14 Springs Road, East Tamaki, Auckland
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Home2Grow Childcare is one of three home-based education and care networks owned by Home2Grow Limited. It provides an early childhood education and care service for up to 80 children from infancy to school age. Educators provide programmes in their homes for up to four children at a time. Children come from diverse cultural backgrounds. A high number of Samoan and Indian families use the service. Many of the educators are children's family members, such as grandparents.
Since the 2013 ERO report there has been significant growth in enrolments and Home2Grow has opened two additional networks. The service has maintained good systems and has improved management practices around strategic planning, self review and performance management.
The service is led by an owner/managing director, who works collaboratively with programme coordinators, administrators, educators and whānau. The managing director and programme coordinators are registered early childhood teachers. They regularly visit educators in their homes, support them to plan educational programmes for children and monitor health and safety provisions.
Key aspects of the service's philosophy are the provision of an environment that inspires and encourages learning, and respectful and trustful relationships between parents, educators and coordinators.
Educators provide a culturally responsive curriculum, based on maintaining children's language and sense of cultural identity. The learning programme is underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and prioritises te reo and tikanga Māori. Educators keep good records of each child’s day and note activities that children enjoyed. Learning experiences include early literacy, mathematics and science and the use of creative and manipulative materials. There is a strong focus on oral language and encouraging children to engage in meaningful conversations.
Children's learning records show that they participate in day-to-day household activities and planned experiences, and have regular excursions in the community. They have fun, make choices and are confident in their language and culture. They are eager to learn and share ideas. Children's sense of belonging is affirmed and they are developing care and empathy for others.
Playgroups provide good opportunities for children to learn as part of a larger group. Playgroups also show educators how environments and equipment can be used to promote learning. They provide a venue for programme coordinators to model good practice and for educators to have leadership roles.
Educators appreciate coordinators' support and benefit from ongoing training. Children are carefully transitioned into educators’ homes and well supported as they move on to school. Educators are aware of the preferences and learning styles of infants and toddlers and provide individualised nurturing care. Parents give positive feedback on the education and care of their children and the communication that they receive from the service.
Service leaders have a strong commitment to inclusion and equity. A service-wide belief in the cultural and educational benefits of home-based learning for children and their families,underpins operations. Relationships between the service leaders, coordinators, educators and parents are respectful, responsive and trusting.
Programme coordinators use an individualised approach to affirm and support educators. They are respectful of each family's beliefs and values and aim to match educators and families that speak the same home language. Pacific children and families are well supported and valued. Displays in the centre reflect their culture and language and affirm their identity.
Leaders are proactive and improvement focused. Internal evaluation is purposeful and is supporting them to target areas to develop further. Improving educational outcomes for all children is at the heart of internal evaluation and service operations.
The owner, coordinators and administrators work collaboratively to manage the service. Clearly defined roles and expectations are guided by the service's vision and strategic direction. The philosophy and vision are evident across all practices and policies, including a rigorous system for recruiting new educators and matching families. Educators receive comprehensive documentation that provides clear guidelines and expectations about their role. Regular health and safety monitoring provide assurance that service expectations are being met. A more robust appraisal system, with more depth in evaluation and reflection would support coordinators to enrich their own professional practice.
ERO and the service leaders agree that key next steps for the service are to:
strengthen internal evaluation so it is more collaborative and evaluative and aligned with strategic planning and appraisal
more clearly document how coordinators guide educators' practice
ensure that documentation and systems are used consistently and aligned across Home2Grow networks to better support effective practices.
Key next steps for programme coordinators are to continue building on educator capability to:
plan in response to children’s individual emerging interests and ideas
make greater use of children's assessment portfolios to show continuity of learning
extend children’s learning and thinking to promote more complex, creative and imaginative play.
Before the review, the staff and management of Home2Grow Childcare completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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.
The next ERO review of Home2Grow Childcare will be in three years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
18 August 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.
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Location |
Botany, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
45288 |
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Institution type |
Homebased Network |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
92 |
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Standard or Quality Funded |
Standard |
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Gender composition |
Girls 46, Boys 46 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
1 |
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Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
2 |
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Required ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
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Over 2 |
1:4 |
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Review team on site |
July 2017 |
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Date of this report |
18 August 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
December 2013 |
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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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
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.
