204 Lake Road, Northcote, 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 Newbies Early Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
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What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
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He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whāngai Establishing |
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Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whāngai Establishing |
Newbies Early Learning Centre, Northcote, is one of two centres owned and managed by a qualified early childhood teacher on Auckland’s North Shore. The owner is supported by a head teacher who leads a team of six other qualified teachers, three unqualified staff and a chef. Children play and learn in a mixed-age setting. A small number of children have Pacific or Māori heritage.
Children have genuine connections with their teachers and are secure in their relationships. Their individual learning needs and strengths are identified and supported well by teachers. Parents are encouraged to be partners in their children’s learning. Their aspirations for children’s learning are known and responded to enhancing a sense of collaboration and understanding.
Children’s knowledge and sense of belonging are enriched through excursions to the local and wider community. Infants and toddlers are treated with care and respect. Teachers are attentive and work well together to support children to learn independently and in groups. Nurturing relationships between older and younger children are evident.
Teachers model and promote te reo Māori through a range of learning opportunities. The service philosophy reflects a commitment to the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa, New Zealand. The service is working towards implementing a more culturally responsive curriculum.
Children and their families are supported as children transition in, through and beyond the centre. Inclusive practices encourage children with additional learning needs to participate in the curriculum.
Teachers engage in professional learning based on their individual interests and needs. Leaders and teachers collaborate using a range of meaningful data to identify and respond to improvement priorities. Increasing the focus on evaluative thinking would help to promote and inform relevant change in the service.
Relational trust at all levels is a strategic goal that is enacted in everyday practice. Leaders and managers allocate resources that align with the service’s philosophy and goals. The positive working environment helps to retain staff in the service, which enables continuity of care for children.
Newbies Early Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Newbies Early 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.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS17, HS28.
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure non-compliances identified in this report are addressed.
Phil Cowie
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
11 November 2021
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Newbies Early Learning Centre |
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Profile Number |
46812 |
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Location |
Northcote, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
35 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers (delete if not applicable) |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
41 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 3, NZ European/Pākehā 32, other ethnic groups 6 |
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Review team on site |
June 2021 |
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Date of this report |
11 November 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, February 2018 |
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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.
Newbies Early Learning Centre is licensed to provide full-day education and care for 35 children, including up to five aged under two years. Infants and toddlers have a separate play space. Toddlers can choose throughout the day whether they will play in this space or with the older children, indoors or outdoors.
The service opened in September 2015. The centre owner and head teacher lead a team of two other qualified teachers, one teacher in training, and two unqualified staff.
The philosophy of the service is strongly focused on building respectful, reciprocal relationships with children, their families and the community. Quality professional development for teachers and ongoing internal evaluation are highly valued. The teaching team aims to provide a stimulating environment for children and to give them freedom to make choices around their learning.
Aspects of the teaching philosophy are very evident in practice. Children are treated with respect and dignity. They benefit from the reciprocal relationships established between teachers and families. A current focus of the teaching team is building partnerships with parents that engage them more deeply in their children's learning.
Children are well supported to develop social competence. They collaborate and sensitively respond to other children and to adults. Teachers skilfully engage children in ongoing conversations and model the effective use of language well. They provide numerous occasions for children to engage with written texts, offering opportunities for children to learn and use new vocabulary.
Infants and toddlers experience a calm environment and consistent caregiving that allows them to establish a sense of wellbeing. Some parts of their daily routine occur in the older children's space. This is allowing them to develop familiarity with all teachers and the environment, supporting more seamless transitions for toddlers when they move into the older group.
The programme for older children has been the subject of internal review. Excursions are starting to feature more often and are providing opportunities for children to engage in more challenging physical activities. Teachers encourage children to talk about their interests and experiences in a group format. They value the knowledge and ideas children bring to these discussions and use it to plan their programme.
All children confidently engage with the resources that they can access and explore their environment. Teachers should now evaluate how effectively the layout and resourcing of the centre enable children to participate freely in a wide range of experiences and empower them to sustain their play and extend their own learning.
The teaching team is committed to supporting children's developing knowledge of the bicultural nature of Aotearoa New Zealand. They weave this knowledge throughout the programme, supported by the use of te reo Māori and waiata. The language and cultural identity of each child could be more strongly reflected in the centre and in learning records.
Children's portfolios contain regular stories about their participation in the programme. These stories are shared online so families have good access to them and can easily provide feedback. Teachers are exploring different ways to document programme plans that are responsive to their needs and to those of the children and their families.
The centre owner has established an appropriate framework of policies and procedures that guide centre practices. A robust system of internal evaluation has been established and teachers are responsive to evaluation findings. Centre leaders are replacing the current teacher appraisal process with an updated process strongly focused on teachers inquiring into the effectiveness and impact of their practices. They are working well towards establishing a culture of continuous improvement.
A strategic plan outlines the vision for the centre, and is supported by an annual plan. Greater alignment of strategic and annual plans, internal evaluation and teacher appraisal would provide a more coherent sense of direction for the future.
Key next steps for enhancing teaching practices include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Newbies Early 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.
The next ERO review of Newbies Early Learning Centre will be in three years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
9 February 2018
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 |
Northcote, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46812 |
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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 |
35 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
46 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 23 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
1 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
November 2017 |
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Date of this report |
9 February 2018 |
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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:
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.