is subject to an income qualification. Further information and forms shall be provided by ‘Work and Income’. Also, Blossoms provides 20 hours subsidy for all children above the age of 3. Please refer to our fees schedule for further information.

Educare Programme
‘Educare’ is a compound word meaning education and care. Our centres deliver educare programmes centered around the child. These programmes involve observing the children on a regular basis, evaluating their needs and concerns and planning activities around them. These programmes help the child develop in their own individual pace.
These programmes are founded on the guiding principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum policy of the Ministry of Education. We keep revising our developmental programmes to stay updated.

The kindergarten is tucked away up a long driveway, marked by silhouettes of happy children. It embraces a child-centered approach, valuing each child and fostering their individual interests. Play is at the core of learning and development, with a focus on exploration, inquiry, creativity, and sustainability. Inside, children have access to carefully curated resources that ignite thinking and exploration, allowing them to learn at their own pace while honoring their unique qualities. The program encourages mindfulness, inspiration, and respect for the environment. The spacious backyard, surrounded by mature trees, offers abundant opportunities for children to try new things, take risks, and cultivate curiosity and creativity through play. There is a strong emphasis on learning about and caring for the natural environment through hands-on experiences in the garden.

Tafesilafa’i Early Learning Centre (TELC) promotes Gagana Samoa (Samoan language) and Aganu'u Samoa (Samoan culture) for children in a Catholic faith-based setting.

We are a community based, not-for-profit preschool is located within Hagley College grounds near Christchurch Hospital and Hagley Park. We offer affordable, flexible care and education for children 0-6 years with small group sizes and high adult to child ratio's.

Our culturally and linguistically diverse preschool community caters for tamariki and whānau from the wider residential community, the Christchurch city central business district and children of Hagley Community College staff and students.

OUR VISION

Our vision is for Hagley Community Preschool to be an inclusive and vibrant learning community working together to nurture the capabilities and competence of our tamariki (children) as successful life long learners.

Nau mai, haere mai and welcome to Spencerville Playcentre

Playcentre is unlike any other early childhood education organisation. At Playcentre, both children and their parents / caregivers attend.

At Playcentre children get the opportunity to learn and explore in a fun and safe environment.

The curiosity and creativity of our tamariki is nurtured in a way that allows them to learn about themselves and their world.

Your child will be given a chance to explore, create, climb, read, sing, experiment, play music, wear costumes, have their face painted (or do it themselves!), garden, do carpentry with real tools, bake and cook, build sandcastles, swing, slide, dance, spend time in nature and get messy.

The activities change every day. Playcentre parents all bring different skills, interests, and cultural backgrounds to add to the rich learning environment.

We welcome families with children aged 0 – 6 years. Mixed age play allows your children to engage with others older and younger than themselves. Pre-schoolers learn how to communicate, share and negotiate with empathy for their younger peers.

At Playcentre, families come together and lifelong friendships are formed.

We welcome you to visit any time during the year. You are entitled to three free visits so come and check out what we do – we would love to meet you and your family!