Home2Grow Childcare is a small home based education and care network. It has thirty five educators from diverse backgrounds who cater for children from birth to school age. The network operates in Auckland’s North/West, Botany and Mt Roskill areas. This is the service’s first ERO report.
Effective operations and systems are in place. The network is managed by the owner who employs experienced, approachable co-ordinators. The focus on continual improvement and the increased use of self review is helping to improve the quality of education and care for children.
Children benefit from individualised care routines. They show a strong sense of belonging and interact confidently with each other and adults. Effective communication between administrators, co-ordinators, educators and families promote respectful relationships.
A good range of learning activities and experiences support children’s development. Educators make very good use of community facilities. They provide frequent opportunities for children to explore local environments.
Children’s assessment records are attractive and useful documents which families, whānau and aiga appreciate. Social media is well used to share information with families. Home2Grow is well positioned to further promote learning partnerships with families.
The owner and leaders have identified that strategic planning is a priority as they consolidate plans for the future. Increasing the level of training for educators and expanding bicultural approaches would further benefit all children in the service.
ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO will review the service again within three years.
All ERO education reviews in early childhood focus on the quality of education. For ERO this includes the quality of:
The service was first established in 2010. In 2013, a new owner, a fully registered teacher with early childhood education qualifications, purchased the network. Over the past eight months, she has worked as both a managing director and an education co-ordinator to expand the service and improve the management systems.
One experienced coordinator, who began with the service in 2010, has maintained continuity through the change in ownership. The collaborative management team is supported by an administrator with complementary skills.
Positive interactions and caring relationships. Children’s social and emotional competence is effectively supported. Respectful relationships and a focus on the individual needs of children are evident. Children benefit from caring educators who know them and their families well.
Wider educational experiences. Educators provide a diverse range of learning experiences for children and make good use of the local community. Playgroups offer frequent opportunities for children to learn together and develop valuable social skills.
Communication with families. Highly effective approaches are used to communicate with families. Ongoing review has led to innovative systems that work well for the type of service. Families receive frequent information about the engagement of their children in activities and some useful evaluation about their children’s learning.
Support for Educators. Educators are well supported by knowledgeable coordinators who offer useful advice and guidance. A programme of induction of new educators provides clear guidance on their roles and responsibilities. Opportunities for educators to share ideas and approaches are used to increase educator’s expertise. Useful support material helps educators plan meaningful learning experiences.
Philosophy. The philosophy is clearly understood and communicated by educators. Ongoing work to review the philosophy is planned. Indicators are to be developed to increase educators’ use of self review to determine how effectively they enact the philosophy. Educators and service leaders provide useful resources, aligned to the philosophy. They use the philosophy well to guide decision making. Ecological sustainability and care for the environment feature prominently.
Leadership. Leaders are effective, professional and reflective. They have a good understanding of the role and use of self review. They align self review to outcomes for children and are beginning to implement self-review systems with educators. Leaders are highly engaged in professional learning and make very good use of new learning to improve service operations.
Educator practice. Educators bring a range of skills and strengths to their role. To improve the consistency of educators’ education practices, it would be helpful to:
Governance and management. To continue to improve the quality of outcomes for children, it is timely for service leaders to:
Before the review, the management and staff of Home2Grow Childcare completed an ERO Home-Based Education and Care Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on outcomes for children:
During the review one area of non-compliance was identified. Service leaders must:
In order to improve practice service leaders should increase the frequency of health and safety reviews and ensure the recommendations from reviews have been actioned.
ERO and service leaders agree that to improve the quality of education, leaders should develop a detailed strategic plan which guides annual plans and incorporates the key findings from the review.
ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO will review the service again within three years.
Dale Bailey National Manager Review Services Northern Region
11 December 2013
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Location |
Dannemora, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
45288 |
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Service type |
Homebased Network |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Service roll |
74 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 38 , Girls 36 |
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Ethnic composition |
NZ European Māori Indian Chinese other |
41 3 21 2 7 |
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Review team on site |
September 2013 |
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Date of this report |
11 December 2013 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |