BestStart Te Aroha  

BestStart Te Aroha (formerly ABC Te Aroha) is a quality childcare and education centre which provides full-day or sessional bookings for 3 month to 5 year olds. We have 2 separate buildings at one location. A sunny renovated villa for our home-like Pepi Room and a purpose built building for our children aged 2.5 years and over. ERO has rated BestStart Te Aroha in the top 7% of NZ childcare centres providing positive learning outcomes for children.

We provide a nurturing and supportive learning environment where the individual needs and interests of children are affirmed and extended by caring, qualified teachers and motivated caregivers. We provide healthy morning and afternoon teas, with the children developing their cooking skills by helping to prepare some of these. We offer high quality education and are a passionate, motivated and professional team with a wealth of knowledge and experience in children’s learning and development as identified in our latest ERO report.

Pepi Room - In our Pepi Room, tamariki experience a free-play environment which is set up to provoke learning and grow lifelong dispositions. It is richly resourced with a focus on natural open-ended resources. Water play, painting, building, singing and even baking are just a few of the activities we provide for our Pepi. Meals are at set times for our toddlers, where we all come together to eat. Our Pepi teachers have many years’ experience and work closely with the whanau of our children. Our Be School Ready initiative is evident even in our Pepi Room, and our toddlers are thoughtfully prepared for their transition into the Overs Room when the time comes.

Overs Room - A variety of learning opportunities are offered daily. Children are able to engage in new and challenging experiences as well as having the opportunity to revisit and extend prior learning. In the older children’s area there is a large focus on BestStart’s unique Be School Ready initiative. Within this initiative children learn about what to expect when they go to school; rules and responsibilities such as managing their lunch boxes and belongings. They also get a strong foundation programme of numeracy and literacy skills applied in meaningful contexts which enhances learning, understanding and retention.

We engage in regular outings into the community, including our fortnightly visits to Toddler Time as well as our local primary schools, one of which provides them with a school classroom learning experience.

Our playground has been upgraded to foster the children’s gross motor development as well as exploration abilities. The new features include a bike track, a wharenui , stage area and new climbing equipment.

Please feel free to ring us for a chat about the centre, or come in for a visit! We’d love to meet you and show you around.