1 Commerce Street, Putaruru
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 | Not meeting |
| Premises and facilities | Not meeting |
| Health and safety | Not meeting |
| 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.
Happy Sprouts Educare Putaruru is a mixed-age service. The philosophy aims to value parents and whānau as first teachers of their child. A newly appointed and qualified centre leader leads a small teaching team with support from the centre owner. Almost two-thirds of children enrolled identify as Māori.
This is the third consecutive Akanuku | Assurance Review of this service following ERO reviews in 2020 and 2023.
The curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The service’s curriculum is informed by individual learning plans and assessment. Positive steps are taken to respect and acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau for their children. The service philosophy guides daily centre operations.
The service is not meeting regulatory standards in a significant number of areas. The service’s premises do not currently meet licensing requirements. Effective governance and management systems, including monitoring of health and safety and undertaking ongoing self-review that supports improvement, have not yet been established.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008; C13, PF9, PF37, HS7, HS8, HS9, HS10, HS12, HS17, HS31, GMA4, GMA7, GMA7A, GMA8.
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
18 September 2024
| Early Childhood Service Name | Happy Sprouts Educare Putaruru |
| Profile Number | 30016 |
| Location | Putaruru |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 28 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80-99% |
| Ethnic composition (%) | Māori 62%; NZ European/Pākehā 33%; Tongan 5% |
| Service roll | 21 |
| Review team on site | July 2024 |
| Date of this report | 18 September 2024 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Akanuku | Assurance Review, January 2023; Akanuku | Assurance Review, June 2020 |
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.
ERO will consider undertaking an Akanuku | Assurance Review when it becomes evident that half or more of the licensing criteria ERO has checked indicate a systemic failure.
In particular, ERO looks at a service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:
Additionally, one or more of the following criteria will also be evident:
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 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 also gathers and records evidence through:
ERO’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.
This is the first review for Happy Sprouts Educare Putaruru, previously known as Abbey’s Place Childcare Centre, since a change in ownership in September 2021. There have been significant staff changes. The majority of children attending are Māori and a small number of Pacific heritage are enrolled.
Children are given opportunities to develop knowledge and understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The service curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua.
The service curriculum is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation, documented and undocumented, that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning, their interests, whānau and life contexts. A language rich environment is provided to support children’s learning.
Health and safety practices have been strengthened to meet all aspects of regulatory requirements. Centre leaders must ensure that policies and procedures are followed to ensure ongoing compliance with regulatory standards.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
provided sufficient quantity and variety of outdoor equipment and materials that are appropriate for the age and ability of children attending
ensuring sufficient spaces for outdoor resources to be stored safely
identifying, eliminating, minimising, or isolating hazards, including the fixing of equipment that could topple and cause harm in the bathroom area
ensuring designated assembly areas for evacuation purposes outside the building keep children safe from further risk
implementing a documented risk management system that includes how accident/incident records are analysed to identify hazards and appropriate action is taken
ensuring parents’ prior written approval of their child's participation and approval of the proposed ratio for regular excursions is given at the time of enrolment and for special excursions prior to the excursion taking place
ensuring prior written permission approving the mode of transport for special excursions is gathered from parents
ensuring written parental acknowledgement of the date and time medicine was administered and who by is gathered
ensuring that adults who are administering medicine to children (other than their own) are provided with information and/or training relevant to the task and documented.
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008: PF4, PF8, HS6, HS7, HS12, HS17, HS18, HS28, HS29]
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
23 January 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Happy Sprouts Educare Putaruru |
| Profile Number | 30016 |
| Location | Putāruru |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
28 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
50-79% |
|
Service roll |
27 |
|
Review team on site |
October 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
23 January 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akanuku | Assurance 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.
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.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Not 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.
The September 2017 ERO report found Abbey’s Place Childcare to be not well placed. The Ministry of Education relicensed the service and it regained its full licence in 2019. The centre has a new manager appointed six months ago and all the teaching team are new since the previous ERO review.
The service curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Adults providing education and care, engage in meaningful and positive relationships with children. Information and guidance are sought when necessary from agencies to enable adults to work effectively with children and their parents. The service’s curriculum supports children’s developing social competence. A philosophy statement guides the service’s operation. A sufficient variety of indoor furniture, equipment and resources is provided.
Some areas relating to curriculum and health and safety need to be addressed.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS12, C6].
During the time ERO was onsite the service 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:
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.
The next ERO review will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Darcy Te Hau
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
5 June 2020
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Abbey’s Place Childcare Centre |
|
Profile Number |
30016 |
|
Location |
Putaruru |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
28 children, including up to 8 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
50-79% |
|
Reported ratio of staff to children under 2 |
1:4 - Better than regulatory standards. |
|
Reported ratio of staff to children over 2 |
1:8 - Better than regulatory standards. |
|
Service roll |
16 |
|
Gender composition |
Male 6 Female 10 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 9 |
|
Review team on site |
March 2020 |
|
Date of this report |
5 June 2020 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
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 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 Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through: