5 Helios Place, Titirangi, 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.
Titirangi Rudolf Steiner Kindergarten 1 is owned by a charitable trust. The programme is based on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and the Steiner philosophy that focuses on child-centred activities and learning. An operations manager, pedagogical leader, and centre manager work alongside the teaching team to provide a programme for children aged two to six years. A small number of children enrolled are Māori.
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 to enhance children’s learning. The service curriculum is responsive to children as confident and competent learners.
The service provides a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning. Children have opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
4 August 2021
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Titirangi Rudolf Steiner Kindergarten 1 |
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Profile Number |
20495 |
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Location |
Titirangi, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
81 children over 2 years of age |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
83 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 5, NZ European/Pākehā 55, Asian 8, other European 9, |
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Review team on site |
June 2021 |
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Date of this report |
4 August 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
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Education Review, May 2018 |
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.
Titirangi Rudolf Steiner Kindergarten 1, is well established and continues to provide education and care for children from two years six months to six years of age. The centre is affiliated to Titirangi Rudolf Steiner School and shares 100 acres of native forest land.
The kindergarten is a member of the Rudolf Steiner Schools and Early Childhood Centres in New Zealand. It is managed by a College of Teachers and governed by a trust board. Teachers undertake the day to day responsibilities and operations of the centre. The programme provides children with Waldorf Steiner preschool educational values, aligned with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
Leaders and teachers have responded positively to ERO's 2014 report.
Children and their families are warmly welcomed into the centre. Teachers encourage children to make choices about where they wish to play and to make decisions about the resources they need. The four learning environments are inviting and promote quiet self-selected play. Children demonstrate relaxed and friendly relationships with their peers and teachers. They settle quickly and engage in imaginative and creative play. Children with diverse needs are well catered for within the learning programmes.
Steiner philosophy and anthroposophical values are strongly evident in programmes that support children's holistic development. The provision of open-ended resources and opportunities to learn about the rhythms of the day, encourages children's sense of ownership in their play.
Since the 2014 ERO review, a new initiative to make more use of the centre's wider environment has been established. The Ngahere (nature) programme is enabling children to build confidence and resilience through time spent each week in forest exploration, gardening and preparing food in the open air. The addition of beehives close to the orchard, and apiarist training for a staff member, enables the centre to further use the property to promote children's understanding of environmental sustainability.
Teachers are aware of the need to include a bicultural focus in the programme. They have made a good start to incorporating some tikanga and te reo Māori into the programme. Māori legends sometimes provide a focus for story times and children are learning waiata. Older children model and support younger children in tuakana/teina relationships. Teachers intend to strengthen these aspects as part of the development of the programme.
Leadership within the centre is strong and focused on building teacher capability and sustaining programme quality. Distributed leadership is encouraged and teachers willingly assume leadership in aspects of daily management. One of the centre leaders is strongly involved in international Steiner education networks.
Teachers' practice is sustained by regular internal evaluation, professional development and ongoing appraisal processes that are currently under review. The new strategic plan should provide clear guidance about the intended directions for growth and further development.
Agreed next steps to support centre improvement are for centre leaders to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Titirangi Rudolf Steiner Kindergarten 1 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 Titirangi Rudolf Steiner Kindergarten 1 will be in three years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
1 May 2018
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 |
Titirangi, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
20495 |
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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 |
81 children, over 2 years of age |
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Service roll |
53 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 28 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
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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 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2018 |
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Date of this report |
1 May 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2014 |
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|
Education Review |
April 2011 |
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|
Education Review |
October 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.