3/12 Laidlaw Way, East Tamaki, Auckland
View on mapSeedlings Education 3
Seedlings Education 3
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
Regulatory standards | ERO’s judgement |
Curriculum | Meeting |
Premises and facilities | Meeting |
Health and safety | Meeting |
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.
Background
This is one of four networks managed by Seedlings Homebased Education Ltd. Education and care is provided in the educator’s, or the children’s, home. A qualified visiting teacher supports educators to meet regulatory requirements and curriculum expectations. Most of the children attending are of Tongan heritage.
Summary of Review Findings
The service curriculum respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture and encourages children to understand and respect other cultures. Educators engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. The service curriculum provides a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning.
An ongoing process of self-review helps the service maintain and improve the quality of its education and care. A philosophy statement guides the service’s operation.
Service leaders must ensure compliance systems and practices continue to be implemented and monitored to maintain regulatory standards.
Key Next Steps
Next steps include:
- Strengthen the extent to which the service curriculum is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning, their interests, whānau, and life contexts.
- Increase the opportunities children have to hear and speak te reo Māori in meaningful learning contexts.
Actions for Compliance
ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
- Maintaining a record of emergency drills carried out, that includes type, date and time and evidence of how evaluation of the drills informed the annual review of the emergency plan (HS7).
- Implementing a system of regular appraisal for educators (GMA6).
Next ERO Review
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
8 February 2024
Information About the Service
Early Childhood Service Name | Seedlings Education 3 |
Profile Number | 46966 |
Location | East Tamaki, Auckland |
Service type | Home-based service |
Number licensed for | 60 children, including up to 60 aged under 2 |
Service roll | 35 |
Review team on site | October 2023 |
Date of this report | 8 February 2024 |
Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, December 2020; Education Review, March 2017 |
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 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.
Seedlings Education 3 - 02/12/2020
1 Evaluation of Seedlings Education 3
How well placed is Seedlings Education 3 to promote positive learning outcomes for children?
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Seedlings Education 3 is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Background
Seedlings Education 3 is licensed for up to 60 children from infancy to five years of age. Educators provide education and care for up to four children at a time. Most children in this network are of Tongan heritage, and a small number of children are of Māori heritage.
Programme coordinators are qualified, experienced teachers and bring varied teaching experiences to their roles. They regularly visit educators in their homes and support them to plan educational plans for children. Coordinators also monitor health and safety provision.
Seedlings Education's philosophy focuses on supporting and nurturing children in collaboration with educators, whānau and the wider community. A priority is for children to be immersed in their own home culture and language.
Good progress has been made since ERO's 2017 review. The ownership and leadership structure of the service has changed since the review. There has been an emphasis on strengthening collaborative leadership and decision making. Documentation translated into children's home languages has contributed to meaningful connections with whānau.
This review was one of four homebased network reviews in a cluster operated by Seedlings Education Ltd.
The Review Findings
Programme coordinators establish respectful relationships with children and families linked to each educator. They provide detailed reports and feedback to build educator capability in catering for and extending children's learning. Infants, toddlers and young children benefit from a curriculum that is responsive to their learning needs.
Programmes and resources support children's cultural contexts. Home languages are prioritised as many educators share the same cultural background. Children have opportunities to develop creativity, early literacy and mathematical knowledge.
Programme coordinators meet to develop planning cycles that have a different focus each month. Clear and useful records focus on a child's wellbeing, learning and care. Coordinators organise outdoor excursions and playgroup/discovery days that offer opportunities for educators and children to play and learn together. They promote online communication and learning with digital technologies.
The service's focus on learning through play and the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, are evident in planning and documentation. The programme coordinator and educators regularly share children's learning with parents/whānau. Daily journals and learning portfolios document aspirations and inform parents of children's learning experiences. Documents are translated, and individual plans are tailored to meet the learning needs of the children.
Good transition practices nurture children's sense of belonging and participation in the network and their transition to school.
There are strong systems to support professional practice for programme coordinators and educators. Collaborative ways of working are fostered by everyone in the service. Individual strengths are valued and used to support all four networks. Professional learning opportunities are well established. Mentoring opportunities are strengthening individual practice.
Documentation shows that children experience a curriculum that reflects the dual heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand. Programme coordinators promote a bicultural curriculum. They support the use of te reo Māori in educators' homes. Learning stories evidence the use of te reo Māori and integration of tikanga Māori across all networks.
Good systems are in place to identify and monitor the health and safety of adults and children in the homes. Appropriate policies guide practice and are regularly reviewed. The service makes good use of internal evaluation to plan long and short-term strategies that focus on improvement.
The owner/manager is an active participant in the service and fosters a team approach. He has a commitment to achieving a high-quality, home-based education service. There is an organisational culture of trust and respect. The management team work collaboratively to drive ongoing improvement and develop learning partnerships with educators, families and the community.
Key Next Steps
Key next steps for the coordinators/leaders are to develop strategies to evaluate:
-
how well they support educators to strengthen their teaching practice
-
the effectiveness of the programme in achieving high quality learning outcomes for all children
-
how well strategic goals are leading to improvements in children's education and care.
Management Assurance on Legal Requirements
Before the review, the staff and management of Seedlings Education 3 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:
- curriculum
- premises and facilities
- health and safety practices
- governance, management and administration.
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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
2 December 2020
The Purpose of ERO Reports
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.
