We work with services, kōhanga reo, schools and kura to help them and their learners/ākonga flourish. We’re interested in what’s working well and what can improve.
What types of review we do
We review in Māori-medium, English-medium and Pacific-medium contexts.
Māori medium includes: Kura Kaupapa Māori, Ngā Kura a Iwi, Ngā Kohanga Reo, Ngā Puna Reo and other Māori immersion early learning services.
In English and Pacific medium, we review all state and state integrated schools and kura. We review all centre-based, home-based and hospital-based early childhood services.
Other types of schooling we review are private and independent schools, and homeschooling.
We also check on schools and kura with international students or school hostels, and new and merging schools’ readiness to open.
Learn more about how we review and get resources to help prepare your early childhood service, kōhanga reo, school or kura by visiting these pages on our website:
- How ERO reviews ngā kōhanga reo
- How ERO reviews early childhood services
- How ERO reviews kura (Māori-medium)
- How ERO reviews schools/kura (English-medium)
- How ERO reviews school hostels
- How ERO reviews schools/kura with international students
Why we review
We want to understand and share how each early childhood service, kōhanga reo, school or kura achieves positive outcomes for all its learners/ākonga.
We help services, kōhanga reo, schools and kura evaluate and improve their own practice.
We take an evidence-based approach to reviews. Our reviewers work with services, kōhanga reo, schools and kura to make independent judgements based on evidence and evaluation indicators.
We focus on equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners/ākonga.
Our approach is driven by our whakataukī: Ko te Tamaiti te Pūtake o te Kaupapa | The Child – the Heart of the Matter.
Who reads our review reports
Our reports are read by:
- learners/ākonga, parents, whānau, hapū and iwi
- teachers/kaiako
- early childhood education managers
- school principals/tumuaki and trustees
- government policy makers.
Why we publish our review reports on our website
We want parents, whānau, hapū and iwi, and the wider community to know about the quality of teaching and learning in early childhood services, kōhanga reo, schools and kura.
Publishing the reports online supports parents and whānau to know more about their child’s education, make suggestions and ask questions. Parent and whānau involvement plays a big part in a child’s educational success.
Every service, kōhanga reo, school and kura has the opportunity to give feedback on the report before we publish it.
How we keep our process fair and transparent
We designed our review process to be as open as possible. There should be no surprises.
Reviewers are professional evaluators who’ve had many years of teaching and leadership experience before joining us. All have specialised training in education evaluation. Some current school principals/tumuaki sometimes join reviews.
Reviewers follow the Public Service Commission’s Standards of Integrity and Conduct. Early childhood services and schools can expect review teams to be fair, impartial, responsible and trustworthy.
All review officers designated under the section 465 of the Education and Training Act 2020 have been Police vetted. https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0038/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS172330
Read our transparency statement.
The ‘Afa Framework
The 'Afa framework provides clarity to ERO, and the sector; ensuring all educators who champion Pacific language learning can do so with an understanding of the conditions that support language learning success.
The use of ‘Afa as a metaphor within the framework speaks to rope/sennit/’Afa which is found across the Pacific. The ‘Afa is formed of three threads, which when woven together form a strong tool that can support many aspects of Pacific life. For the rope to be useful, it must be evaluated often for it to be deemed fit for use. From time to time the ‘Afa will need to be maintained or repaired.