99 Grange Road, Mount Eden, Auckland
View on mapAkarangi | 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 are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Smart Start Montessori (Grange Rd) Pre-School are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) | Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains | |
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions | Whakaū Embedding Whāngai Establishing |
Smart Start Montessori (Grange Rd) Pre-School is privately owned. The service’s owner is responsible for governance and management. A head teacher leads a team of five qualified teachers. The children enrolled are of diverse cultural backgrounds, this includes a small number of tamariki Māori.
Teachers create an environment where children are valued as individuals and provided with opportunities to make decisions about their learning. Independence is fostered through easy access to a range of Montessori resources. These successfully encourage children’s exploration and developing life skills. As a result, children engage in play and learning for extended periods of time.
Te ao Māori (the Māori world) is reflected within the learning environment, teacher practice and the bicultural resources provided. Children learn about the languages and cultures of others through participating in language weeks and cultural events. Teacher’s role model oral language skills, including children’s home languages, intentionally and skilfully weaving early literacy throughout the curriculum.
Leaders and teachers have developed positive partnerships with parents. These are supported by range of ongoing opportunities, both formal and informal, for parents to contribute to the curriculum. The aspirations parents have for their children are sought, and teachers intentionally use them to develop the curriculum and inform planning for individual children’s learning.
The service has made considerable progress since its last ERO report. Assessment documentation incorporates links between the service’s Montessori philosophy and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. This could be further strengthened by considering the extent to which assessment documentation reflects children’s languages, cultures, and identities.
Relational trust between leaders and teachers supports collaboration and improvement. There are regular opportunities for teachers to extend their knowledge through professional learning and development. Systems to guide review and internal evaluation have been developed and are being implemented. These processes are improvement-focused and aim to support the team to plan for and action the service’s goals. Additional monitoring of these systems is required to ensure the regulatory standards are maintained.
Smart Start Montessori (Grange Rd) Pre-School will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Smart Start Montessori (Grange Rd) Pre-School completed an ERO 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.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS28]
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
2 July 2024
| Early Childhood Service Name | Smart Start Montessori (Grange Rd) Pre-School |
| Profile Number | 20362 |
| Location | Mt Eden, Auckland |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 40 children over the age of 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 100% |
| Service roll | 47 |
| Review team on site | February 2024 |
| Date of this report | 2 July 2024 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, June 2019; Education Review, October 2013. |
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Smart Start Montessori (Grange Road) Pre-School is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Smart Start Montessori (Grange Rd) Pre-School in Mount Eden offers full and sessional education and care for up to 40 children over two years of age. Families are culturally diverse, and many children and teachers speak more than one language. About half of the children enrolled are Chinese.
In February 2019 the owner amalgamated her Ellerton Road and Grange Road services. The renovated bungalow in Grange Road was modified to accommodate this change. Children learn in two rooms and share an outdoor play space. A head teacher and two senior teachers lead the new combined teaching team of stable, long-serving staff.
Teachers confidently align a Montessori curriculum with the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The Montessori philosophy is evident in the environment, resources and teacher interactions.
Since ERO's 2013 review, there has been a focus on strengthening teacher appraisal processes and assessment of children's learning.
Families are warmly greeted on arrival. Children settle quickly and play well alongside each other. They are articulate, confident and competent learners. Children initiate conversations easily, make independent choices about their play. A strong sense of whānau and belonging is evident. Learning experiences and provocations encourage children to collaborate and develop their knowledge.
Children are viewed as capable and competent learners. They lead their own learning in a well-resourced and very attractive environment. Extended periods of uninterrupted play allow time for children to sustain an interest in their self-directed activities.
Teachers' purposeful and respectful conversations enrich children's vocabulary and knowledge. Social and self-management skills are promoted as part of the Montessori curriculum. Tuakana/teina relationships are encouraged, and children's play is inclusive and friendly.
Programme planning reflects children's interests and assessment portfolios show children's learning over time. Teachers work collaboratively and with parents, keeping them informed about their children's learning progress. Interviews with parents enable teachers to find out about the aspirations parents have for their children. Science, mathematics and literacy concepts are explicitly integrated throughout the environment. The thoughtfully presented outdoor space promotes creative and imaginative play and provides good opportunities for physical challenges.
Teachers value their partnerships with parents, who are very positive about the care and attention their children receive. Children with special needs integrate easily into the centre and teachers work with the relevant professional services to support the children's learning and development.
The centre's commitment to biculturalism is evident in the way they honour the dual cultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand in their practice and the environment. Teachers incorporate aspects of tikanga and use te reo Māori during the session and in children's portfolios. They respond to the multicultural community by sharing their languages and cultures with the children. There is a genuine respect for families' cultures. Parents also confidently share their cultural celebrations.
Internal evaluation has been very effective in promoting change. Teachers are encouraged and supported to be reflective practitioners. Evaluating the outcomes for children as a result of internal evaluation will strengthen current practice. An evaluation of more formal aspects of the programme would help teachers to critically examine their practice in relation to Te Whāriki and current theory.
The owner supports the development of leadership within teaching teams. Professional leadership programmes continue to impact positively on teachers' practice. Strategic and annual planning together with a sound policy framework guide the centre's operations and future direction.
The centre manager/owner is conscientious and highly motivated, and works collaboratively with staff. A clear vision and well considered strategic plan drive continual improvement. The owner and teachers have a clear focus on children's wellbeing. Careful attention and good communication ensured a smooth and successful transition during the renovation of Grange Road centre and the introduction of the children from Ellerton Road into the new environment. Parents have responded favourably to the recent changes in the centre.
Key steps for the centre are to continue to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Smart Start Montessori (Grange Road) 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:
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
6 June 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 | Mount Eden, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 20362 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 40 children aged over 2 years | ||
| Service roll | 51 | ||
| Gender composition | Girls 33 Boys 18 | ||
| Ethnic composition | NZ European/Pākehā Chinese other ethnic groups | 16 23 12 | |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Over 2 | 1:10 | Meets minimum requirements |
| Review team on site | March 2019 | ||
| Date of this report | 6 June 2019 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | October 2013 | |
| Education Review | November 2010 | ||
| Education Review | June 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 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.