16-18 Ferguson Street, Mangere East, 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 | 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.
The ME Family Services - Early Childhood operates as a service of the Mangere East Family Service Centre (MEFS). A qualified centre manager and a practice manager lead the team of five qualified teachers and five staff. Most of the children attending the service are of Māori or Pacific heritages.
The service curriculum respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture and encourages children to understand and respect each other. It acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua.
Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships.
Children access a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development. The design and layout of the premises support the provision of different types of indoor and outdoor experiences.
Systems for monitoring compliance with health and safety, as well as governance, management and administration require development to ensure the regulatory standards are maintained.
Since the onsite review, the service provided ERO with evidence to show the following non-compliances have been addressed:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
19 July 2024
| Early Childhood Service Name | ME Family Services - Early Childhood |
| Profile Number | 25301 |
| Location | Mangere East, Auckland |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 75 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 50-79% |
| Service roll | 57 |
| Review team on site | April 2024 |
| Date of this report | 19 July 2024 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, June 2020; Education Review, September 2017. |
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 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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
ME Family Services - Early Childhood is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
The ME Family Services - Early Childhood centre operates as a service of the Mangere East Family Service Centre (MEFS). It is licensed for 75 children, including up to 15 under two years of age. The centre offers full-day education and care in a mixed-aged group programme. Māori children make up more than half of the centre's roll. Most other children have Pacific backgrounds with the largest group having Samoan heritage.
The centre's philosophy is based on children being 'confident, competent learners with strong cultural values'. The philosophy is underpinned by a commitment to bicultural practices and pou including ako, whanaungatanga, tino rangatiratanga, aroha, mana, turangawaewae and manaakitanga. The philosophy has been developed with staff to guide the centre's direction.
The MEFS is a non-profit organisation that helps local whānau. The centre is governed by a board. It is managed by the CEO of the MEFS, the social work manager, the accountant and the early childhood centre manager, who is a qualified early childhood teacher. The centre manager and practice manager lead a team of five qualified staff and six support staff.
The 2017 ERO report identified several positive features that have been sustained. Good practice included children having a sense of belonging, positive relationships with children and whānau, and good transitions into the centre and to school. The report also identified the need to develop robust self review and appraisal systems, effective governance and leadership. It also commented on the need to improve the quality of programme planning, implementation and evaluation. The centre has addressed these recommendations with the assistance of the Ministry of Education.
The service is a member of the Whakatipu Akoranga Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning.
Children are confident, settled and play cooperatively alongside their peers in an inclusive setting. Children's wellbeing is nurtured through respectful relationships with teachers and each other. Tuakana/teina relationships are evident and support the development of emotional and social competence. This results in children having a strong sense of belonging in the centre.
Children are encouraged to take responsibility for their immediate and wider environment. Teachers foster children's ownership in the centre and social responsibility through a focus on environmental sustainability.
Infants and toddlers receive nurturing and respectful care from teachers. Their individual preferences and care routines are supported. Unhurried, responsive caregiving promotes children's strong and secure attachments with teachers.
Children benefit from an environment where their language, culture and identity are celebrated. Teachers are sensitive and responsive to differences in children's cultural backgrounds. Interactions with children and families of Pacific heritage are culturally responsive. Teachers often converse with parents and children in home languages. Children and families feel welcomed in the centre.
Teachers are committed to strengthening bicultural practices. They acknowledge the whakapapa of Māori children and integrate some tikanga in centre practices. Whānau are warmly welcomed and encouraged to be involved in the centre. Leaders and teachers are beginning to develop te ao Māori perspectives, bicultural and Tiriti-based practices in the centre.
Deepening planning and assessment is a centre-wide focus for development. Teachers maintain individual learning portfolios for each child. These assessment records keep whānau informed about their children's learning and the events in the centre. Centre leaders are working collaboratively to provide quality outcomes for children.
Relationships are based on respect, trust and reciprocity. Leaders promote equity for children and their families. Leaders and teachers build respectful relationships with families/whānau and are committed to finding increasingly effective ways to communicate.
