Starfish in a Nutshell
Starfish prides itself on being a small, boutique, privately owned and operated Centre in the heart of Stanmore Bay, Whangaparaoa.
The management team at Starfish, Robyn Matthewson (Owner/Teacher) and Sharon Richardson (Centre Manager/Teacher) alongside managing the Centre, work daily as teachers to ensure a consistently high standard of education and care. Having worked together for over 17 years, Robyn and Sharon have developed an exceptional learning environment and a cohesive team of longstanding staff.
Starfish is a Centre that operates well below government ratios with 1 teacher to only 6 children in the over 2 -5 areas. This allows the teachers to provide many amazing teachable moments and lots of love and cuddles for social and emotional well-being.
Starfish is essentially your child’s home away from home with outstanding education sprinkled into the programme throughout the day!
Management
Robyn Matthewson
Owner
Bachelor of Business, Diploma of Teaching Primary and Post Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood
Hello, my name is Robyn. As the owner of Starfish, I am your first port of call at the Centre. I am a qualified Primary and Early Childhood teacher and have a degree in Business Studies. I have worked in education for over twenty years as I absolutely love working with and educating young children. I am especially passionate about creating stimulating, nurturing environments for pre-schoolers to learn in and ensuring each individual child reaches their full potential.
Sharon Richardson
Centre Manager
Bachelor of Arts, Diploma
of Teaching ECE
My name is Sharon Richardson. I have always loved early childhood education and have been teaching for over 20 years on the Coast. I particularly like mentoring students and working with diverse families.
I am fortunate to have two awesome grandchildren , Masen and Ivy, who I just adore.