BestStart Ponsonby

Set up table
Ponsonby - reading
Outdoor area
Learning Spaces 1
Ponsonby - verandah
Ponsonby - eating
Learning spaces 2
Ponsonby - creativity
Ponsonby - zoo toys
Learning spaces 3
Ponsonby - wrapping
BestStart Ponsonby is an early learning centre that provides high-quality early education and award-winning childcare for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. We’re just a short walk from Richmond Road School in Grey Lynn, and only a few minutes’ drive from Westmere, Herne Bay, and Point Chevalier.

Become the Maker of your own Future.

At BestStart Ponsonby, we have been building confident leaders in our community for years. Our villa-style centre is nestled in the heart of Ponsonby on a large site providing natural outdoor play spaces and a home-away-from-home feel. We believe in building strong, long-lasting family relationships to ensure we deeply know your child and can provide the education and care each child needs to become their best future self.

BestStart Ponsonby provides an environment where each child experiences opportunities to enhance their learning and development through encouragement, Tuakana/Teina (older/younger) relationships, and positive guidance.

Our Team

Our tight-knit team of qualified teachers work alongside families to ensure your child is receiving the education, nurture, and care that they require. We believe in building strong relationships with children and families and communication is key in everything we do. Our centre has a Healthy Heart Award and our centre cook provides nutritious meals for the children daily.

What We Offer

  • Qualified team of teachers to prepare your child's transition to school
  • Nutritious, balanced meals provided by our centre cook
  • 20 hours free for 3-5 year olds and WINZ subsidies available* if required

Our Spaces

Babies Cottage

(Infants)

The Big House

(Toddlers)

The Workshop

(Preschoolers)

Video Gallery

Parent Evening Part 1
Quality Service Award 2023

kind words from our parents

Parent

All concerns and fears went away as we experienced first-hand the fun, kind, compassionate, exciting and engaging manner in which the staff interacted with the kids and the centre was managed. At no time have we ever felt the wellbeing and happiness of our children has been compromised through putting them into day care – and this is an absolute credit to you and the team!

Parent

We have had two children go through BestStart Ponsonby, both of them have loved it and I can not recommend them enough. Every morning the kids walk in the door to a warm welcome, and on days they were feeling sad at mum or dad leaving, there was always a teacher around to step in and give cuddles or distract them with stories or games. Our daughter had a bad experience at a kindergarten near us, and we were told she had the worst separate anxiety the head teacher had ever seen, however the teachers at BestStart never found that she loved the teachers and blossomed. We also found she had celiac’s when she was 4 years old. The centre went out of their way to make sure her diet was catered for, educating themselves on what she could and couldn’t eat, and produced a gluten-free option for every meal. The workshop is great as a transition for school, and our son had his first school visit last week and the teacher commented on how ready for school he is. The experiences given there has helped them gain confidence, for example, the regular show and tell meant that our daughter had the confidence in her 3rd term at primary school to host the year 1 assembly.We will miss the teachers there and have had nothing but positive experiences.

Parent

My daughter joined Beststart Ponsonby in 2016 when she was just six months old. To date I can’t imagine having placed her anywhere else. Throughout her time at Beststart Ponsonby the whole team have been remarkable, highly efficient, wonderful and loving that as parent I have always felt secure leaving my precious baby under their expert supervision. We moved to the Coast a couple of years back and still we continued having our daughter with them, which in itself speaks volumes of how much faith we have in them. Thank you for all the love and support you have provided us. Words are not enough to express our gratitude.

Vanessa Cleland

We have felt so lucky to have both our girls in the care of the staff at BestStart Ponsonby. People at the centre are genuinely invested in the lives of our kids, both at an educational and a personal level. We have found there has been such a genuine love for our kids and the incredible support of our whole family. The staff are warm and very loving towards my children. The positive staff culture, evident by the long term team, has translated into such a caring, happy & stable environment for our kids. The team are approachable, down to earth and authentic. And they couple their wonderful staff with robust & organized systems. As an organization, we've really appreciated the transitional setup BestStart Ponsonby has. From the baby cottage to the big house, through to the workshop. It’s been such a wonderful journey for our kids and they’ve got exactly what they need at each life stage.

Lorraine

The team at BestStart have been amazing. From the Babies’ Cottage to The Big House and finally the Workshop. Harper took a while to get used to drop-offs and Belinda, Alex and Kelli have lots of suggestions and strategies for us to eventually get to a spot where Harper skips down the path. She’s loved her time at BestStart, learned lots, and got loads of new interests that she’s now sharing with us. She’ll definitely miss it and will look forward to dropping in on the odd pick up for her brother.

Parent

It’s hard to put into words how much of an impact the team at Beststart Ponsonby has made on our family. From the moment we stepped into the baby cottage exploring options for our premmie baby, we were welcomed with kind and smiling faces and we knew straight away our son would be in great hands. We always felt Max was cared for and loved and he thrived in his 4 years there. The teachers and helpers were always approachable and great at updating us on Max’s development. They also offered solutions when there were challenges which we appreciated. Max’s development was documented with stories and photos in books we now treasure. We loved how BestStart embraced cultural celebrations and made learning experiences interesting with play-based learning, practical experiences like cooking and science experiments as the kids got older. Not only are the people at Beststart lovely, the facilities are also great with a lovely outdoor area for the kids to play and explore in. We really loved our time at BestStart Ponsonby.

Parent

We are constantly impressed on a daily basis at how wonderful this daycare is. We are very grateful to have found it. For one thing, Sophia absolutely loves it, which says a lot. The teachers and helpers are fantastic. The communication is brilliant. What the children do every day is great - we love the artwork brought home by Sophia. The kids are stimulated and challenged, which is exactly why Sophia is there. Sophia gets to play outdoors till her little heart is content. Best of all worlds. We are more than happy!

Parent

We are constantly impressed on a daily basis at how wonderful this daycare is. We are very grateful to have found it. For one thing, Sophia absolutely loves it, which says a lot. The teachers and helpers are fantastic. The communication is brilliant. What the children do every day is great - we love the artwork brought home by Sophia. The kids are stimulated and challenged, which is exactly why Sophia is there. Sophia gets to play outdoors till her little heart is content. Best of all worlds. We are more than happy!

What we're proud of

Read our latest ERO report Read our latest ERO report e-portfolio e-portfolio Most Trusted Childcare Most Trusted Childcare We have a Healthy Heart Award We have a Healthy Heart Award Quality Service Award Quality Service Award Set for School Set for School BestStart Educare Governing Organisation Report BestStart Educare Governing Organisation Report

LATEST STORIES FROM OUR BLOG

The PJ Project

​At BestStart Ponsonby, giving back to the community sits highly on our list of values. Our generous children and families managed to collect over 50 pairs of pyjamas to donate to children in need so they can go to bed warm, clean, and cosy.

READ MORE