BestStart Kelvin Street

BestStart Kelvin Street is a caring, safe and welcoming centre that provides quality education for children. Our centre is situated opposite Queens Park near the city centre and provides care for children aged from 3 months to 5 years old.

Our Vision - Tūrangawaewae | A Place To Connect

Pikopiko Room (3-15 months)

This is our dedicated infant space created specifically for our youngest tamariki. We provide a calm and nurturing environment where our unhurried care moments are woven into a curriculum that is designed to empower our babies to learn alongside others and discover their world. We also love to take our tamariki for hikoi | walks to our local Queens Park in the prams as we explore our wider community.  

Harakeke (15 months to 2 years)

A unique space for our actively moving and socializing toddlers to learn at their own pace. Kaiako | teachers and tamariki value and enjoy building on whānaungatanga | relationships and communication with each other as tamariki engage in social interactions and friendships begin to blossom. Our tamariki love to engage with our natural environment where their imaginations come alive through sensory exploration of our core curriculum areas and regular visits to our local Queens Park.   

Mataī Room (2 - 3.5 years)

Our focus is to create spaces that promote curiosity, where our tamariki are encouraged to use their imaginations to make discoveries about themselves and the world around them.

With our strong connection to whānaungatanga, our environment builds on compassion, care and empathy for others and our environment. We encourage all our tamariki to be the leaders in their own journey, where an excitement and love for learning is encouraged in our very active room!  

Our environment is created to allow time for just being with children, observing, listening and being present, where we want our tamariki to unfold at their own pace, through uninterrupted play.  

Our Kortiritiri | Shooting Stars group provides our older tamariki with opportunities to foster and strengthen friendships while engaging in stimulating and FUN experiences.

Kahikatea Room (3.5 years – 5 years)

We continue to build on everything they have learnt during their time here at BestStart Kelvin Street and set a foundation for their future learning as they transition to school.  We want our tamariki to grow their knowledge, attitudes and skills so they feel confident about themselves as learners.

We focus on building positive relationships, learning about responsibility, developing problem-solving skills and resilience. We do this through literacy, numeracy, understanding the world around us, creativity, arts and music, sharing and relating to others, using our physical and gross motor skills and more.

One of the big things in our room is our ‘Into the Woods programme.’  Each week our 8 oldest tamariki get to explore Queens Park as we head off the beaten track.  They find mud puddles and swampy areas; they climb trees and discover nature.  There is a huge pile of dirt we call dragon mountain, that we climb and slide down.  All of this provides opportunities for inquiry, extending interests, forming friendships and connecting to nature through their senses.

Our tamariki learn through play, so although it may look like they are just playing, they are hard at work learning – and having fun while they are at it.

Having fun is something we love here at BestStart Kelvin Street and all our team have a passion for early childhood as we teach and learn with our tamariki.  Together we explore, grow and develop at the BEST BestStart!

Meals

We're supporting our tamariki to develop positive attitudes towards food and nutrition. We provide a nutritious morning and afternoon tea as well as lunch, all prepared by our cook in our onsite kitchen. We cater for a range of dietary requirements. We're super proud of achieving our gold Healthy Heart Award, Pa Harakeke, from the NZ Heart Foundation.  This reflects how we weave healthy eating and physical activity in a sustainable way through all aspects of our environment and engaging the community.

Philosophy

The goal of our centre philosophy and curriculum is that children and families experience an environment where over time, and with guidance and encouragement, children become increasingly capable of making connections between people, places and things.

For more information about the specific fees for your centre, please contact us directly (03) 218 6255 /  kelvin@best-start.org. You might be eligible for support paying their childcare fees. For more information click here.