BestStart St Albans

At BestStart St Albans, our centre vision is 'A place where tamariki can thrive and be themselves'. Throughout our centre, our children are involved in all aspects of the centre routines, and drive our child led curriculum based around their interests. We empower our children to make decisions that affect their own learning - this drives everything we do.

At Beststart St Albans, we are a place where tamariki can thrive and be themselves!

BestStart St Albans is located near the Avon-Otakaro river in the city on a quiet side street. We are in a historic, converted villa.

We strive to support all our children to take managed risks within our environment. We understand the difference between risks and hazards and believe that supporting children through risk taking experiences helps challenge their thinking and empower them to become stronger, confident individuals later in life. 

Our children are involved in all aspects of the centre day, from driving our child let curriculum based around their interests to supporting cooking or baking morning or afternoon kai, or cutting up vegetables for lunches. We also support their learning through regular excursions into the community which extends their learning and helps them foster a sense of belonging and a love for being local!

Our Team

As an added extra we have an onsite cook who prepares all our meals under a full vegetarian menu. Our cook works alongside our families with any special requirements to ensure that your child comes home well fed after a day at Preschool. 

What We Offer

• 20 hours free for 3-5 year olds and WINZ subsidies available* if required
• Regular Excursions
• Healthy Heart Award - nutrition and health is important to us
• Get Set for School Programme
• Fresh, nutritious, vegetarian meals and snacks provided each day

Our Spaces

We aim for our centre to be a home away from home. With two small rooms the children all form close relationships with each other and their teachers making transitions a breeze and fostering a sense of community among our centre whānau.