Apii Potiki Glen Innes Community Pre-School

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.

ERO’s Judgement

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.

Background

Apii Potiki Glen Innes Community Pre-School is a well-established service that promotes the language, culture and values of the Cook Islands. Two owners are responsible for governance and management. They lead a team of five registered teachers and five support teachers. Most of the children attending have Pacific heritage, predominantly Cook Islands Māori. A small number of children are Māori.

Summary of Review Findings

The service curriculum is inclusive, and responsive to tamariki as confident and competent learners. It supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture, and it encourages children to understand and respect each other.

Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning. Children are provided with a range of experiences to enhance and extend their learning, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups.

Ongoing monitoring of practices and systems is required to ensure regulatory standards are maintained.

Actions for Compliance

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:

• Ensuring heavy furniture, fixtures, and equipment that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage is secured (HS6).

• Having evidence of review of the emergency plan on at least an annual basis and implementation of improved practices as required (HS7).

• Maintaining a record of emergency drills carried out and evidence of how evaluation of the drills has informed the annual review of the service’s emergency plan (HS8).

• Having a written child protection policy that meets the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014. The policy contains provisions for the identification and reporting of child abuse and neglect, information about how the service will keep children safe from abuse and neglect, and how it will respond to suspected child abuse and neglect. The policy must be reviewed every three years (HS31).

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

4 October 2022 

Information About the Service

General Information about Assurance Reviews

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 undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

• 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.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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.

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.

ERO’s Judgement

At the time of the review, ERO identified areas of non-compliance with regulatory standards that are an unacceptable risk to children.

Background

Apii Potiki Glen Innes Community Pre-School is a well-established bilingual service, that promotes the languages, culture and values of the Cook Islands. The managers lead a team of five qualified teachers and four support teachers. A kaumatua provides cultural knowledge and understandings to support children, teachers and families.

Summary of Review Findings

The service curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early learning curriculum. It respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in their culture and encourages children to understand and respect other cultures. Adults in the service engage in meaningful interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. The service curriculum provides a language-rich environment.

Consistent implementation of health and safety, premises and facilities, and governance, management and administration practices are required to meet all aspects of regulatory compliance.

Actions for Compliance

ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:

• ensuring that the contents of the first aid kit complies with licensing requirements
• ensuring that furniture and items intended for children to sleep on, that will be used by more than one child over time, are securely covered with or made of a non-porous material
• securing heavy shelving indoors that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage
• documenting the review of the service’s emergency management plan on an at least annual basis, including implementation of improved practices as required
• ensuring adults providing education and care are familiar with relevant emergency drills and carry these out with children on an at least three-monthly basis
• documenting that teachers are consistently checking sleeping children under the age of 2 years, for warmth, breathing, and general wellbeing at least every 5-10 minutes, or more frequently according to individual needs
• ensuring furniture or items intended for children to sleep on is hygienically stored when not in use
• developing a documented risk management system that identifies, minimises, eliminates or isolates potential hazards to children and that includes the list of hazards required
• ensuring the temperature of warm water delivered from taps that are accessible to children is no higher than 40°C, and comfortable for children at the centre to use
• having evidence that water stored in the hot water cylinder is kept at a temperature of at least 60°C
• maintaining records of parental permission and approval of adult:child ratios for regular excursions
• maintaining a record of all food served during the service's hours of operation (other than that provided by parents for their own children) is required. Records show the type of food provided and are available for inspection for 3 months after the food is served
• developing and implementing procedures to ensure that children do not come into contact with any person (adult or child) on the premises who is suffering from a disease or condition likely to be passed on to children and likely to have a detrimental effect on them
• developing a procedure to outline the practicable steps to be taken to get immediate medical assistance for a child who is seriously injured or becomes seriously ill, and to notify a parent of what has happened, including the review and implementation of practices as required
• documenting the name and amount of medication (prescription and non-prescription), the date and time medicine was administered and by whom, and evidence of parental acknowledgment
• displaying the full names and qualifications of each person counting towards regulated qualification requirements
• providing parents of children attending the service and adults providing education and care with opportunities to contribute to the development and review of the service’s operational documents
• documenting a process for reviewing and evaluating the service’s operation, including having a schedule showing timelines for planned review of different areas of operation and recorded outcomes from the review process
• ensuring safety checking of all adults with access to children at the service, meets the safety checking requirements of the Children’s Act 2014 and that written records of all safety checks and the results are kept at the service for the time staff are employed
• having an annual plan identifying ‘who’, ‘what’, and ’when’ in relation to key tasks undertaken each year
• documenting an annual budget to guide financial expenditure
• ensuring enrolment records for each child attending are kept for at least 7 years
• ensuring attendance records that show the times and dates of every child’s attendance at the service are kept for at least 7 years.

Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, PF28, PF30, HS6, HS7, HS8, HS9, HS11, HS12, HS13, HS14, HS17, HS19, HS26, HS27, HS28, GMA1, GMA4, GMA6, GMA7A, GMA8, GMA9, GMA10, GMA11.

Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:

• having a tempering valve or other accurate means of limiting hot water temperature installed (PF24)
• documenting a procedure for the hygienic laundering of linen used by the children (HS2)
• advising parents how to access information concerning their child, the service’s operational documents and the most recent Education Review Office report regarding the service (GMA2).

Recommendation to Ministry of Education

ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence issued to this service provider. ERO will not undertake a further review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets regulatory standards.

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.

Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

11 June 2021 

Information About the Service

General Information about Assurance Reviews

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 undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

• 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.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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 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:

• 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 certification; ratios)
• evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

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.