Ko Taku Reo Preschool, Auckland

ERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.

ERO’s Judgement

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed non-compliances and is now taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

Ko Taku Reo Preschool is a well-established service. It provides a bilingual (New Zealand Sign language and spoken English) early childhood curriculum for deaf, hearing impaired and hearing children. The preschool is governed by the Deaf Education ECE Trust which works closely with the National Board of Trustees of Ko Taku Reo. A qualified professional leader and manager support a team of three qualified teachers and seven support staff. Almost a quarter of the children are Maori, and a small number have Pacific heritages.

Summary of Review Findings

The curriculum is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation that demonstrate an understanding of children’s learning, their interests, whānau and life contexts.

Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Children’s developing social competence and understanding of appropriate behaviour are supported.

The curriculum is inclusive, and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning. A language-rich environment supports their learning.

Those responsible for governance and management need to ensure that regulatory requirements are understood and consistently implemented.

Compliance

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence to show it has addressed the following non compliances:

• Having a record of all excursions that includes the names of adults and children involved, assessment and management of risk, adult:child ratios, and evidence of parental permission and approval of adult:child ratios for regular excursions (HS17).

• Having and implementing a written procedure for safety checking all children’s workers before employment or engagement of the worker commences, including ensuring staff are correctly police vetted (GMA7A).

Key Next Step

A key next step is to:

• Further develop internal evaluation processes by focusing on children’s learning and identifying how changes made have impacted on improved outcomes for all children.

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

10 July 2023

Information About the Service

General Information about Assurance Reviews

All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.

Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.

ERO undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

• having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation

• previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’

• that has moved from a provisional to a full licence

• that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership

• where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service completed an ERO Centre Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:

• curriculum

• premises and facilities

• health and safety practices

• governance, management and administration.

As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulatory standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:

• emotional safety (including positive guidance and child protection)

• physical safety (including supervision; sleep procedures; accidents; medication; hygiene; excursion policies and procedures)

• suitable staffing (including qualification levels; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)

• relevant evacuation procedures and practices.

As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:

• discussions with those involved in the service

• consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems

• observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.