12 Temuri Place, Glendene, 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 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 Playdays Montessori are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) | Whakatō Emerging |
Ngā Akatoro Domains | |
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions | Whakatō Emerging Whakatō Emerging |
Playdays Montessori is a homebased education and care service that is governed and managed by the owner. The qualified owner is supported by an external coordinator. Most of the children and families enrolled are of Afghanistan heritage. The philosophy is inspired by the Montessori values and Te Whāriki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum.
Children experience a curriculum where they develop a sense of belonging and have opportunities to communicate in their home language. Children’s learning and development is supported through caring relationships. They attend playgroups and have regular excursions that supports their growing social competence as learners.
The service is at an early stage of developing and implementing a curriculum that is culturally responsive, intentional and is consistent with Te Whāriki. Children engage in activities with educators that reflect some aspects of the Montessori approach.
There is limited integration of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori in the service’s curriculum. Some te reo Māori words are displayed on walls to support educators in developing their bicultural practice. Building of the collective capability of educators to integrate Māori words into their daily practices is yet to be undertaken.
Assessment documentation shows children’s interests and dispositions, it does not yet identify priorities for children’s learning in relation to the valued outcomes in Te Whāriki. Coordinators and educators are yet to develop a shared understanding of assessment, planning, and evaluation that show children’s learning progress in relation to the learning outcomes of Te Whāriki.
Leaders provide opportunities for coordinators and educators to access ongoing professional development. The impact of these is yet to be realised in teachers’ practice and the curriculum. Targeting professional development that links to the service’s goals and priorities would be beneficial.
The service has developed a system for internal evaluation and are in the early stages of understanding the purpose of internal evaluation and using it for improvement purposes.
Playdays Montessori will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Playdays Montessori 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 review the service provided ERO with evidence to show the following non-compliances have been addressed:
Licensing Criteria for Home-based Education and Care Services 2008, HS7, HS8, HS11.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
7 August 2024
| Early Childhood Service Name | Playdays Montessori |
| Profile Number | 46449 |
| Location | Glendene, Auckland |
| Service type | Home-based service |
| Number licensed for | 80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2 |
| Service roll | 25 |
| Review team on site | April 2024 |
| Date of this report | 7 August 2024 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Akanuku | Assurance Review, March 2022; Education Review, November 2020 |
| Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Playdays Montessori is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Playdays Montessori is a homebased education and care service operating in West Auckland. It is licensed for 80 children, including 80 children aged under two years. The service roll is made up of children from diverse ethnic backgrounds including the Pacific Islands. The owner and one registered teacher provide support for 13 educators.
The service owner is a qualified early childhood teacher. Her responsibilities include overseeing children's education and care, and health and safety. She provides professional leadership and support to educators. The curriculum coordinator supports the educators' documentation of learning stories.
The service's philosophy values loving relationships, self-worth, confidence and individuality, and it embraces both Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and aspects of Montessori education.
The service's philosophy is clearly articulated and implemented by the owner and curriculum coordinator. The coordinator regularly visits educators' homes, supporting them to promote children's wellbeing and record their learning. She uses a range of teaching strategies to guide and grow educators' practice and foster positive outcomes for children.
Documentation shows good use of te reo Māori in educator homes. Educators acknowledge children's culture, language and identity through their records of learning. These records document the wide range of interesting learning experiences provided for children, including excursions in the local community. Parents and whānau perspectives are gathered and inform programme planning for individual children.
There are good opportunities for children to engage in social interactions with others in educators' homes and in social group events organised by the service. Educators record children’s routines and their participation in activities. Documentation shows that educators value the importance of children learning through play.
Service owners implement the service's vision well and support educators to provide a good quality curriculum in a safe and caring environment. The service has effective processes for teacher appraisal. The coordinator encourages educators to reflect on their practice with a view to improvement. Internal evaluation and reviews undertaken by the service are both planned and spontaneous and focus on improving the effectiveness of processes and teaching practices.
Service leaders agree that next steps for the service include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Playdays Montessori 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:
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
ERO identified non-compliance relating to Educators being police vetted under the caregiver category. Since the review, the service has provided ERO with evidence to show this non-compliance has been addressed.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region - Te Tai Raki
25 November 2020
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 | Glendene, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 46449 | ||
| Institution type | Homebased Network | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 28 | ||
| Standard or Quality Funded | Standard | ||
| Gender composition | Male 15 Female 13 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Afghanistan Samoan Tongan other ethnic groups | 12 8 4 4 | |
| Number of qualified coordinators in the network | 2 | ||
| Required ratios of educators to children | Under 2 | 1:2 | |
| Over 2 | 1:4 | ||
| Review team on site | September 2020 | ||
| Date of this report | 25 November 2020 | ||
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review | February 2017 | |
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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2008
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.
