4 Nikau 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 | 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.
Seugagogo Aoga Amata Preschool is a well-established service providing total immersion aganu’u fa’asamoa and gagana Samoa language curriculum. The board provides governance support to a teaching team led by a registered and experienced centre manager and two qualified supervisors. There are two buildings that cater for children from infants to school age. The philosophy values Samoan language and Christian values.
Adults have nurturing reciprocal relationships with children, respect their preferences, and involve them in decisions about their learning. They support children’s developing social competence and understanding of appropriate behaviour.
The curriculum is language rich, inclusive, and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. It respects and supports children’s rights to be confident in their own cultures and encourages them to understand and respect other cultures.
Centre leaders must ensure that policies, procedures, and practices are consistently maintained to continue meeting regulatory standards.
Next steps include increasing the:
During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
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.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
9 November 2023
| Early Childhood Service Name | Seugagogo Aoga Amata Preschool |
| Profile Number | 25304 |
| Location | Otahuhu, Auckland |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 60 children, including up to 18 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80-99% |
| Service roll | 54 |
| Review team on site | September 2023 |
| Date of this report | 9 November 2023 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, July 2019; Education Review, October 2015 |
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 |
Seugagogo Aoga Amata Preschool is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Seugagogo Aoga Amata Preschool is licensed to provide full-day education and care for 60 children, including up to 18 infants and toddlers. The service's philosophy has a strong focus on promoting Samoan language, culture and identity, and Christian values. Most children are of Samoan heritage, and a small numbers are of other Pacific groups and NZ European/Pākehā.
A new building (Nikau) caters for children aged three to five years of age. The infants and toddlers remain in the neighbouring original building (Mason).
Since ERO's 2015 review, a new supervisor has been appointed in Mason, and four teachers have been appointed in both teaching areas. A centre manager guides teaching practice for both areas. All teachers are qualified and there are two teacher aides in support roles.
The aoga amata operates under the umbrella of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa. The aoga amata board is responsible for governance, comprises of church, parents and staff representatives.
The 2015 ERO report identified key development areas, including the quality of teaching, learning and self-review. Positive progress has been made in these areas.
Seugagogo Aoga Amata Preschool is well placed to continue promoting positive learning outcomes for children. Children are friendly, confident, and interact well with their peers and teachers. They are empowered to take increasing responsibility for the wellbeing of themselves and others. Children have a strong pride and sense of belonging in Samoan language, culture and identity. Teachers deliberately foster children's social and emotional competence.
Children participate in an integrated programme that allows them to freely explore the well-resourced indoor and outdoor learning environments. They are happy and active in the decisions about their own play choices. Children enjoy group times and the many music and movement learning opportunities. They confidently speak and sing in the Samoan language, and willingly share conversations with each other and adults.
Children are challenged to follow up on an interest with greater depth. They benefit from learning programmes based on concepts that identify their interests, dispositions, and next steps for learning. Children enjoy a range of learning opportunities through centre excursions that enhance their development.
Teachers' effective teaching practices support children’s play. The assessment processes and programme planning align closely to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Teachers work well as a team to develop their leadership skills. They are supportive of each other and promote the centre's goals and values, including fostering children's joy in learning. Teachers prioritise opportunities to build children's oral language in learning interactions.
Te reo me ōna tikanga Māori is a feature of the centre. Cultural events are celebrated with children and families. Centre leaders are committed to continuing to develop the centre's bicultural curriculum.
Teachers have recently reviewed and strengthened transition processes. Children experience positive transitions within the centre and on to school, supported by responsive partnerships with families and neighbouring schools. Their sense of belonging is nurtured during and after transitions.
Teachers are welcoming to children and families. They provide many opportunities to keep parents informed. Teachers gather family aspirations that contribute to programme planning.
The aoga amata is well led. Managers and trustees are strategic and financially prudent. They consider the centre's long-term sustainability, and ensure that children's wellbeing and learning are priorities. Strategic planning is comprehensive and focused on ongoing improvement. Internal evaluation is well understood, purposeful and focused on improved outcomes for children. An effective leadership approach and a professional learning structure provides mentoring, leadership, relevant professional development, and appraisal support for teachers to improve their teaching practice.
Centre leaders have identified key next steps for ongoing improvement. They include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Seugagogo Aoga Amata Preschool 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
10 July 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 | 25304 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 60 children, including up to 18 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 50 | ||
| Gender composition | Girls 27 Boys 23 | ||
| Ethnic composition | NZ European/Pākehā Samoan Tongan other ethnic groups | 4 37 8 1 | |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:4 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:7 | Better than minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | May 2019 | ||
| Date of this report | 10 July 2019 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | October 2015 | |
| Education Review | October 2011 | ||
| Education Review | June 2008 | ||
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.