Welcome to BestStart Marne Road Kindy in the heart of Papakura, where the learning and adventures never end! Children learn through everything they experience throughout their day at Kindy both at the centre and in our local community. The children have the opportunity to lead their own learning with plenty of opportunities to involve their family and whanau and our local community to create a fun, dynamic and exciting learning environment.

Creating explorers, researchers & decision makers

“Teachers who love teaching, teach children to love learning.” – Robert John Meehan

We provide an authentic learning experience, knowledgeable children who have the ability to extend their learning, opportunities for the children to be courageous and curious to learn and discover through exploring, thinking, questioning and using knowledge to learn new things every day and promote a love of learning.

At Marne Road Kindy we read books, tell stories, rhymes and philosophize, we tumble in the grass, laugh and be crazy. Sometimes we silently sit and listen to the sounds around us. We capture real bugs to observe and answer our well thought out questions, pick real fruit from our fruit trees and even go on nature walks once a week. The children have opportunities to observe animals and discover plants, jump in puddles and forecast the weather by watching the changes in the clouds.

Our Children develop strong friendships and social skills. They will gain a deep awareness of nature, themselves and their environment. With this they will also have a respect for mother earth and each other, with our unique abilities and personalities. Our children love to explore the vegetable patch for slugs. snails and worms grow some tasty vegetables to eat and share with the family. They love to go and hunt for treasure, play dress ups and figure out just exactly which stick makes the best magic fairy wand or pirates’ sword.

To ensure this learning is authentic we provide a natural environment; children learn through nature and build strong connections with the natural world, as much time as possible is spent outside through our flexible daily programme that caters to every child’s wellbeing. Through Manaakitanga (respect) aroha (love) and whanaungatanga (relationships) we create a welcoming and collaborative environment.

We let Nature be another teacher – Utilising, encouraging and valuing all areas of learning and development through Papatuanuku - Mother Nature. Providing the children the freedom of just being in nature daily and experiencing wild spaces within the grounds and on regular excursions to “The Magic Tree Gardens” giving them the time to connect with nature and learn to love papatuanauku so they are able to care for, respect and protect it growing up to become guardians of the land.

We take great care and pride in offering children and their families an environment that is a home away from home. Children have the freedom to discover, investigate, socialise, build interests, prepare for school and grow as learners.

Quality Programme and Project Approach - Our programme is based around the project approach and is always alive throughout BestStart Marne Road Kindy life. We encourage children to thrive through their interests. Our children can engage deeper in their play and learning with support from teachers. Children have a strong disposition to explore and discover. The project approach builds on their natural curiosity, enabling children to interact, question, connect, problem-solve, communicate, reflect, and more. This kind of authentic learning extends beyond the classroom to each child’s home, our community and the world. It essentially makes learning fun, challenging and exciting to dig deeper into our funds of knowledge.   We believe our stimulating environment helps children build strong relationships with their teachers and peers.   

Meals - At BestStart Marne Road Kindy, we believe in having a positive attitude towards food and nutrition and we support our children to develop skills in healthy eating. We provide a nutritious morning and afternoon tea that is prepared with the children and parents provide a lunch box for children attending after 12pm. This encourages children to develop independence in managing their lunch box and we support this as part of our Set for School programme.

We have received a fantastic Education Review Office (ERO) report, achieving the very best grade for all early childhood centres in New Zealand.

Opening Hours - We welcome visitors to the centre and would love to invite you to visit us to see how we can help your child on the path to become a happy, confident learner.  We are open from 7.45am – 4.45pm, Monday to Friday and offer full days, short days and free sessions.

For more information about the specific fees for your centre, please contact us directly marne.kindy@best-start.org  You might be eligible for support paying their childcare fees. For more information click here.