11 Myrtle Street, Western Springs, Auckland
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.
The managing director of Sunbeams Private Kindergarten is a qualified teacher. She leads a team of four qualified teachers and three unqualified staff. The service philosophy links with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and values each child’s uniqueness and partnerships with parents.
The service curriculum is informed by assessment, planning, and evaluation that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning. The practices of adults providing education and care demonstrate a knowledge of relevant theories and practice in early childhood education.
Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The service curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. It provides a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
consideration of hazards must include but is not limited to medicines, poisons, and other hazardous materials; electrical sockets and appliances (particularly heaters), and hazards present in kitchen or laundry facilities (HS12)
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
7 July 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Sunbeams Private Kindergarten |
| Profile Number | 46525 |
| Location | Western Springs, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
30 children over 2 years old. |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
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Service roll |
40 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 1 |
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Review team on site |
May 2021 |
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Date of this report |
7 July 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 2017 |
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.
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:
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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Sunbeams Private Kindergarten opened in 2014 in Western Springs, Auckland. It is licensed for 30 children from two years old to school age. Children receive all day education and care in a homely environment in a remodelled villa. Children transition to several local schools in the surrounding inner city areas. Children who attend are mostly Pākehā and some have Māori, Pacific and Asian cultural backgrounds.
The two owners govern and lead the strategic direction of the centre. The managing director is a qualified early childhood teacher and is responsible for daily operations and staffing. She works collaboratively with a team of five staff in a cohesive teaching team. External consultants help to build teachers' professional knowledge and teaching practice through ongoing professional learning.
The kindergarten's philosophy is to 'nurture, inspire and challenge children in an environment that provides independent thinking, creativity and respect'. The curriculum programme is underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum and learning through well resourced play. Staff work together to provide a responsive programme and offer all children a variety of experiences to explore, wonder and learn through imaginative and dramatic play.
The centre's philosophy is evident in teachers' practices, in the environment, documentation and parent responses. There is a strong commitment to the philosophy of children learning through play and respect for beauty, nature, people, places and things. The welcoming and attractive environment is viewed as the 'third teacher', which inspires children to learn through authentic, imaginative and creative play situations.
Indoor and outdoor environments offer areas that invite children to create, take risks, be curious and value learning. Child focused equipment and well placed spaces to play provide inviting provocations for children. Managers plan to expand outdoor play areas to provide more learning challenges for older children.
Children are confident and articulate. They enjoy adult interactions and lead their own learning. They settle quickly and show a strong sense of belonging in the centre. They are very well supported by skilful and sensitive teachers. Some children are socially competent and develop friendships. They know they are valued and their contributions are used to inform the programme. Children respect the environment and confidently express their rights and preferences. Children's independence is evident through the ways they negotiate, show leadership and use self-help skills.
Teachers use non-intrusive, respectful and sensitive interactions with children. They respect the dignity of the child and have high expectations for children's participation and learning outcomes. Intentional teaching strategies support children's development and build on what children already know. Primary caregivers help to sustain and extend children's interests, and support their strengths, interests and needs.
Programmes provide very good opportunities to develop children's social competence and play-based learning. Planning, assessment and evaluation guide programme development well. Children's learning is recorded in attractive portfolios that clearly show their interests and development. Their opinions are valued and contribute to teachers' planning. Parents' aspirations and feedback are valued and are also included in the programmes for children.
The programme shows the centre's commitment to promotingTe Whāriki and te Tiriti o Waitangi, and working in partnership with whānau. Bicultural practices include mihimihi, karakia and waiata and the promotion of te reo Māori. Prioritising the special position of tangata whenua would help teachers to broaden the bicultural programme.
The two directors/owners provide effective leadership. The managing director's teaching experience and dedication to the centre's vision has contributed to the development of sound management systems.
Long term strategic planning includes parent aspirations and is regularly monitored through a collaborative process. The centre's commitment to ongoing improvement is evident in a purposeful, well documented internal evaluation processes.
There is a shared belief that parent perspectives and involvement are important. Parents report that they feel a sense of belonging and purpose in the centre. Various forms of communication help to develop strong partnerships with families that contribute to good quality outcomes for children.
Leaders and teachers agree that key future focus areas include reviewing the extent to which:
the curriculum reinforces the special position of tangata whenua and te ao Māori
children's languages and cultural identities are apparent in environments, assessment and programmes
the environment and programmes promote learning challenges for older children
internal evaluation uses current research and relevant educational resources.
Before the review, the staff and management of Sunbeams Private Kindergarten 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 Sunbeams Private Kindergarten will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
8 May 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 |
Western Springs, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46525 |
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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 |
30 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
42 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 27, Boys 15 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese other |
2 33 3 4 |
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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 |
N/A |
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Over 2 |
1:6 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
March 2017 |
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Date of this report |
8 May 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
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No previous ERO reports |
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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 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.