Childcare options in Strandon

See Me, Know Me, Teach Me

At BestStart Mangorei Road we really get to know each child as an individual, unique in character, interests, culture and spirit. When we know our children well we connect, engage and inspire, supporting them to be all they can be.

See me:  For who I am, my culture, my whanau, my traditions, my celebrations, values and beliefs, what’s important to my whanau. 

Know me: What is my personality, my likes and dislikes, my strengths and uncertainties. Embrace and celebrate me for who I am. 

Teach Me: Now you can see me and you know me, how can you teach me? 

Relationships - Building relationships with our families at BestStart Mangorei Road is at the heart of what we do. Knowing our families’ background, culture and aspirations enables us to take the best approach to teaching each child. We build respectful relationships through open communication which reflects the deep sense of care and kindness that is at the heart of everything we do. We have regular family events and activities to make sure whanau are at the heart of centre life. 

Belonging - Children feel a sense of belonging with us because of the time we take to know them. Feeling sure of themselves and their environment helps them be confident to try new things and challenge themselves. They know that they are supported, know that they can try again. We foster a strong sense of self belief in our children so they always make the most of the opportunities life presents and the resilience to overcome challenges.  

Community connections - Children gain real life experiences through regular planned and spontaneous excursions into our community, utilising local public transport, building on their sense of belonging in our wider community. 

School preparation - Ensuring children are ready for the next step in their educational journey is important to us. We have a focus on the social and emotional growth of all our children. This ensures they are ready and eager to learn when they start school, curious about the world around them and confident to ask questions about things they are unsure of. Children learn to play independently, alongside and with their peers, sharing ideas and concepts that strengthen their knowledge. We celebrate  with a special ceremony where children wear our centre Korowai and are gifted a putiputi. Read more about this in our Be School Ready blog.

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 Lemon Street early learning centre is nestled on a large section with mature trees and gardens, right on the edge of New Plymouth’s CBD. 

Building Mana Through Aroha

We empower the mana of ngā tamariki through nurturing relationships. We celebrate individuality and children thrive in our enriched environment.

BestStart Lemon Street has a beautiful learning enviornment with a kiwi big-backyard and peaceful atmosphere where children learn about life and the world around them. Teachers, children, families and the community are welcomed as if it were their home. Everyone's strengths are acknowledged, encouraged and cherished. This helps everyone feel at ease, accepted and safe. From acceptance our children grow their confidence to explore and discover the world around them. 

We celebrate our cultural differences and are proud of our inclusive education model. Alongside our bi-cultural curriculum we promote whanaungatanga, te reo, ngā tikanga, and tuakana/teina relationships. With us tamariki develop an understanding of sustainability, learning where food comes from and how to care for our environment. Kaiako help children bake for the whole centre, grow vegetables and plants, reduce, re-use and recycle. 

Our warm environment is divided to two age based rooms to support the specific learning and development as children grow. Our teaching team demonstrate aroha through responsive caregiving to ensure each child’s emotional and physical wellbeing is  supported. Through formal and informal observations the teaching team and whanau notice each child’s interests and support them in further extending this through intentional teaching practices.

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.

We provide an exceptional preschool programme that caters specifically for the needs of 2 – 5 year olds and we pride ourselves on our under 2 programme that nurtures and educates our infants and toddlers.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

RESPECT

At Jumpstart we treat people, animals, our belongings and our environment with respect. This is modelled throughout the centre and influences the way we learn, teach, communicate and interact.

COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIPS

We promote a family environment that encourages communication and interaction between children, parents, whanau, educators and management. We believe this is key to developing strong, reciprocal relationships.

PLANNING AND EVALUATION

Planning and evaluating children’s learning and development on a regular basis supports us in providing learning opportunities that are challenging and inspiring, ensuring children become confident learners that are proud of their achievements.

The regular development and review of policies, procedures and strategic plans ensure that our centres maintain exceptional administrative and educational standards and practices and well developed and maintained land, buildings, fixtures and fittings.

LEARNING THROUGH PLAY

We strongly believe in the importance of play for children’s social, emotional and physical development – and we also believe that children need rules and routine. Our daily programme is designed in such a way that children experience both routine and sustained periods of uninterrupted play.

We recognise and value the importance of physical activity, social interactions, imaginative and explorative play and believe that these can be enhanced through thoughtful planning, a well-designed environment, effective teaching strategies and a variety of resources and learning opportunities.

CHILDREN’S DEVELOPMENT

We are committed to meeting children’s individual needs, supporting their development, and recognising and nurturing their strengths and interests in a safe, fun and educational way.

PREPARATION

We believe that children who have developed the attitudes, learning strategies, working theories and dispositions that are critical to learning are confident, competent learners and will find school a positive experience. We pride ourselves on ensuring all students are well prepared for their introduction into the school environment.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

We recognise the benefits and importance of continuous learning. We provide teachers with a strong support and guidance programme and undergo regular professional development. Emphasis is placed on self-reflection and review.