Childcare options in Whangamata

BestStart Whangamata is a quality childcare centre for children from three months to five years. We are centrally located, five minutes from Whangamata’s beautiful beach and harbour. Our coastal environment allows us to explore, participate in community events and develop meaningful relationships with our community.

Little Steps to a Big Future

The qualified teaching team are passionate about Early Childhood Education and have skills and experience that support children and families. We’re committed to providing a stimulating environment based on individual needs of our tamariki and whanau. Welcoming parents and children on arrival and sharing moments of your child’s day with you is an important part of our day.

We respect parents as first teachers and work with you to guide your child through their learning journey. We offer quality education through building respectful relationships and engaging children in learning through play. Your aspirations and expectations for your child and the contributions you make to your child’s learning are valued.

Every moment is a learning opportunity from infants and toddlers through to our four year olds. We want our tamariki to be confident learners and allow them the freedom, time and space to learn valuable skills.

We offer a unique Be School Ready initiative, which builds on the skills necessary to transition to school. Four year olds visit the new entrant classes at both the Area School as well as Opoutere School prior to turning 5.

Our under two room provides a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment. This creates a sense of wonder for babies and toddlers, with its separate outdoor space providing opportunities for your child to have fun while learning.

Our over two area has play spaces that allow for your child’s creativity and imagination to be explored and extended. Natural resources sourced from Whangamata are incorporated into our environment, which complement our approach to teaching.

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.

Welcome to Whangamata Kindergarten.

Our vision is to provide quality, inclusive and accessible Early Childhood Education to our community within a welcoming environment, and to foster a culture of open thinking and manaakitanga.

Our mission is that every child believes in themselves, and that we ensure they leave kindergarten with the foundations of personal development and a love of learning for life. 

What makes our kindergarten special?

• Our qualified and very experienced teaching team.
• We support all children to experience a cross section of the curriculum through their passions, interests and creativity.
• We are an Enviroschools Kindergarten and promote a healthy, peaceful and sustainable programme.
• We take pride in our beautiful environment which sparks children’s natural curiosity and excitement for learning.
• Being on the same grounds as Whangamata School provides us with a unique opportunity to participate in school life.

At Growing Wings we empower our tamariki to reach their full potential.

We offer a child-led, heart-centred approach where relationships are at the core of our philosophy. We ensure tamariki are recognised for all that they are, ensuring that they develop all the tools to succeed at school.

Working with a primary carer will helps tamariki settle and enjoy their time at Growing Wings. They will have a “go to carer” throughout their time with us.

We aim to collaborate with parents making sure that when tamariki leave the home nest they are on the right path to being school ready. We help them grow their wings so they can take flight when they start school as their next chapter.

Growing Wings Early Learning Centre is owned and operated by Rebecca (Becks) Crabb, Luke Crabb, Peter Shepherd and Rhiannon Donkin.

Our team are experienced in Primary school education, Early Childhood education, People growth and Business Strategy.

We are focused on looking after both our staff and tamariki, by fostering a safe and positive space. When happy empowered people work with tamariki, we know they get the best possible care.