197 Thornton Road, Cambridge
View on mapAkarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama Indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Bunnies Childcare and Preschool are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) | Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains | |
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions | Whāngai Establishing Whāngai Establishing |
This service caters for children across three age-based rooms, with a philosophy that recognises each child as an individual and a focus on relationships with parents and the community. The centre owner and long-serving room leaders guide a team of qualified and unqualified teachers. A small number of Māori children and those of Pacific heritage are enrolled, within an ethnically diverse roll.
Children experience a curriculum that offers opportunities for child-initiated, and teacher led play and learning. Teachers draw on their reciprocal relationships with parents and children to support individual learning needs. Children are well known in the context of their families and wider community. Language development and opportunities for learning are fostered through teachers prioritising oral language. An unhurried approach to care and education supports children’s learning and wellbeing.
There is some opportunity for tamariki Māori to hear te reo Māori and experience aspects of tikanga Māori. Teacher’s knowledge of a meaningful bicultural curriculum and their response to individual cultures in the centre is developing. They respond effectively to the care and wellbeing needs of very young children. Older children’s learning is well supported through specific curriculum approaches such as project work.
Assessment practices make children’s learning visible and identifies their progress over time. Identifying how this learning links to the outcomes in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum is variable among teams. Clear priorities for children’s learning and how this shapes the local curriculum are not fully established.
A long serving and well-established leadership team supports a focus on improving teaching practice. Internal evaluation is not yet a consistent practice across all teaching spaces. Where it is working well an evaluation process is in place and multiple sources of evidence are gathered to inform actions for improvement. Establishing clear and measurable indicators to guide the evaluation process would better support teachers and leaders to know what has worked or not and for whom.
Bunnies Childcare and Preschool will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Bunnies Childcare and Preschool 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:
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.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008; HS9.]
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
27 February 2024
| Early Childhood Service Name | Bunnies Childcare and Preschool |
| Profile Number | 34123 |
| Location | Cambridge |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 100 children, including up to 24 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80-99% |
| Service roll | 104 |
| Review team on site | December 2023 |
| Date of this report | 27 February 2024 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Akanuku | Assurance Review, June 2022; Education Review, April 2019 |
ERO Early Childhood Service Akanuku | Assurance Review
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 |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Bunnies Childcare and Preschool values their history, relationships and place within the Cambridge community. Tamariki learn in three aged-based areas across two buildings, supported by their teams of kaiako. Bunnies Childcare and Preschool changed ownership with long term management taking over in March 2021.
Tamariki experience positive interactions that nurture their learning and development. Assessments reflect learning, identities, interests and life contexts for tamariki. Parent aspirations are acknowledged. Tamariki are supported to develop social competence. Learning environments are well maintained and provide a wide range of experiences suitable to ngā tamariki ages and stages. There are large areas for physically active play. The service curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. An annual plan guides centre operations.
Next steps include:
During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
14 June 2022
| Early Childhood Service Name | Bunnies Childcare and Preschool |
| Profile Number | 34123 |
| Location | Cambridge |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 100 children, including up to 24 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80-99% |
| Service roll | 91 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 8, NZ European/Pākehā 66, African 5, Australian 5, Other ethnic groups 7 |
| Review team on site | May 2022 |
| Date of this report | 14 June 2022 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, April 2019; Education Review, March 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 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:
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Bunnies Childcare and Preschool is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Bunnies Childcare and Preschool is a purpose built, privately owned centre located in Cambridge. It is licensed to provide education and care for 100 children, including up to 24 under the age of two years. At the time of this review 103 children were enrolled. The centre continues to operate three aged-based units. Almost all of the teachers in the centre hold early childhood qualifications.
Since the previous ERO review in 2015 the owners and long-standing centre manager have remained the same. There have been some changes to the teaching team, including new supervisors in the babies' and toddlers' units.
The centre's philosophy is reviewed annually and states the intention to recognise and respect each child as an individual, with their own interests, needs, and cultural backgrounds. The service aims to provide this through a purpose built, rich learning environment that is safe, inclusive, responsive and empowering.
The experienced centre manager provides effective professional leadership. She is well supported by the centre owners and supervisors. Together they provide clear strategic direction for the centre and prioritise staff professional learning and development. Leaders have robust systems and processes to communicate regularly with staff and parents. A strong focus for management and staff is the in-depth self-review of centre programmes and operations for ongoing improvement. Centre personnel work effectively and collaboratively in the best interests of children and their families.
Teachers have positive, sensitive and responsive relationships with children. They are very reflective practitioners who regularly critique their practice. Teachers work cooperatively and actively encourage children to help and support each other. They provide a calm and settled environment for children up to the age of two years. Teachers have developed strong relationships with parents to provide nurturing care for infants and babies.
Literacy and mathematics are well integrated into play and learning. Children are engaged in sustained play with opportunities to persevere, use their imagination and play independently or alongside others. Effective respectful relationships are formed with each child and their whanau, which supports children’s sense of belonging.
The centre has improved its cultural awareness since the last review. Time is taken to gather parents and families aspirations about their culture. Teachers have recently undertaken professional learning about tikanga and local areas of significance to iwi. Planning programmes that place more focus on children's language, culture and identity continues to be an identified area for growth. Teachers are continuing to strengthen the Māori dimension to allow children to develop an appreciation of New Zealand's bicultural heritage.
The service's curriculum is well designed to promote positive learning outcomes for all children. Teachers have aligned programme planning to the principles and strands of the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki providing high quality education and care to children. Leaders and teachers regularly and effectively evaluate the impact of curriculum decisions on infants, toddlers and young children. Assessment practices provide parents and whanau with many ways to contribute to their children’s learning. The centre programme and learning environment is inclusive of all children with diverse learning and behaviour needs. Children benefit from the many opportunities the rich curriculum provides.
ERO and management agree that strengthening the teaching-as-inquiry process continues to be an ongoing priority to further build teacher capability.
Before the review, the staff and management of Bunnies Childcare and 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.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services Central
Central Region
5 April 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 | Cambridge | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 34123 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 100 children, including up to 24 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 103 | ||
| Gender composition | Boys 57% Girls 43% | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Other | 7% 84% 9% | |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:4 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:10 | Meets minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | January 2019 | ||
| Date of this report | 5 April 2019 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | March 2015 | |
| Education Review | May 2012 | ||
| Education Review | May 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:
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.