55 Amy Street, Ellerslie, Auckland
View on mapERO’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.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
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Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
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.
Michael Park Kindergarten is in the grounds of Michael Park School. A centre manager leads a team of seven qualified teachers. The Rudolf Steiner philosophy, that focuses on supporting children’s creative and practical skills in a holistic way, is practised in the kindergarten and school. Children attending the kindergarten are from diverse cultural backgrounds. Ten percent of children are Māori.
The service curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Children experience a language-rich environment that supports their learning. Adults engage children in meaningful, positive interactions. The service curriculum is inclusive and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Positive steps are taken to respect and acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau for their children.
The design and layout of the premises support the provision of different types of indoor and outdoor experiences. An ongoing process of review helps the service maintain and improve the quality of its education and care. A philosophy statement guides the service’s operation.
Since the onsite visit, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following-non-compliances:
During the onsite visit, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it had addressed the following non-compliances:
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
3 June 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Michael Park Kindergarten |
| Profile Number | 10081 |
| Location | Ellerslie, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
100 children, over 2 years of age. |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
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Service roll |
87 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 8 |
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Review team on site |
April 2021 |
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Date of this report |
3 June 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, June 2017 |
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.
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:
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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Michael Park Kindergarten is located within the Michael Park School campus in Ellerslie, Auckland. It is licensed to provide education and care for 100 children aged over two years. Children from many cultural backgrounds attend sessions that are similar to school hours. Those aged two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half are catered for in the Rose Cottage, before moving through to one of four mixed-age rooms. Almost all of the kindergarten children transition to Michael Park School between six and seven years of age.
The Rudolf Steiner Schools Trust is the proprietor of the kindergarten and has a governance role. The Rudolf Steiner philosophy is practised in the kindergarten, and in the school. Children's individuality is foregrounded. Play resources are unstructured, and mainly from the natural materials. Self-directed play forms the basis of the programme and opportunities for children to work together, and be imaginative and creative are well supported. Seasonal rhythms are embraced and celebrated.
The kindergarten leader/manager is a qualified teacher. The kindergarten staff team has a variety of background knowledge and experience, and includes eight registered early childhood teachers. A distributed leadership model allows each teacher to take a lead role in different areas of kindergarten operations.
The 2013 ERO report acknowledged high levels of parent engagement and the successful integration of literacy and numeracy in play. It noted good opportunities for children to develop social competence, and their perseverance in learning activities. Advice and guidance for children with special needs, internal evaluation, and transition processes were identified as strengths. These features remain evident in practice.
Agreed areas for continued development in ERO's 2013 report were the mentoring of beginning teachers, children's participation in, and contribution to, programme planning and more effective documentation of children's learning progress over time. There has been a positive response to these areas for development.
Children play well in small groups. They are articulate and imaginative, and use resources well. Older children are able to sustain cooperative play for periods of time, setting and accepting roles, negotiating and challenging each other and themselves.
Children have opportunities to take on leadership roles, particularly around daily routines and tuakana/teina relationships. These opportunities allow younger children to learn from older peers and provide meaningful learning around mathematics and literacy.
Children are independent. They have a sense of belonging in, and ownership of, the kindergarten environment. The curriculum includes a strong focus on the arts, storytelling and moving to music. An element of risk-taking is encouraged.
Teachers maintain a calm, unhurried pace to the programme. They listen thoughtfully to children and talk with them in quiet, respectful ways that are reassuring and supportive. Their relationships with children are warm. Teachers work effectively with families to establish understandings of home contexts.
Parents who spoke with ERO shared their understanding of the Steiner philosophy and appreciated the individual and inclusive care and education promoted for their children. They value opportunities to participate in the numerous celebrations and festivals the programme offers.
The service's bicultural practice has been the subject of an ongoing review that has resulted in the appointment of a Māori cultural advisor. The kindergarten leader has identified that this is an area of practice that they will continue to strengthen.
Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, is highly evident in programme planning documentation. Significant learning is being shared with parents through narratives that identify possibilities for teachers' responses in order to bring more complexity to children's learning.
A distributed leadership model is providing good opportunities for teachers to develop their professional practice. The kindergarten leader continues to refine and develop the teacher appraisal system and is committed to maintaining an organisational culture of ongoing improvement. The purpose of self review is well understood, supported by research, and resulting in positive outcomes for children.
The kindergarten's vision and philosophy focus on the special character of Steiner schools. A framework of policies and procedures is established and continues to be reviewed to ensure alignment with current legal requirements. Strategic and annual plans guide the kindergarten's long term development.
Kindergarten leaders agree that appropriate ways to enhance their practice, include:
ensuring children's interests are prioritised in programme planning
refining programme planning to establish alignment between planning and learning stories
using the kindergarten's developing appraisal and mentoring processes to help all teachers respond more consistently to the learning needs of older children
consistently following new supervision and risk management plans.
Before the review, the staff and management of Michael Park Kindergarten 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:
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.
The next ERO review of Michael Park Kindergarten will be in three years.
Violet Tu'uga Stevenson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
22 June 2017
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.
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Location |
Ellerslie, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
10081 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
100 children, over 2 years of age |
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Service roll |
100 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 51 Boys 49 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
10% |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
May 2017 |
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Date of this report |
22 June 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
December 2013 |
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|
Education Review |
October 2010 |
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|
Education Review |
June 2007 |
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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:
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.
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:
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
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.