Sound policies and systems are in place, although staff implementation of these is variable. Established internal evaluation and appraisal systems are responsive to identified priorities. Leaders are committed to providing targeted professional development to further develop teaching and learning to improve children's learning outcomes.
Centre leaders agree that key next steps include:
Before the review, the staff and management of ME Family Services - Early Childhood 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.
To improve current practice, the early service management should review with staff their understanding of the service's policies and procedures.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region - Te Tai Raki
2 June 2020
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 | Mangere East, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 25301 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 75 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 years | ||
| Service roll | 63 | ||
| Gender composition | Girls 32 Boys 31 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori NZ European/Pākehā Samoan Cook Island Māori Tongan other ethnic groups | 36 1 12 6 5 3 | |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 50-79% | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:5 | Meets minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:10 | Meets minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | February 2020 | ||
| Date of this report | 2 June 2020 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | September 2017 | |
| Education Review | February 2014 | ||
| Education Review | February 2011 | ||
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.
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Mangere East Family Service Centre requires support to improve management practices, internal evaluation and documentation, and to help teachers develop responsive curriculum planning and implementation.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
The Mangere East Family Service Centre is a non-profit incorporated society. The organisation has recently rebranded and operates as ME Family Services (MEFS). The early childhood centre operates as a core service of the MEFS, which is adjacent to the Mangere East School. It caters for a culturally diverse community. Māori children make up 44 percent of the centre's roll, 24 percent are Tongan and 30 percent have other Pacific backgrounds.
The service was established in consultation with the community in 1993. It provides assistance to whānau, including parenting programmes, child health and education services, social workers in schools, and waste minimisation/resource recovery programmes. The centre is governed by a board. It is managed by the CEO of the MEFS, the social work manager, the accountant and the early childhood centre manager, who is a qualified educator.
The early childhood centre's licence has recently been extended to cater for up to 75 children, including up to 15 under two years of age. As a result, the roll and the number of staff have more than doubled. The building has been extended to cater for these numbers. The outdoor learning environments have also been enlarged and upgraded, and the original interior fully refurbished.
The 2014 ERO report identified the need to develop robust self review and appraisal systems, and improve the quality of programme planning, implementation and evaluation. Further support is required in these areas.
Teachers are welcoming and inclusive of all children and their whānau. Children's cultural backgrounds are visible in the environment and they demonstrate a strong sense of belonging in the centre. They transition well into the centre and on to school.
Over the past 18 months, staff have focused their attention on establishing systems and practices that are appropriate for the new roll numbers, staff and learning environments. A practice manager, who has extensive teaching and leadership experience, has recently been employed to raise the quality of teaching practice and learning outcomes for children.
The early childhood manager has identified areas that require improvement and teachers have had many opportunities to build their professional knowledge and the quality of teaching. While there have been robust discussions, there has been minimal improvement to date.
Further development is needed to make teachers' interactions with children more meaningful and useful and to help increase the complexity of child-led learning. Effective assessment, programme planning and evaluation processes are yet to be established.
Good basic self-review processes have recently been implemented and involve the whole early childhood team, including the early childhood manager and practice leader. Teachers require urgent support to improve their use of internal evaluation to lift the quality of their provision for children.
A challenge is for governance, management and leadership roles and practices to be formalised and implemented in a way that results in continuous improvement.
Priorities for centre development include establishing:
Before the review, the staff and management of Mangere East Family Service Centre 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
ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to management and curriculum. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, C1,2,3,4,7, GMA6,7; Education (ECS) Regulations 2008, 43(1a)
ERO recommends that the service consult with the Ministry of Education and plan to address the key next steps and actions outlined in this report.
The next ERO review of Mangere East Family Service Centre will be within two years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
8 September 2017
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 | Mangere East, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 25301 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 75 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 75 | ||
| Gender composition | Girls, 43, Boys 32 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Tongan Fiji Indian Samoan Cook Island Māori Niue | 33 1 18 8 8 6 1 | |
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:5 | Meets minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:10 | Meets minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | July 2017 | ||
| Date of this report | 8 September 2017 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | February 2014 | |
| Education Review | February 2011 | ||
| Education Review | December 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:
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.