67 Walmsley Road, Otahuhu, 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 |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Not meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
Tipu Montessori School is a privately owned service. This is the first ERO review of the service since a change of ownership in August 2021. A centre manager leads a team of two registered teachers and three support staff. There are two separate areas for different age groups of children. A small number of children with Pacific heritages attend.
Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. The service curriculum provides a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning. It respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture and encourages children to understand and respect other cultures.
Children are provided with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups.
Ongoing monitoring is required to ensure regulatory standards are maintained.
ERO found an area of non-compliance in the service relating to:
having a current Fire Evacuation Scheme that is approved by Fire and Emergency New Zealand for the premises located in a building
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS4.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Having a written emergency plan that includes a list of safety and emergency supplies and resources sufficient for the age and number of children and adults at the service and details of how these will be maintained and accessed in an emergency; evidence of review of the plan on an, at least, annual basis and implementation of improved practices as required (HS7).
Ensuring equipment, premises and facilities are checked on every day of operation for hazards to children. Considerations must include hazards in the kitchen, vandalism and dangerous objects (HS12).
Having evidence of water stored in any hot water cylinder is kept at a temperature of at least 60°C (HS14).
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that the non-compliance identified in this report is addressed promptly.
The next ERO review will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
1 March 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Tipu Montessori School |
|
Profile Number |
25189 |
|
Location |
Otahuhu, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 18 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
|
Service roll |
14 |
|
Review team on site |
January 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
1 March 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 2019 |
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.
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.
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 regulatory 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; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Tipu Montessori School is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Tipu Montessori School in Otahuhu provides early childhood care and education for 50 children up to school age, including 18 under two years of age. The centre operates in two separate houses. Children under three years, teina, learn in one house and the older children, tuakana, in another. Families have made a deliberate choice, some travelling great distances, to enrol their child into Montessori education.
Since ERO's 2015 review, new staff have been appointed. Most staff are registered teachers and several are qualified in Montessori early childhood education. Teachers align the Montessori philosophy with Te Whāriki 2017, the early childhood curriculum. The centre philosophy is strongly influenced by the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and promotes the nurturing of children as they develop respect, inner discipline and self-esteem.
The 2015 ERO review identified many positive features that continue to be evident. The report recommended strengthening programme documentation and self-review processes, and further developing teacher appraisals. There has been positive growth in these areas.
Children under three years of age receive very good care and education. They are fondly greeted into a warm and calm learning environment. Teachers let children settle at their own pace as they engage in conversations with parents about children's ongoing development. Children rekindle their friendships in languages they clearly understand and teachers learn to interpret.
Children who transition to the older children's house are very well prepared to take on the challenges that teachers plan. They are confident in their play, use good decision making processes and remain on task for sustained periods of time.
Children confidently share their language, culture and identity. Teachers celebrate important cultural events with families and the environments show some influence of children's culture. Regular gatherings provide opportunities for children to sing and dance together and appreciate different languages and cultures.
The programme is reflective of the children and their interests. Children benefit from social competencies being explicitly taught. They experience skills-based activities that challenge them.
Children play and learn in age related outdoor spaces that have been upgraded. Further development for the older children's outdoor space is planned. Teachers would benefit from professional development relating to outdoor play and the development of children's physical skills.
Teachers know children well. Learning stories celebrate the child and their family. They tell the child's learning journey and how teachers provide ongoing growth and development. Some parents contribute written feedback about these stories and others engage in open conversations with teachers. Teachers use this feedback to plan next learning for children.
The owner has a keen sense of social responsibility and provides extra resourcing to support children and their families. Teachers are strong advocates for children and their families.
The service is underpinned by clear, coherent frameworks for strategic development and professional expectations. Well-established practices for monitoring these systems ensure compliance with regulations. The centre owner agrees that moving from reviewing to evaluating the effectiveness of systems and their impact on outcomes for children would provide valuable information for centre improvement.
Key next steps are to:
review the centre philosophy to identify and promote the role of teachers in the Montessori journey for each child
build teachers' understanding of developing children's physical skills
continue to promote leadership opportunities for teachers through professional development.
Before the review, the staff and management of Tipu Montessori 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:
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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
3 May 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 |
Otahuhu, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25189 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 18 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
40 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 25 Girls 15 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
50-79% |
||
|
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 |
February 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
3 May 2019 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
July 2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2012 |
||
|
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:
Very well placed
Well placed
Requires further development
Not well placed
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.