3 Whetu Place, Mairangi Bay, 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.
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Mairangi Bay Preschool is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Mairangi Bay Preschool, formerly Discoverys Learning Centre, offers all day education and care for a maximum of 40 children, including up to 10 children under two years of age.
The centre's philosophy is guided by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It identifies a commitment to developing each child's wellbeing and individual needs in an environment where children learn through play and interactions with their peers.
The owner and acting centre manager are qualified teachers. They are supported by three registered teachers, one unqualified teacher and two relievers.
ERO's 2016 report recognised a variety of positive features that have been sustained by the new teaching team. It recommended building on te reo me ōna tikanga Māori and bringing children's learning dispositions and skills to the forefront in both planning and assessment. With staff changes and building a new team, these remain areas for the centre to strengthen. Since the 2016 report, learning environments have been upgraded.
Children and families are warmly welcomed when they arrive at the centre. Children experience respectful relationships that promote a sense of belonging in a home-like environment. Parents who spoke to ERO value positive relationships with staff and the good adult-to-child ratios. Regular centre newsletters and community pages, in English and Mandarin, keep whānau informed of centre activities and upcoming events. Managers continue to explore ways of building educational learning partnerships with parents.
Children lead their learning, are quick to settle and make independent choices about their play. They play cooperatively with their peers. Older children have easy access to an attractive and spacious outdoor learning environment that is well designed and promotes problem solving and risk-taking in learning.
Infants and toddlers experience respectful and nurturing interactions with staff. Teachers allow younger children the time and space to learn. Children have easy access to a separate well-resourced outside area for their own exploration and play.
Teachers provide opportunities for children to be creative and imaginative through open-ended resources. Wall displays acknowledge children's efforts and successes. Children's conversations are encouraged and respected by teachers. Some teachers demonstrate skilful questioning techniques to extend children's thinking skills in meaningful, engaging ways.
Children are encouraged to sing waiata and participate in karakia and Māori storytelling. Teachers have enrolled in professional development to help them deepen bicultural teaching practices.
Parents and whānau have access to relevant information about children's participation in centre programmes. Individual learning stories are regular and parent contributions evident. However, there is variable quality in recording children's learning and progress over time. Good practices now need to be consistent across the centre.
Staff meet regularly to ensure shared understandings of children's interests and to plan activities and resources. Programme planning is based on children's interests across all learning areas. Managers agree teachers now need to strengthen planning to include intentional teaching strategies and add complexity and challenge in children's learning.
The centre has good processes in place for both spontaneous and planned internal evaluation. It is timely for teachers to deepen their evaluative thinking and to document the impact of changes in practice on learning outcomes for children.
Strategic and annual planning guides centre operations. The centre is still in the process of rebranding some of its policies and procedures. Streamlining and updating of policies and procedures is supported by an external provider. A well-considered and useful appraisal process has recently been introduced to strengthen teaching practices.
Building a new cohesive teaching team has been a priority. The acting centre manager is improvement focused. She is working to build a positive centre-wide team culture and create a philosophy to guide and reflect teaching practices. Targeted management and external professional support will support this development and the sustainability of new practices.
Managers agree that the key next steps are to:
ERO recommends that managers develop, and provide ERO with, an action plan that shows how the priorities for improvement will be addressed. ERO will request progress updates against the plan.
Before the review, the staff and management of Mairangi Bay Preschool 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
11 December 2019
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 | Mairangi Bay, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 10276 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 40 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 29 | ||
| Gender composition | Boys 15 Girls 14 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori NZ European/Pākehā Chinese other ethnic groups | 2 8 16 3 | |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:4 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:7 | Better than minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | October 2019 | ||
| Date of this report | 11 December 2019 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| (Education Review's under Discoverys Learning Centre) | ||
| Education Review | April 2016 | ||
| Education Review | March 2013 | ||
| Education Review | April 2009 | ||
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 will depend on how well the service promotes 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.
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Discoverys Learning Centre is a privately owned service located in Mairangi Bay on Auckland’s North Shore. It is licensed for full day care and education for 40 children, including up to 10 infants and toddlers under the age of two years. The centre has two specified areas for children that are separately staffed. Children over-two and under-two each have their own indoor and outdoor environment.
The current owner has reviewed and updated the centre’s philosophy and, consequently, made changes to centre environments. The effect of these changes has been to create a more holistic and natural place for children. The furnishings, fixtures and materials chosen create a sense of homeliness and tranquillity.
The owner has restructured staffing since the previous ERO review in 2013. A centre manager has been appointed to guide the centre through this period of change. An early childhood management company continues to support the quality and development of the centre’s systems and operations. All centre staff are qualified and registered early childhood teachers.
The centre’s 2013 ERO report recommended that teaching practice become more aligned to the centre’s philosophy, and that professional learning for staff include work on building cultural competencies for supporting children’s learning. The report further noted the need for learning programmes to extend children’s opportunities for creative, imaginative and complex play.
The centre’s owner and teachers responded promptly to these issues and they have been well addressed. The centre has moved forward in a progressive and positive way to provide high quality care and education for children and their families.
The centre’s philosophy reflects Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, blended with the Reggio Emilia approach that promotes children as creative, capable and competent learners. The curriculum also includes some good quality aspects of bicultural teaching and learning. Assessment and programme planning support the centre’s philosophy. Individual and group learning records include detailed analysis of children’s learning and how it relates to Te Whāriki.
Children’s work and ideas are valued and respected. Children are given many opportunities to explore meaningful learning. They enjoy cooperative, collaborative play that is sustained for prolonged periods. Literacy and mathematics are integrated into their play activities. Teachers are skilled in developing children’s language skills and critical thinking. They engage children in open-ended conversations to extend their learning experiences.
Centre routines are unhurried and have benefited from the change in centre philosophy and teaching approaches. Children under two years are well cared for in their area, which has a gentle and calm ambience. Children feel confident and secure. Parents of babies and toddlers report high levels of satisfaction with the individualised care teachers provide for their children.
Children’s learning is documented electronically, giving parents increased opportunities for contributing to and participating in their child’s learning pathway. The future development of a digital learning community is part of the centre’s strategic thinking.
Teacher registration, professional development and appraisal are used effectively to enhance teacher capability. Teachers are given opportunities to learn from professional providers and to set goals to improve their own practice. The Education Council audit that was undertaken during this ERO review endorsed the centre’s practice and outcomes in these areas.
Self review is working usefully as a valuable method of enhancing the quality of the centre’s programmes and systems. Strategic and annual planning are clearly documented. Shared leadership among staff ensures that professional capability is being built. There is an ethos of continuous improvement in the centre’s goal-setting and vision for the future.
ERO and centre leaders agreed on the following as developmental areas to improve and sustain the centre’s future performance:
Before the review, the staff and management of Discoverys Learning 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 Discoverys Learning Centre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
13 April 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 | Mairangi Bay, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 10276 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 40 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 51 | ||
| Gender composition | Boys 29 Girls 22 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Chinese Filipino South African others | 3 17 22 3 2 4 | |
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:4 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:8 | Better than minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | January 2016 | ||
| Date of this report | 13 April 2016 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | March 2013 | |
| Education Review | April 2009 | ||
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.