BestStart Opihi
About BestStart Opihi
About Education & Care Service
Education & Care Services are mainstream early learning centres that offer full-day or part-day care with a structured curriculum, qualified teachers, and a focus on learning through play. They cater to families needing flexible childcare options and wanting a balanced approach that supports social, physical, and early academic development in a diverse environment.
What Is 20 Hours ECE funding?
20 Hours ECE is a government-funded initiative that helps reduce the cost of early childhood education for families with tamariki aged 3–5. Eligible children can receive up to 20 hours of funded care and education each week at participating services. Centres can set their own enrolment patterns and may ask for optional charges, but the funded hours themselves should be free of compulsory fees. If you are unsure how this works at BestStart Opihi, it is best to ask the centre directly how they apply 20 Hours ECE.
Community Profile
Roll & age distribution
BestStart Opihi currently has a roll of 49 children tamariki , with most children enrolled in the 0–5 years age band.
Ethnicity profile
European tamariki are the largest group (66% of the roll), alongside māori, pacific, asian, other children.
Roll and demographic figures are based on data supplied by the Ministry of Education and were last updated on 01/07/2024.
Parent Reviews
“Please do not waste your time with this centre, and DO NOT send your tamariki here. From the moment I arrived, I knew something was off. Standing out the front of the building, all you could hear was a young girl I believe her name was Paige, yelling at tamariki. That should have been my warning, but I decided to give the centre the benefit of the doubt. When I walked into the office, she was on her phone, taking ‘funny’ photos/videos of children on Snapchat, of course, she looked shocked to see someone come in. She then told me it “wasn’t a convenient time” for a visit and that I should have booked an appointment to enquire about enrolling my boys. We’ve just moved towns, it’s already been such a stressful time for my family, and to be dismissed so quickly left me feeling completely helpless. What made things worse was seeing another staff member, Carmel, dragging a young boy by the arm and shoving him into a corner inside the preschool. Telling him to stay there until his mum were here to pick him up and “she better not be late again” My heart absolutely sank. No child deserves to be treated like that. I left feeling heartbroken and deeply concerned. I genuinely hope I haven’t made the wrong choice moving to this town, because this experience was not a great start.”
“Since moving my twins from one daycare to another I have been welcomed and stood by every step of the way. I know exactly what happened during the school day and what is going on with my twins. There is lots of love and passion when I drop of my kids as I see them wanting to go to their teachers with giggles and open arms.”
“Not just an amazing team to work with but incredible with my daughter always going above and beyond”
“The teachers are honest and reliable, I trust them with my kids. My kids love being at daycare and learn alot”
Interested?
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Getting ready for daycare?
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