857 Whangaparaoa Road, Whangaparaoa-Auckland
View on mapAkarangi | Quality Evaluations evaluate the extent to which early childhood services have the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama Indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most and Early Childhood Education (ECE) Improvement Framework (teacher led services) are the basis for making judgements about the quality of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Evaluations for improvement | Ngā Aronga Whai Hua is integrated across all of the above domains.
Akarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama- indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most (PDF 3.01MB) are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric (PDF 91.30KB) derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Bright Bears are as follows:
Outcome Indicators | ERO’s judgement |
| What the service knows about outcomes for learners | Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Akatoro Domains | ERO’s judgement |
He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning | Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability | Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement | Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement | Kia rangatira ai te tipu Excelling |
Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management | Kia rangatira ai te tipu Excelling |
Bright Bears Early Childhood Centre is a privately owned centre, situated on the Whangaparāoa Peninsula. Bright Bears’ philosophy promotes a safe, nurturing and positive environment for children and whānau. A qualified centre leader and service provider oversee the governance and management of the service.
Children are supported to be creative and curious learners who demonstrate a strong sense of belonging. Their cultural identity and home languages are valued. Children eagerly express themselves using te reo Māori and have a growing understanding of tikanga Māori.
The indoor and outdoor environments are well designed to maximise optimal learning opportunities. Children enjoy participating in a variety of play experiences that enhance their unique strengths and imagination. Their learning is valued and affirmed through the vibrant displays of children’s individual and collaborative projects.
Teachers’ high-quality planning closely aligns to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Individualised and group planning support children’s interests, strengths and needs. Children with additional needs are well supported. Teachers skilfully extend children’s learning and challenge them to think critically about the world around them. Children respond thoughtfully and engage in meaningful dialogue with teachers and other children.
The teaching team is highly committed to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Staff with expertise in te reo and te ao Māori support their colleagues to grow in confidence and knowledge to use the language. Staff demonstrate strong culturally responsive practice and use multiple languages to interact with children and their whānau.
The centre manager demonstrates high quality professional leadership. She has developed high levels of relational trust with children, staff and whānau. Teachers engage in professional development that impacts positively on outcomes for children. Staff engage in ongoing internal evaluation. They identify and implement recommendations for improvement using their evaluation findings.
The centre is well led and governed. The service provider is highly professional in his approach to governance. He has developed strong relationships with whānau and the local community. Centre leaders have established a positive working environment. This results in the retention of quality teachers, and continuity and consistency of care for children and their whānau. Leaders foster collaboration with staff and whānau to drive continuous improvement for children’s equitable, innovative and excellent outcomes.
This centre is well positioned to lead exemplary sector practice in the future.
Bright Bears Early Childhood Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Bright Bears Early Childhood Centre 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:
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
27 May 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Bright Bears Early Childhood Centre |
| Profile Number | 10152 |
| Location | Whangaparāoa, Auckland |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 25 children over the age of two years |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80%+ |
| Service roll | 33 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 8 NZ European/Pākehā 11 other European 6 other ethnic groups 8 |
| Review team on site | April 2021 |
| Date of this report | 27 May 2021 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, November 2016 Education Review, September 2013 |
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Bright Bears Early Childhood Centre provides full day care and education for up to 25 children from two to five years of age. The centre philosophy focuses on providing a safe, nurturing environment for children and their families.
Since the 2013 review, the centre has changed ownership. It is one of five centres operated by the owner who has a background in education. A manager is employed to oversee daily operations. A new teaching team has been appointed and most teachers are qualified. Teachers have participated in professional development to build shared approaches to teaching and learning.
The 2013 ERO report identified many positive features that supported children's learning well and fostered respectful relationships with children and their families.
Children are happy, enthusiastic learners. They are competent, articulate and consistently engage in play that interests them. Children enjoy positive relationships with teachers and their peers and show a sense of wellbeing in an environment that welcomes family involvement. Children confidently make choices about their play and often work cooperatively with their friends. They benefit from a wide range of interesting resources.
Teachers develop interesting programmes that include excursions, specialist activities such as sports, music, and cultural celebrations. The programme reflects bicultural practices well through relevant resources, displays, use of waiata and the integration of te reo Māori. Teachers are currently developing their planning approach to focus more on children's individual learning interests. This should enable them to further document learning that shows each child's progress over time.
Teachers work collaboratively and know children and their families well. They support children to explore resources and engage children in deliberate conversations. Teachers ask questions to help children develop their own ideas and solve problems independently. They include early literacy and mathematics learning opportunities well. Teachers are focused on developing their teaching practices. They could now benefit from reflecting together on the deliberate acts of teaching that would extend the complexity of children's play.
Parents value the quality of the programme, their relationships with teachers and the opportunities provided for their children to become confident learners. They also appreciate that their children are well supported for when they move to school. Parents are informed about their children's learning through assessment portfolios and daily discussions with teachers. The manager recognises the need to increase parent contributions in portfolios to strengthen learning partnerships with parents.
The owner and manager are effective leaders. They focus on providing a service that meets community needs and offers a good learning environment for children. Leaders have a strong commitment to developing teacher practice through ongoing professional development. A clear strategic plan guides improvement. Internal evaluation processes are established and focus on positive outcomes for children.
The owner and centre manager agree that next steps could include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Bright Bears Early Childhood Centre 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:
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 Bright Bears Early Childhood Centre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
11 November 2016
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.
| Location | Whangaparaoa, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 10152 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 25 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 34 | ||
| Gender composition | Boys 22 Girls 12 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā British other | 6 16 5 7 | |
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Over 2 | 1:6 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Review team on site | September 2016 | ||
| Date of this report | 11 November 2016 | ||
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review | September 2013 | |
| Education Review | May 2010 | ||
| Education Review | March 2007 | ||
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.
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.