5 Shamrock Drive, Kumeu
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.
ERO’s Judgement
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Not meeting |
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Governance, management and administration |
Not meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified areas of non-compliance with regulatory standards that are an unacceptable risk to children.
Kumeu Village Kindergarten is a privately owned service that provides sessional and full-day education and care for children. The service provider is responsible for governance and management. A qualified supervisor leads a team of four qualified teachers and four unqualified staff.
The service’s curriculum is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning and relevant theories of practice. Regular opportunities are provided for parents to communicate with adults providing education and care about their child and share specific evidence of their child’s learning.
An increased level of monitoring of health and safety and governance and management practices is required to meet all aspects of regulatory compliance.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA7A, HS8, HS28.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence issued to this service provider. ERO will not undertake a further review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets regulatory standards.
The next ERO review will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
6 July 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Kumeu Village Kindergarten |
| Profile Number | 20553 |
| Location | Kumeu, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
36 children over 2 years of age |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
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Service roll |
49 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 1 |
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Review team on site |
March 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
6 July 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, 2016 Education Review, 2013 |
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.
Kumeu Village Kindergarten provides sessional and full day education and care for 36 children over two years of age. Parents are able to make some choices about the days or times their children attend with younger children attending on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The experienced and qualified staff team has remained, with most staff serving many years in the centre.
The owners bring considerable early childhood education and management expertise to their operation of the service. They encourage the development of sound practice and frameworks for managing the centre.
The 2013 ERO report identified many positive aspects of the programme including positive and reciprocal relationships with families and the community, and children becoming capable, confident learners. It commented on the affectionate and respectful relationships with children and the well-presented environment. These good features continue to be evident.
Teachers provide high quality education and care for children. From positive transitions into the kindergarten, nurturing teachers strive to give children a sense of belonging, wellbeing and confidence. As a result, children and their families appear settled and happy.
Children play well together. They talk confidently to their friends and to adults and are respectful and careful of others’ feelings. Teachers encourage and support children to play as socially competent groups. These positive strategies are allowing children to develop self-management skills.
Children use the plentiful resources to elaborate and extend their interest in their collaborative games. Teachers work close to children supporting their play when necessary and engaging them in conversation. Teachers could consider ways of adding value to programmes by further broadening the scope of their open-ended interactions with children.
Teachers recognise and use children’s interests effectively as a starting point for planning programmes to support learning. Children’s portfolios clearly show how ‘noticing, recognising and responding’ to children’s play, and their progress over time. Teachers invite parents/whānau to discuss their aspirations for their children and to contribute to programmes. This encourages a sense of ownership and inclusion for families.
The 2013 ERO report identified a number of areas where further work would provide better outcomes for children. These included using self review more effectively to make judgements about the quality of the programme, developing bicultural practices and knowledge and strengthening individual records of learning to show children’s progress over time. Centre management and staff have made good progress in all of these areas.
Children have many opportunities to hear and use te reo me ngā tikanga Māori. Teachers have a significant and visible commitment to te ao Māori that is meaningful to children, their parents and themselves. They support children’s understanding of, and their familiarity with waiata, and action and singing games. Children clearly demonstrate their knowledge by responding appropriately to language and tikanga expectations. Teachers have benefitted from the professional support provided by the owners and have expressed their intention to continue this development.
The kindergarten environment has been significantly improved by the development of the outdoor area. The new playground provides space and a variety of interesting play areas. It also enables children to engage in and challenge themselves in physical activities. The large garden includes a variety of vegetables and fruit trees which has sparked a great deal of interest in healthy eating and in respecting nature.
A challenge from the owners to teachers was to consider ways of continuing their own growth as teachers. This challenge has been embraced by teachers. The development of the new philosophy has been a pivotal document for encouraging their thinking about what underpins their provision for children. The strong Māori influence in the document has enabled teachers to see their practice in a framework of Māori values that link well to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and the requirements of legislation.
The centre is well led and effectively managed by capable teachers and administrators.
ERO endorses managers’ and teachers’ intention to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Kumeu Village Kindergarten 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:
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.
The next ERO review of Kumeu Village Kindergarten will be in four years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
16 June 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.
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Location |
Kumeu, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
20553 |
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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 |
36 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
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|
Service roll |
70 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 35 Boys 35 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Cook Island Māori other |
2 64 2 2 |
|
|
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 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
May 2016 |
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Date of this report |
16 June 2016 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 2010 |
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|
Education Review |
February 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:
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.