Kereru Kids Kaukapakapa

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

At the time of the review, ERO identified areas of non-compliance with regulatory standards that are an unacceptable risk to children.

Background

Kaukapakapa Pre-school is privately owned and operated. The owner manages the daily operation of the service. There are two additional qualified teachers, three unqualified staff members and an administrator. A quarter of children enrolled are Māori.

Summary of Review Findings

Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Regular opportunities are provided for parents to communicate about their children with adults providing education and care. Steps are taken to respect and acknowledge the aspirations that parents and whānau have for their children.

The service is not meeting licensing requirements. ERO is not assured that the service has the capacity to make improvements without support or Ministry of Education involvement.

Actions for Compliance

ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:

• maintaining all indoor and outdoor items and surfaces, furniture, equipment, and materials so they are safe and suitable for their intended use
• ensuring parts of the building or buildings used by children have a safe and effective means of maintaining a room temperature of no lower than 18°C
• ensuring furniture and items intended for children to sleep on that will be used by more than one child over time are securely covered with or made of a non-porous material
• having a procedure to ensure all linen used by children or adults is hygienically laundered
• having a current fire evacuation scheme approved by the New Zealand Fire Service
• ensuring adults providing education and care are familiar with relevant emergency drills and carry these out with children on an at least a three-monthly basis
• notifying the Ministry of Education when there is a serious injury or incident involving a child while at the service that is required to be notified to a specified agency
• implementing suitable human resource management practices relating to selection and appointment procedures and provision of professional development for staff.

Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, PF5, PF12, PF30, HS2, HS4, HS8, HS34, GMA7.

Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:

• Ensuring the design and layout of the premises support effective adult supervision so that children’s access to the licensed space (indoor and outdoor) is not unnecessarily limited (PF2).
• Having a tempering valve or other accurate means of limiting the hot water temperature (PF24).
• Maintaining a space where a sick child can be temporarily kept at a safe distance from other children while being supervised (PF27).
• Having a first aid kit that is easily recognisable and readily accessible to adults (PF28).
• Having furniture or items intended for children to sleep on available for the sleep or rest of children aged two years and older (PF34).
• Having a designated space to support the provision of restful sleep for children under the age of two at any time they are attending (PF37).
• Ensuring furniture or items intended for children to sleep on are provided at a ratio of at least one to every two children under the age of two years (PF38).
• Developing a procedure for the changing of nappies that states children are treated with dignity and respect (HS3).
• Designating assembly areas for evacuation purposes outside the building to keep children safe from further risk (HS5).
• Having a sufficient emergency supplies and evidence of how evaluation of the emergency drills has informed the annual review of the service’s emergency plan (HS7).
• Documenting procedure for monitoring children’s sleep which ensures that children do not have access to food or liquids while in bed; and are checked for warmth, breathing, and general wellbeing at least every 5-10 minutes, or more frequently according to individual needs. A record of the time each child attending the service sleeps, and checks made by adults during that time (HS9).
• Documenting a hazard management system that meets the requirements of the licensing criteria (HS12).
• Monitoring that the temperature of warm water delivered from taps that are accessible to children is no higher than 40°C, and comfortable for children at the centre to use (HS13).
• Having evidence that water stored in any hot water cylinder is kept at a temperature of at least 60°C (HS14).
• Maintaining a record of excursions that includes adult:child ratios, evidence of parental permission and approval of adult:child ratios and the signature of the person responsible for giving approval for the excursion to take place (HS17).
• Developing a procedure to ensure that children travelling in a motor vehicle while in the care of the service are restrained as required by Land Transport legislation (HS18).
• Ensuring that where food is provided by the service, foods that pose a high choking risk are not to be served unless prepared in accordance with best practice as set out in Ministry of Health guidelines (HS22).
• Ensuring all practicable steps are taken to ensure that children who become unwell while attending the service are kept at a safe distance from other children (to minimise the spread of infection (HS26).
• Ensuring all practicable steps are taken to get immediate medical assistance for a child who is seriously injured or becomes seriously ill, and to notify a parent of what has happened (HS27).
• Having evidence of written authority from parents for the administration of medicine, and evidence of parental acknowledgement (HS28).
• Ensuring adults who administer medicine to children (other than their own) are provided with information and/or training relevant to the task (HS29).
• Ensuring the Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008 is prominently displayed for parents and visitors (GMA1).
• Ensuring all children’s workers who have access to children are safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014 (GMA7A).
• Developing an annual budget setting out the service’s estimated revenue and expenses for the year (GMA9).

Recommendation to Ministry of Education

ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence issued to this service provider. ERO will not undertake a further review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets regulatory standards.

