Our Pepe (Babies)

BestStart is committed to the care and development of our pēpē/babies and infants. We have developed a dedicated programme Our Pēpē to provide guidance for their care, nurture and development.

Over the years there has been a lot of research into babies’ brain development, the first 1,000 days and the importance of primary relationships. That’s why BestStart supports Our Pēpē programme, because it uses this research to create the best care in our centres for babies.

Relationship attachment happens when a key teacher has time to invest with a baby, responding to their cues. Within BestStart these regularly happen through moments such as nappy changing and bottle feeding. During these times teachers engage in eye contact, using language, song and rhyme. These moments help build relationships, supporting attachment and developing healthy brain pathways that supports infants in their later lives.

We’ve found that teachers can form strong attachments with children. When teachers are responsive to a child expressing a need, it teaches them that adults are listening and will respond with what they need. This supports the formation of healthy brain pathways that develop the skills needed to self-regulate their emotions in later life.

At BestStart we see infant teachers as specialists. Our Pēpē encourages quality care and learning through music, movement, physical play, art, language and relationships. Our teachers integrate the care of your child (the nappy changing, feeding and sleeping) with teaching and learning so that special attention is given to developing their brain through these deep and connected relationships with your child’s caregiver.

BestStart provides training around primary caregiving and the importance of attachment to ensure our teachers are aware of their role to support the development of neurological pathways for our children.

BestStart thanks Erin France for her internationally recognised Our Pēpē programme