BestStart Oamaru Kindy

BestStart Oamaru Kindy (formerly ABC Oamaru) is situated in a lovely old converted villa which creates a nice homely feel for the children and families attending our centre. We have a large, sheltered and private playground at the back of the centre with two large sandpits and a combination of natural shade and shade sails.

We cater for children from 2 to 5 years old and we are licensed for 35 children. We value and recognise children as competent and capable learners and this is reflected in our environment where children are encouraged to develop their independence and build self-confidence as well as developing skills necessary as they head towards their schooling years. We work collaboratively with family/whanau to support each child’s learning and development and support the children’s individual interests and needs.

Our outdoor environment allows children to explore the natural world. The children benefit from our vegetable garden, strawberry patch and enjoy learning about recycling through our compost and worm farm. We also have a lovely area covered in native bushes, grasses and tussocks. The playground is regularly set up with a range of resources and equipment to ensure that there are plenty of challenges for our tamariki to support their developing physical skills.

We offer some structured times to our day, as our children turn 4 we offer a literacy and mathematics programme, this is in conjunction with our Be School Ready initiative. During these times, we offer our 2 and 3 year olds a variety of learning opportunities that they may not select themselves.

We provide nutritious morning and afternoon tea and have a Gold Healthy Heart award. Children bring along lunchboxes and drink bottles which supports their self-help skills. 

We are proud to be part of the Enviroschools programme which supports children and young people to plan, design and implement sustainability actions that are important to them and their communities.  The programme provides pathways from early childhood through primary, intermediate and secondary school and beyond.  Through our collaborative approach of building strong relationships and sharing information, we are growing a collective puna mātauranga or pool of knowledge.