95 Colombo Street, Beckenham, Christchurch 8023
We pride ourselves on our strong community connections and meaningful relationships with whānau and tamariki to ensure that we provide the best possible care and education for every child. We operate between the hours of 7:30am-5:30pm with both full days and sessions (much like kindergarten).
Our learning spaces
We have two fantastic buildings, the first of which is home to our Nursery and Toddler rooms. It is a lovely villa that has been refurbished to mimic and encompass the inviting and soothing atmosphere of a home. The second building is a new addition which has two separate rooms that have been purpose-built to accommodate 3-4 year old children and 4-5 year old children.
Our great outdoors
Both of our outdoor environments are inclusive of the natural environment and children flourish in the spaces we have on offer. The 2-5 year old outdoor space is second to none! It is vastly spacious, brilliantly designed and beautifully resourced. We also boast a very natural and well enjoyed secret garden area where our children engage in gardening, composting and worm farms.
Our Nursery (aged 0-2 years) The Nursery is known for its nurturing and intimate atmosphere for both babies and toddlers. With a maximum of 15 children, combined with a team of highly experienced and passionate teachers, babies and toddlers are supported to thrive. Our thoughtfully created indoor and outdoor spaces provide children endless opportunities to experience and explore their surrounding world.
Primary caregiving - We offer ‘Manaakitanga Care’ for the babies and toddlers in the Nursery. This is a concept developed by the teachers at BestStart Cashmere and adopts a lot of different research but is grounded in Primary Care. Teachers work one on one with you and your child as their special caregiver. This relationship creates a bond of trust with each child and their whānau, which in turn assists with settling, transitioning and each child’s overall well-being and sense of belonging. The Nursery has a warm and inviting sleep area, separate from daily learning and play. It is quiet and peaceful with individual cots and/or beds for each child, which makes their sleeping experience very comfortable.
For infants and toddlers, daily routines can be extremely important as they help build trust; routines such as nappy changing, bottle and kai time and sleep times allow a child to feel a sense of security knowing their needs will be met. All of the routines within our Nursery are purposely unhurried and valued, creating a feeling of safety and love. During these precious 1:1 times teachers are deliberate in their actions and engagement, taking special time with each and every child. We have a strong emphasis on nurturing tamariki to explore their natural world and discovering the wonder within it. Our teaching team are deeply focused on the high quality childcare, fostering of learning and overall emotional development of children in their room.
Our Toddler Room (ages 2-3 years)
Within our Toddler Room, we have carefully designed an environment that is grounded in research about the developmental and emotional needs of toddlers. The Toddler Room is full of activities, experiences and resources that are extremely purposeful. The focus always being on fostering children’s sense of well-being, supporting their confidence, enhancing the development of relationships and nurturing their communication. The caring and knowledgeable teaching team are acutely mindful of developmental ages and stages and provided carefully planned learning for both individuals and groups within this room. The Toddler Room children are also fortunate enough to share their outside environment with the older children from the Pre School and the Prep Rooms. This mixed aged outdoor play environment provides a high quality learning experience where toddlers have the opportunity to engage, play and learn alongside their older peers.
Our Pre School Room (aged 3-4 years)
Our Pre School room provides children access to both in and outdoor play throughout the day. We have a strong focus on exploration and social interactions. Both the indoor and outdoor spaces are created and resourced to provide ample opportunities to explore and develop physical skills as well. In the Pre School room, children are also encouraged and supported to learn how to problem solve in a range of ways. They learn how to hypothesize, how to ask questions, how to research and find answers and how things work. Preschool children are given more freedom and autonomy to explore creatively. Teachers guide and support learning and education and they also focus on the environment as the “third teacher”.
Our Prep Room (aged 4-5 years)
The Prep School caters to our oldest age group within the centre. In this room we are committed to providing a mix between structure and free play that enables the children to learn and develop by exploring their interests, working with others and challenging themselves. Ongoing engagement with highly skilled teachers, the Prep Room children are supported to further develop their social skills, working on their collaboration, communication, negotiation and conflict resolution. The environment is set out to encourage and support children with their self-help skills and responsibility. Throughout the day we also have small group times, where children are provided experiences that focus on different areas of education. Teachers guide and support children’s interests by scaffolding, challenging and extending their knowledge.
BestStart Cashmere provides an educational and childcare experience for children of all ages and their whānau that is of extremely high quality. We combine experience, knowledge and endless passion to produce the best learning outcomes for babies, toddlers and children.
My son started in the nursery a few months back. The teachers were very passionate and caring towards him while we were doing some settling visits. They were also very welcoming and supportive toward my partner and I which was great because she was so nervous about starting back at work and putting him into day-care. We were so grateful for the extra time the teachers spent talking with us and keeping us in the loop with our son’s time at nursery; this was especially encouraging for us over his first few weeks when we were the most nervous. The teachers in the nursery are the reason the nursery is so warm and inviting. We also really love that there are only a handful of children and a separate sleeping area.
The children seem so happy and involved whenever I pick my daughters up. There are such fun activities happening and the teachers always have something exciting to tell me about her day and I just feel so welcomed.
The teachers are very caring , warm and welcoming for not just our children but also for us as an entire family unit.