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Playdays Montessori Limited is a home-based service that is privately owned and operated. It is licensed for 80 children including up to 80 children from infants to school age. At present the service caters for 31 children who receive education and care from six educators in their own homes. All children are of Pacific heritage. The majority of children speak their home language and have been matched with educators who support this.
The service is led by the directors and an administrator. The financial and operations manager and the administration controller support quality services for children and their families. One of the directors is a registered early childhood teacher. Her role as the curriculum coordinator involves regular visits to educators' home to observe, monitor and support the quality of education for children. At present one educator has a teaching qualification and one has some relevant training. The remaining four educators are enrolled to start training in 2017. This is the first ERO review of the service.
The management's vision for the service is based on purposeful social justice. The philosophy embraces both Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum and aspects of Montessori education. This includes a focus on building children's independence and thinking skills. The service is committed to providing quality education through managed growth, and building educator capability.
Children enjoy the provisions made for them in educators' homes. Their learning records show evidence of a rich curriculum that includes opportunities to explore, learn alongside others and have access to experiences and resources to extend their learning. Parents' aspirations for their children guide some of the content of educators' programmes. The coordinator provides good support to build educators' assessment practices, through individual coaching. She encourages educators to be reflective about their work and fosters a sense that evaluative thinking is important.
Sound management processes ensure that appropriate documentation, systems, policies and procedures are shared with parents. This well managed introduction to home-based education and care adds to the effectiveness of matching families and settling children with educators. According to parents' feedback, children form trusting and loving relationships with educators. Parents express their satisfaction about children's learning and the positive differences they see in children's knowledge.
The coordinator visits each child in the service once a month. Her visits include advice and support for educators. She helps them to identify children's interests and dispositions as learners and to plan individual programmes that promote appropriate learning. The coordinator models good practice and ensures that resources are appropriate and sufficiently challenging to engage children's interest. She promotes and supports excursions outside the home, making suggestions that strengthen the programme and children's learning.
The coordinator encourages educators to include the natural world and natural resources as part of children's play. The service's intention to incorporate Montessori ideals, such as self-management, as well as Te Whāriki, appears to operate well. Children participate in child-directed programmes as suggested by the early childhood curriculum.
The service provides care for a small group of children up to two years of age. Appropriate ratios are maintained to ensure that educators are able to provide individualised nurture and support for these young children.
Management has high expectations that educators will provide quality education and care. To facilitate educators' ability to recognise good practice, regular opportunities are provided to attend professional learning and development (PLD) and attendance is encouraged by management. The coordinator stays up-to-date with current theory and practice by accessing external PLD with educators. She also provides access to articles and research to further encourage educators' professional practice. Ministry of Education PLD informs the programmes and includes New Zealand perspectives.
Educators promote children's culture, language and identity well. Continuation of support for children's home language is a priority for families and this aspect of programmes is strong. Educators successfully include children's home languages in learning journals and in online communications with parents.
Organisational management is thorough. The complementary team have created a culture of support and professionalism. The management team prioritises the development of good knowledge of regulated expectations, legislation and health and safety requirements, and the desire to manage growth and to focus on high quality provision. A comprehensive policy and procedural framework is in place.
Good self review ensures regular revisits, updating and modification of policies and procedures. Self review is also used with educators to help make judgements about ways to improve their provision for children.
The key next steps are to support educators to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Playdays Montessori 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:
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 Playdays Montessori will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
17 February 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.
| Location | Glendene, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 46449 | ||
| Institution type | Homebased Network | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 31 | ||
| Standard or Quality Funded | Standard | ||
| Gender composition | Boys 17 Girls 14 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Samoan Tuvalu | 27 4 | |
| Number of qualified coordinators in the network | 1 | ||
| Required ratios of staff educators to children | Under 2 | 1:2 | |
| Over 2 | 1:4 | ||
| Review team on site | December 2016 | ||
| Date of this report | 17 February 2017 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| No previous ERO reports | ||
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 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.