BestStart Avondale  

BestStart Avondale, formerly First Steps Avondale is located on Wolverton Street, close to the New Lynn Train Station and the South Western Motorway. We offer a wonderful home-away-from-home atmosphere with high quality learning spaces. Most of our tamariki are transitioning to Blockhouse Bay, New Windsor, Chaucer and New Lynn Primary Schools.

At BestStart Avondale, our parents are a vital part of centre life and our philosophy. We pride ourselves on positive working relationships with whanau. Families are involved in various events throughout the year including centre programmes, fundraising and annual celebrations of cultures and community events.

Our programme is based on the principle of respect, responsibility and community through exploration and discovery. We provide a supportive and enriching environment based on the interests of the children through a child-led curriculum. We have three dedicated rooms caring for children of different age and developmental stages. The teaching team implement teaching methods and strategies that best suit children of different interests and needs that are woven together with Te Whāriki (Early Childhood Curriculum) and BestStart’s unique Be School Ready initiative.

Manawa Nursery (0-2 years) - The Infants room is a cosy room where babies are offered many open-ended play objects to explore freely. Each infant under two years old has a primary caregiver who works collaboratively with your family to meet the child’s individual routine and learning needs.

Rewa Rewa (2 – 3.2 years) - The Toddlers room provides free flow between indoor and outdoor areas for tamariki to explore and make their own discoveries. We have a covered deck area which allows for creative projects to begin. This is where our toddlers enjoy their hands-on experience by participating in art activities, dance and music. Our experienced teachers work closely with the children to help them develop social and self-help skills as well as starting their early literacy and numeracy learning.

Waitemata (3.2- 6 years) - The Preschool room is a well-resourced room where children are able to engage deeper in their play and learning with support from the teachers. They further develop their self-help and social skills, learnt from toddler room. The teaching team incorporate different teaching methods and strategies within daily activities to further children’s early literacy and numeracy, ensuring that all the children build a solid foundation for the formal learning experience at school.