2 Information about the Home-based Education and Care Service
Location |
East Tamaki, Auckland |
||
Ministry of Education profile number |
46966 |
||
Institution type |
Homebased Network |
||
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
Number licensed for |
60 children, including up to 60 aged under 2 |
||
Service roll |
51 |
||
Standard or Quality Funded |
Standard |
||
Gender composition |
Female 29 Male 22 |
||
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
|
Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
2 |
||
Required ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
||
Review team on site |
September 2020 |
||
Date of this report |
2 December 2020 |
||
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2017 |
|
Education Review |
October 2012 |
3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews
ERO’s Evaluation Framework
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
ERO’s Overall Judgement
The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
-
Very well placed
-
Well placed
-
Requires further development
-
Not well placed
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
Review Coverage
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.
Seedlings Education 3 - 29/03/2017
1 Evaluation of Seedlings Education 3
How well placed is Seedlings Education 3 to promote positive learning outcomes for children?
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Background
Seedlings Education 3 is part of the Seedlings Education Ltd home-based education and care service in Auckland. It is licensed for up to 50 children from infancy to five years of age. Over 90 percent of children are Tongan. Educators provide programmes in their own or the child's home for up to four children at a time. Families and educators are carefully matched to support children's wellbeing.
Educators provide programmes in their own or the child's home for up to four children at a time. Many educators are nannies or members of children's extended family. Children and educators are from diverse cultural backgrounds. Families and educators are carefully matched to support children's wellbeing.
Programme coordinators are well qualified, experienced teachers. They regularly visit educators in their homes and support them to plan educational programmes for children, as well as monitoring health and safety provision.
The service providers/directors are responsible for the governance and management of the service. In 2016 they strengthened health and safety systems and practices in response to legislation and regulation requirements.
This is the first ERO review for Seedlings Education 3. The review was part of a cluster of four home-based network reviews in the Seedlings Education Ltd organisation.
The Review Findings
Children's learning records show that they are well supported to develop their interests, strengths and preferences through everyday experiences. Educators share the same cultural background as the children in their care. As a result programmes are strongly reflective of families' Tongan culture and identity. Educators prioritise the use of children's home languages. Coordinators tailor resources and support for specific cultural contexts.
Children and educators have opportunities to attend the regular outdoor excursions and organised playgroups and discovery days. Coordinators and educators encourage and support children to experience different environments where they have opportunities to play with and learn alongside others. The service provides an extensive library of books and other resources to support and expand educators' in-home programmes. Feedback from educators and parents indicates that these resources are much appreciated and valued.
Parents' input into the programme is actively sought. They are very positive about the education and care their children receive through the Seedlings service. Parents readily respond to requests to contribute ideas and suggestions for improvement. Seedlings directors are considering ways that parent survey feedback could be used to further personalise and enhance the services they provide for families.
Coordinators maintain clear and useful records of their visits to educators. They identify how well educators interact with children and focus on children's care and wellbeing. Coordinators encourage educators to support children's learning by modelling good teaching practices. Professional development opportunities for educators are well established.
The head programme coordinator provides very effective curriculum leadership, maintaining a broad overview of programmes and skilfully guiding coordinators to improve educator practice. Programme planning frameworks align with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Coordinators could now review and refine the ease of use and usefulness of planning, assessment and evaluation documents. This work could help educators to better respond to children's interests, strengths and needs.
Leaders work well together in an established structure where relationships are respectful and productive. Coordinators are knowledgeable, and show a willingness to learn and improve their practice. Coordinators and educators are well resourced to be effective in their work and to continually improve. A well considered induction process and relevant professional learning opportunities support ongoing improvement in teaching practice. Directors are deliberately growing leadership capability across the service.
Seedlings Education operates under a strong governance framework, guided by a mission statement and guiding principles. Directors express their commitment to biculturalism and affirmation of Māori as tangata whenua. They acknowledge that continuing to deepen bicultural understandings and practices at all levels of the service remains a priority.
Directors and coordinators have a good understanding of internal evaluation and use it as a tool to improve outcomes for children and their families. The appraisal system supports coordinators to reflect on and improve their practice. Strategic goals, appraisal and professional learning priorities are becoming more aligned with the service's vision.
Key Next Steps
Service managers agree that the key next steps for the service are to:
-
strengthen internal evaluation to identify the impact of change across the organisation
-
rationalise planning, assessment and evaluation records so they better reflect how children's learning is extended through their interests and becomes more complex over time
-
develop differentiated planning across the Seedlings Education networks, to better respond to particular cultural identities.
Management Assurance on Legal Requirements
Before the review, the staff and management of Seedlings Education 3 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:
- curriculum
- premises and facilities
- health and safety practices
- governance, management and administration.
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.
Next ERO Review
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of Seedlings Education 3 will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
29 March 2017
The Purpose of ERO Reports
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.
2 Information about the Home-based Education and Care Service
Location |
Manukau, Auckland |
||
Ministry of Education profile number |
46966 |
||
Institution type |
Homebased Network |
||
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 50 aged under 2 |
||
Service roll |
57 |
||
Standard or Quality Funded |
Standard |
||
Gender composition |
Boys 32 Girls 25 |
||
Ethnic composition |
Māori Tongan other |
2 53 2 |
|
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 |
February 2017 |
||
Date of this report |
29 March 2017 |
||
Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews
ERO’s Evaluation Framework
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
ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review
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:
- Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
- Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
- Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
- Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
Review Coverage
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.