444 Richardson Road, Mount Roskill, Auckland
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 (PDF 3.01MB) are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric (PDF 91.30KB) derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Little Buddies Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
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What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
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He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whāngai Establishing |
|
Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whakaū Embedding |
Little Buddies Learning Centre is a privately owned education and care service. An experienced operations manager leads a team of five qualified and three unqualified teachers. The centre has separate learning areas for infants, toddlers and older children. A small number of children enrolled in the service are Māori or have Pacific heritage.
Infants benefit from teachers’ shared understandings of how nurturing interactions can promote their learning. They experience a calm pace to routines in a carefully resourced environment. Infants and toddlers have developed a sense of security and trust with teachers. Older children play well together and confidently initiate conversations with teachers and other children. Their exploration and creativity are supported through easy access to a wide range of resources.
Teachers have established positive relationships with children, parents and whānau that support children’s developing social competence and emotional wellbeing. They have started to work with whānau and external agencies to provide appropriate learning support for children with additional learning needs.
Leaders and teachers respect the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Children have good opportunities to develop knowledge of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Teachers are beginning to integrate basic te reo Māori and aspects of tikanga Māori into their daily teaching practices. Leaders and teachers respect and respond to the languages and cultures of all children and whānau. They value the cultural knowledge that families bring to the service.
Teachers notice children’s interests and are beginning to use Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, to guide programme planning. They are working to improve the quality of assessment records to clearly show children’s learning.
Leaders and teachers are embedding the use of internal evaluation to promote improvement. They are beginning to work collaboratively to develop their collective skills and teaching capabilities. A shared leadership approach promotes teachers’ professional accountability and collective responsibility for improvement. The new leadership team has created a positive working environment that empowers staff to improve the curriculum provided for children.
Little Buddies Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Little Buddies Learning Centre 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 | Te Tai Raki
2 June 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Little Buddies Learning Centre |
| Profile Number | 45947 |
| Location | Mount Roskill, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
45 children, including up to 10 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
48 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 2 |
|
Review team on site |
April 2019 |
|
Date of this report |
2 June 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 2017 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Little Buddies Learning Centre provides all-day and sessional education and care for up to 54 children, including 10 up to the age of two years. Children attending the centre are from the diverse cultural backgrounds of the local community. Many families are new to New Zealand.
The privately owned centre operates in a purpose-built facility. There are separate indoor spaces for three age groups of children. Infants, toddlers and older children access one outdoor area.
The centre’s philosophy aims to promote the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.All teachers hold practising certificates. Many of them bring overseas teaching and cultural experiences to their roles.
The 2014 ERO report noted many strengths of the centre, including positive relationships, partnerships with parents, care for infants and an orderly environment. These areas of good practice continue to be evident. Areas identified for improvement were the outdoor environment, the quality of the programme for older children, the responsiveness of teachers to individual children's interests, and a more evaluative approach to the review of centre practices. While attention has been focused on these aspects of centre operations, more work needs to be done.
Children have a strong sense of belonging in the centre and are keen to learn. They are confident and enthusiastic in their conversations with adults and with each other. Children are familiar with the routines and expectations of the centre.
Relationships between teachers and children are warm and respectful. Teachers are caring and attentive to children's needs. They provide activities and encourage children's learning by working alongside them.
Infants are very well cared for by their teachers in a calm and gentle environment. Teachers know infants well through close partnerships with parents. They are committed to responding to individual children's preferences in care routines and play. As a result, infants and teachers develop secure attachments.
Teachers provide good opportunities for children to become familiar with te reo Māori. Children confidently participate in waiata and karakia. Teachers extend children's use of te reo Māori to include words relevant to the current theme. Some teachers skilfully ensure children have good understanding of kupu Māori used during these times. This good practice helps to foster Māori children's sense of cultural identity and promote the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand for all children.
The centre is welcoming and inclusive. Teachers provide opportunities to recognise families' cultural backgrounds. Various religious, cultural and language days that are relevant to the multicultural backgrounds of children and teachers are celebrated.
Teachers plan activities related to popular themes or topics. While they do gather aspirations that parents hold for their children, teachers could be more intentional in their responses to this information. Teachers' planning and programmes need to focus more on fostering and developing individual children's interests and passions. These areas of interest could provide strong contexts through which to extend the complexity of children's thinking and play.
Records of children's learning provide parents with good background information about a particular event or group activity. Teachers record children's participation in, and learning from the activity. Most parents provide regular and detailed feedback to teachers in children's individual learning records.
The centre director is aware of a difference in understanding between parents' expectations of a more formal programme for children and the principles of Te Whāriki. Teachers have collaborated with staff from local schools to extend parents' understanding of the attitudes and behaviours that best support learning within the New Zealand education system.
The centre director has established systems and frameworks to document centre operations. It is now timely to refine and align these systems and documentation. Internal evaluation that includes robust critique of centre practices could support improvement. Using indicators for high quality early childhood education practices could help to ensure that effort and resourcing result in valued outcomes for children.
To better implement Te Whāriki and to continue to improve the quality of provision for children, the centre manager and teachers should:
review the philosophy statement and identify the outcomes that the centre values for children
establish high expectations of the teacher's role in promoting valued outcomes for children
ensure that planning and programmes respond to children's individual interests and promote creativity, critical thinking and complex play
improve resources and the outdoor area to provide greater challenge and to support children's exploration and imaginative play
refine management processes and documentation, including internal evaluation.
Before the review, the staff and management of Little Buddies Learning Centre 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.
The next ERO review of Little Buddies Learning Centre will be in three years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
8 September 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 |
Mount Roskill, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
45947 |
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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 |
54 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
75 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 40, Girls 35 |
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Ethnic composition |
Indian |
41 |
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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 |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
July 2017 |
||
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Date of this report |
8 September 2017 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
January 2014 |
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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 ERO’s Approach to Review in Early Childhood Services.
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.