85 Vogel Street, Woodville
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 Little Rugrats Woodville are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) | Whakatō Emerging |
Ngā Akatoro Domains | |
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions | Whāngai Establishing Whāngai Establishing |
Little Rugrats Woodville philosophy aims to uphold community, families, teachers’ and children’s sense of belonging in a safe and gentle environment. The two co-owners are responsible for governance, everyday operation and management. The majority of the children enrolled are Māori. A small number of children are of Pacific heritages.
Children actively engage in a positive learning environment. They experience responsive, reciprocal, and respectful relationships with teachers. Children’s emotional wellbeing and social competency are fostered. Those with additional learning needs experience collaborative partnerships with teachers, parents, whānau and external agencies to enhance their learning. Leaders advocate for, and with, children and their parents and whānau to ensure all children have access to inclusive education and care. Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging.
Children experience aspects of a bicultural curriculum. Daily curriculum rituals include a selection of te reo Māori, waiata, and tikanga Māori. Māori parent and whānau voice influences the programme. Tuakana-teina (older-younger child) relationships support children to take responsibility for their own and others wellbeing.
Leaders and teachers are building collective capability. They access professional learning relevant to their interests and goals. Internal evaluation frameworks are yet to be fully utilised. Using these to determine how well improvement actions are achieving priorities for children’s learning is a continued area of growth. There is a need for better oversight from service leaders, and more effective ways of sharing knowledge across the service to enable consistent practice.
Planning, assessment and evaluation of the curriculum remains an area for improvement. Learning outcomes from Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, are yet to underpin documented assessment or individual planning. Kaiako continue to build their working knowledge of how to evaluate their teaching.
Little Rugrats Woodville will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Little Rugrats Woodville 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.
ERO identified the following areas of non-compliance:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centre 2008, HS8.
Since the onsite review the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
18 July 2024
| Early Childhood Service Name | Little Rugrats Woodville |
| Profile Number | 46557 |
| Location | Woodville |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 40 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80-99% |
| Service roll | 41 |
| Review team on site | April 2024 |
| Date of this report | 18 July 2024 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Akanuku | Assurance Review, May 2021; Education Review, March 2017 |
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.
Regulatory standards | ERO’s judgement |
| Curriculum | Meeting |
| Premises and facilities | Meeting |
| Health and safety | Meeting |
| Governance, management and administration | Not meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
Little Rugrats Woodville, previously Woodville Early Childhood Centre, is a privately-owned all day service. The current owners have operated the service since July 2018. This is the first ERO evaluation under their management. Children learn and play in two age-based areas.
The curriculum is informed by assessment and planning that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning and interests. It acknowledges the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua and gives children the opportunity to develop understanding of the dual cultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Teachers engage in meaningful and positive interactions, with adults and children, to nurture reciprocal relationships. Parent and whānau aspirations for their children are respected and acknowledged. The recently redeveloped outdoor space supports the provision of a range of experiences for older children.
Since ERO’s visit centre leaders have strengthened policies and practices to encompass regulatory requirements.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA7]
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
ERO has also been provided with evidence of all required components of safety checks having been completed for the owners.
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
26 May 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Little Rugrats Woodville |
| Profile Number | 46557 |
| Location | Woodville |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 40 children, including up to 10 aged under 2. |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80%+ |
| Service roll | 43 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 15, NZ European/Pākehā 23, Other ethnic groups 5. |
| Review team on site | April 2021 |
| Date of this report | 26 May 2021 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, March 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:
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Woodville Early Childhood Centre opened in late 2015. It offers all-day education and care for up to 25 children, including five aged up to two years. The centre's routines promote interaction between age groups. There are designated indoor and outdoor play spaces for infants and toddlers. The philosophy emphasises the importance of whanaungatanga, whakamana and manaakitanga.
The centre is owned by the manager, who oversees the day-to-day running of the centre as well as curriculum implementation, with support from a head teacher. Teaching staff are qualified and registered. Children attending come from a diverse range of ethnic groups. Nine children identify as Māori.
This is Woodville Early Childhood Centre's first ERO review.
Children benefit from a programme of learning that reflects and celebrates their developing interests, strengths and abilities. They are able to make independent choices about their play and enjoy interactions with calm and supportive teachers. Routines are flexible to children and their families. Literacy and numeracy are often meaningfully integrated into the learning programme.
Teachers skilfully tailor their practice to respond to individual children as well as group and family contexts. A next step is to more clearly highlight children's progress. This should be the clear focus of assessment, planning and evaluation. An increased understanding of the nature and purpose of evaluation should add value to the planned programme and individual assessments.
Leaders and teachers prioritise relationships with families. The welcoming environment supports a sense of belonging and whanaungatanga, in line with the centre's philosophy. Input from whānau is welcomed and valued. A range of strategies are employed to engage with families and share useful information. This area of strength should now be extended to build learning partnerships with parents, through which their aspirations for their children's learning are regularly sought and planned for.
All children benefit from the centre's bicultural curriculum. They regularly see, hear and experience elements of te ao Māori.
ERO and centre leaders agree that a next step is to establish deliberate strategies to promote the educational success of tamariki Māori and tamaiti Pacific. Careful consideration should be given to gathering and responding to the cultural aspirations of whānau and 'aiga.
Teachers implement effective practices to support children's transition to school. A mutually beneficial relationship with the local school has been established, that includes regular liaison between leaders and teachers.
The centre philosophy has recently been reviewed. A next step is for teachers to collaboratively unpack the statements within this philosophy to establish clear, shared understandings of teaching and learning priorities. These statements should then be used to support the evaluation of centre practice.
Self review occurs regularly, is appropriately child-focused, and results in improvement. A more evaluative approach should better support leaders and teachers to measure the effectiveness of centre practice and identify areas for development.
The manager successfully advocates for a strong focus on children and their wellbeing. Teachers are regularly challenged to reflect on and improve their practice. This culture of professional critique is further supported through robust appraisal and registration guidance systems. It is now necessary for the manager to more actively engage in a clearly documented appraisal process.
ERO and leaders agree that to improve outcomes for children:
Before the review, the staff and management of Woodville Early Childhood 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.
The next ERO review of Woodville Early Childhood Centre will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
29 March 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 | Woodville | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 46557 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 25 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 23 | ||
| Gender composition | Boys 15, Girls 8 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Samoan Cook Island Other ethnic groups | 9 7 2 2 3 | |
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:1 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:8 | Better than minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | January 2017 | ||
| Date of this report | 29 March 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 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.