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.

Phil Cowie
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

25 November 2021 

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 regulated 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; police vetting; teacher certification; ratios)
• evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

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.

1 Evaluation of Kaukapakapa Pre-School

How well placed is Kaukapakapa Pre-School to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Kaukapapa Pre-School is a well established privately owned early childhood centre located in the Kaukapakapa village. It continues to provide high quality full day care and education for local children from birth to school age.

The well resourced and spacious centre includes a large covered outdoor deck in addition to the main outside area. The centre has access to a nearby native forest area that is often visited as part of the programme.

Children under the age of two years have their own area within the building and a connecting covered outdoor area. They also often spend time with the older children.

The owner manages the centre with the support of qualified and experienced teachers who have a significant input into strategic planning, the day-to-day running of the centre and the education programme for children.

The centre philosophy is consistent with the intentions Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and has been influenced by professional development, a Ministry of Education sponsored programme called The Incredible Years, that promotes children's persistence, academic, emotional, social and behavioural learning.

The Review Findings

Children experience care and respect from adults and from each other, and have many opportunities to learn and to develop appropriate social skills. For much of the day they are able to manage their own play with the support of teachers. Children often cooperate and collaborate with one another as they investigate, explore and create.

Teachers know the children and their families well. They use this information to ensure that the educational programme reflects children's interests, strengths and needs. Parents contribute to assessment and planning by sharing information with teachers about their children's lives outside the centre, and respond positively to centre initiatives.

Teachers encourage children to lead their own play. They set up and resource the environment to promote children's curiosity and to extend their interests. The interactions between children and teachers provide many opportunities for children to develop their oral language skills. Children learn early literacy and numeracy skills and knowledge through meaningful contexts in play. Children are encouraged to be creative and problem solvers.

The educational programme has a strong bicultural focus with all children having many opportunities to experience and learn about aspects of tikanga and te reo Māori. The older children participate in weekly kapa haka practice, supported by students from the local school.

The staff work well together with an agreed understanding of their roles as teachers and how to interact purposefully with children. They share a common approach to supporting children who have special behavioural or educational needs.

Staff performance is well managed. Teachers' strengths are recognised and they are encouraged to take leadership roles. Teachers respond well to these leadership opportunities. The processes of mentoring and appraising teachers celebrate and encourage ongoing improvement. Professional development opportunities are relevant to centre priorities and have a positive impact for children.

The manager takes a strategic approach to reviewing the centre operations and facilities, and to planning further developments. She is responsive to suggestions made during ERO evaluation processes. There are good processes in place to monitor aspects of health and safety.

Centre staff have identified the following appropriate areas that they would like to strengthen. These include:

• aspects of the outdoor environment

• a review of how policies and procedures are organised

• the efficiency of processes for planning and assessing children's learning.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kaukapakapa Pre-School 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.

During the review, ERO looked at the 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; police vetting; teacher registration; ratios)

• evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Kaukapakapa Pre-School will be in four years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

6 May 2016

The Purpose of ERO Reports

The Education Review Office (ERO) is the government department that, as part of its work, reviews early childhood services throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. ERO’s reports provide information for parents and communities about each service’s strengths and next steps for development. ERO’s bicultural evaluation framework Ngā Pou Here is described in SECTION 3 of this report. Early childhood services are partners in the review process and are expected to make use of the review findings to enhance children's wellbeing and learning.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

ERO’s overarching question for an early childhood education review is ‘How well placed is this service to promote positive learning outcomes for children?’ ERO focuses on the following factors as described in the bicultural framework Ngā Pou Here:

Pou Whakahaere – how the service determines its vision, philosophy and direction to ensure positive outcomes for children

Pou Ārahi – how leadership is enacted to enhance positive outcomes for children

Mātauranga – whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to achieve positive outcomes for children

Tikanga whakaako – how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity and support positive outcomes for children.

Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness of arotake – self review and of whanaungatanga – partnerships with parents and whānau.

ERO evaluates how well placed a service is to sustain good practice and make ongoing improvements for the benefit of all children at the service.

A focus for the government is that all children, especially priority learners, have an opportunity to benefit from quality early childhood education. ERO will report on how well each service promotes positive outcomes for all children, with a focus on children who are Māori, Pacific, have diverse needs, and are up to the age of two.

For more information about the framework and Ngā Pou Here refer to ERO’s Approach to Review in Early Childhood Services.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

The overall judgement that ERO makes and the timing of the next review will depend on how well placed a service is to promote positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:

• Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
• Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
• Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
• Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

ERO reviews are tailored to each service’s context and performance, within the overarching review framework. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to the service.