Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen Eden

Education institution number:
20185
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
35
Telephone:
Address:

23 Glendale Road, Glen Eden, Auckland

View on map

Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen Eden

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

Regulatory standards

ERO’s judgement

Curriculum

Meeting

Premises and facilities

Meeting

Health and safety

Meeting

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.

Background

Our Kids Early Learning Centre provides full day education and care for children from six months to school age. The centre is privately owned and operated and licensed for 32 children. A service manager leads the team of six qualified teachers.

Summary of Review Findings

The service 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 experiences.

Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful positive interactions. They provide a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning. The curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Actions for Compliance

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

  • The premises having a current fire evacuation scheme approved by the New Zealand Fire Service (HS4).
  • Designated assembly area for evacuation purposes outside the building keeping children safe from further risk (HS5).
  • Windows or other areas of glass accessible to children are made of safety glass, covered by an adhesive film, or effectively guarded by barriers (PF7).
  • Heavy furniture, fixtures, and equipment that could topple or fall and cause serious injury are secured (HS6).
  • Daily checking equipment, premises, and facilities for hazards to children (HS12).
  • Documenting a record of excursions that meets the requirements of the licensing criteria (HS17).
  • Administering of medication procedure requires acknowledgement by parents that their child has been administered medication by the service (HS28).
  • Adults who administer medicine to children are provided with information and/or training relevant to the task (HS29).
  • Ensuring all children’s workers who have access to children are safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014 (GMA7A).

Next ERO Review

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

4 June 2021

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen Eden

Profile Number

20185

Location

Glen Eden, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

32 children, including up to 10 aged under 2.

Percentage of qualified teachers.

80%+

Service roll

43

Ethnic composition

Māori 10
NZ European/Pākehā 17
Asian 7
Pacific 4
other ethnic groups 5

Review team on site

April 2021

Date of this report

4 June 2021

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, March 2018
Education Review, June 2014

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.

Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen Eden - 13/03/2018

1 Evaluation of Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen Eden

How well placed is Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen Eden to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

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

Background

Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen Eden provides full-day and sessional care and education for children from six months to school age. The centre is licensed to provide for 32 children, with a maximum of ten under the age of two years. This centre is one of two owned by the managing director.

The centre operates from a renovated house. Children of all ages play together. The centre philosophy focuses on relationships and acknowledges the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa, New Zealand. The philosophy emphasises that the role of teachers is to observe and work alongside children to help them co-construct knowledge and to support their developing skills and dispositions.

The managing director is a qualified early childhood teacher and employs five qualified teachers. Three staff are new to the centre since the 2014 ERO review.

Good progress has been made in the areas that were identified for improvement in the 2014 ERO review.

The Review Findings

The centre warmly welcomes children and their families. Children confidently talk with friends and adults during play and are settled in their environment. They have good opportunities to develop their independence and self-help skills.

Children spend much of their day in sustained play and exploring. Teachers encourage children's learning and development using a rich curriculum with equipment that encourages creative thinking. Children's development of oral language, and skills and knowledge related to literacy and mathematics, are well supported. Teachers are continuing to review and improve the environment to further promote children's problem solving and opportunities to make discoveries.

Programme planning and assessment practices and processes are now more focussed on enhancing children's specific dispositions, skills and working theories. Children with additional learning needs receive good collaborative support from teachers, parents and external agencies. Children's learning is shared with their parents through digital portfolios. Centre leaders are seeking to further enhance partnerships with parents by providing opportunities to talk about children's learning, the curriculum and current good teaching practices.

Staff use internal evaluation to improve outcomes for infants and toddlers. Teachers evaluate the impact of their curriculum decisions to see what difference they are making for the youngest children's learning. They are continuing professional development to implement Te Whariki, The Early Childhood Curriculum, in response to children's dispositions and preferences.

Teaching is responsive to individual children's needs and teachers make links to children's experiences outside of the centre.

Teachers are increasing their knowledge of te ao Māori perspectives by participating in professional development. As a result, they are continuing to strengthen bicultural aspects of the curriculum. Centre leaders agree that further priorities are to plan and implement approaches that support success for Māori children, and to develop whānau relationships. These developments could provide insights for planned approaches to support future enrolments of Pacific children and their families.

A culture of ongoing improvement is well embedded at all levels of the centre. Leaders foster teachers' and parents' shared understanding of the centre philosophy, vision and goals. They consult parents and staff and use their responses to inform strategic planning. Emergent leadership is encouraged and supported using a robust appraisal process. Leaders are strategically improving outcomes for children.

Key Next Steps

Leaders have identified appropriate priorities for ongoing centre improvement. These include:

  • developing bicultural partnerships through consultation on centre policies and practices

  • continuing to build the collective capacity of the teaching team through curriculum professional development, teaching and leadership as inquiry

  • continuing to review and improve the learning environment to further promote children's problem solving, exploration and investigation

  • continuing to maintain a sound policy and review base that responds to changes in requirements and legislation.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen Eden 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.

To improve current practice, the early childhood service management should ensure that all excursions, including regular local outings, follow the centre policy for excursions and risk analysis and management.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen Eden will be in three years.

Julie Foley

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

13 March 2018

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

Location

Glen Eden, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

20185

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

32 children, including up to 10 aged under 2

Service roll

46

Gender composition

Girls 29 Boys 17

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Indian
other

8
29
7
2

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

December 2017

Date of this report

13 March 2018

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

June 2014

Education Review

April 2011

Education Review

February 2008

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.