10 Graham Street, Pukekohe
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 |
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Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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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.
Flying Turtles Preschool is one of two privately owned centres. A small number of the roll identify as Māori learners. Children attending also include a small number of Pacific and a range of other ethnicities. The centre changed ownership in October 2021.
Children are seen as confident and competent learners. Teachers engage in meaningful, positive interactions with children to nurture reciprocal relationships. Children are provided with a language rich learning environment.
The curriculum is informed by assessment, planning, and evaluation that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning and interests. Positive steps are in place to seek and acknowledge aspirations that parents have for their children. The service curriculum acknowledges the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua.
An ongoing process of policy review and internal evaluation helps the centre improve the quality of its education and care.
Next steps include:
strengthening the extent to which the centre curriculum and assessment practices reflect all children’s cultures and languages.
During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
ensuring all relieving staff hold a current police vet as part of the safety checking of all children’s workers in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014.
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services, 2008, GMA7A]
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
11 May 2023
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Flying Turtles Preschool |
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Profile Number |
45498 |
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Location |
Pukekohe |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
50 children, over the age of 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
28 |
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Review team on site |
February 2023 |
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Date of this report |
11 May 2023 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, November 2019; Education Review, December 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.
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
The Flying Turtles Preschool is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
Flying Turtles Preschool is in Pukekohe and licensed for 50 children. The preschool offers both full and part-day education and care for children from four years old to school age. Children come from a range of ethnic backgrounds, including five who identify as Māori.
Through their vision and philosophy, teachers aim to develop caring, respectful relationships with all children, families, the environment and local community.
Flying Turtles Preschool is one of three early learning centres governed by the director who supports supervisors and managers to oversee teaching practices. Leadership provides an overarching governance and management framework for enacting the strategic direction.
Since ERO's December 2015 evaluation, management and teachers have undertaken professional development to further their knowledge of appraisal practice and deepen their understanding of tikanga Māori.
Children’s learning is effectively promoted through responsive and respectful teaching. Relationships are positive and affirming between teachers and children. A wide range of learning opportunities are accessible to all learners. Children lead their learning through a flexible and inclusive curriculum where teachers foster independence. Planning, assessment and evaluation identifies children’s current skills and knowledge, and shows progress over time. This should be strengthened to add complexity to children's learning outcomes. Positive transitions into and out of the centre support children's confidence and sense of belonging.
Teachers effectively model appropriate language to promote children’s oral development. Literacy, numeracy and science are integrated into the programme. Positive and engaging interactions between teachers and children support social competence. The outside learning environment supports risk taking and problem solving and cater for a range of interests and skill development.
Teachers promote te reo me ngā tikanga Māori and build on children’s knowledge of te ao Māori. The centre's vision and strategic planning identify a commitment to further improve the bicultural curriculum. Children benefit from a curriculum that provides the opportunity to explore, inquire and follow their own interests.
The appraisal system enhances teacher capability and capacity. A culture of collaboration is fostered through effective consultation that promotes positive partnerships between parents and teachers. Children with additional learning needs are fully involved in the learning environment through inclusive teaching practices. All children are valued and affirmed for who they are and what they bring to their learning. Leaders have established a reflective learning environment.
Effective governance promotes positive learning outcomes for all children. Clear policies, procedures and systems effectively guide daily operation. The centre vision and philosophy are enacted and promote quality teaching practice. Leadership opportunities for teachers are provided. Internal evaluation includes a strategic approach to change management leading to improvement. Children experience an environment where high-quality learning opportunities are underpinned by effective governance and management.
For ongoing improvement, the centre needs to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Flying Turtles 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:
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.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region
7 November 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.
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Location |
Pukekohe |
||
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Ministry of Education profile number |
45498 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
50 children, aged over 2 |
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|
Service roll |
47 |
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Gender composition |
Female 25 Male 22 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Other |
5 37 5 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:6 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
August 2019 |
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Date of this report |
7 November 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
December 2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
October 2012 |
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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:
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:
Very well placed
Well placed
Requires further development
Not well placed
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.