51 Eban Avenue, Hillcrest, 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 Neemo Childcare Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whāngai Establishing |
Neemo Childcare Centre is a privately owned, purpose-built centre, established in 2016. Both the owner and the centre manager are registered teachers. They lead a team of eight qualified teachers and six unqualified staff. The centre’s philosophy is influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach of self-directed experiential learning in a relationship-driven environment. Children and their teachers are from diverse cultures.
Children are confident in the environment. They gain a sense of belonging through cultural celebrations within the service. Literacy and numeracy are incorporated into the programme. Children are given space and time through group learning opportunities as well as individual play. Teachers are yet to consistently provide meaningful provocations and continuity of learning for all learners.
Teachers encourage the extension of oral language for all learners. Some te reo me ngā tikanga Māori are used in children’s assessment documentation and teachers’ practice. The inviting outdoor environment provides physical challenges and movement opportunities for children.
Useful partnerships formed with local schools, and the school readiness programme, support children’s transitions to school. Aspirations of parents are sought formally and informally to contribute to the programme.
Some opportunities are provided for teachers to engage in professional learning. Team and individual inquiries enable teachers to review, reflect on and examine their practice against research and professional readings. Some teachers’ teaching and learning goals are linked with the service’s internal evaluation focuses. A more deliberate lens is required on evaluating how well teaching practices improve children’s learning outcomes.
The service philosophy, professional growth cycle and other quality improvement systems and practices are well established to increase a focus on what is happening for children and their learning. Service leaders have developed a responsive bicultural practice approach to their strategic planning. Ongoing monitoring of teachers’ understanding of how to implement service policies and procedures is required to ensure children’s safety and wellbeing is consistently maintained.
Neemo Childcare Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Leaders and teachers to engage in purposeful teaching and professional learning to promote complexity of play and continuity of children’s learning.
Service leaders and teachers to deliberately evaluate teaching practice to identify how well it improves the service curriculum and outcomes for children.
Service leaders to build a robust team understanding of, and capability to do and use, internal evaluation for improvement and to meet and maintain regulatory requirements.
Before the review, the staff and management of Neemo Childcare 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:
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.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Checking sleeping children every 5 to 10 minutes for warmth, breathing and general wellbeing and keeping a record of those checks. Ensuring children do not have access to food and liquids while in bed (HS9).
Ensuring stretchers are arranged and spaced when in use so that adults have clear access to at least one side, and the area surrounding allows air movement to minimise the risk of spreading illness, and children are able to sit and stand as they wake (HS10).
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
19 July 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Neemo Childcare Centre |
|
Profile Number |
47102 |
|
Location |
Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
58 children, including up to 18 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
58 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 4, NZ European/Pākehā 16, Indian 10, Chinese 9, |
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Review team on site |
May 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
19 July 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, October 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.
Neemo Childcare Centre, located in Hillcrest, Auckland, is licensed to provide all-day education and care for 58 children, 18 of whom can be up to two years of age. The purpose-built centre, opened in 2016, is managed by an owner. This is the centre's first ERO report.
Children and their teachers are culturally diverse. The children are catered for in three agerelated groups. Babies transition to the toddlers group at approximately two years of age, and toddlers transition to the preschool group when they are four years of age.
The centre philosophy is based on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach to early learning. The philosophy recognises the individuality of children, and the responsibility of teachers to observe children and respond to them in ways that extend their learning. The teachers' role is to facilitate learning led by the child. Staff embrace New Zealand's bicultural heritage and the cultures of all children.
The centre maintains a high ratio of qualified teachers to children. Team leaders and experienced mentors support teachers in their professional learning and development. A chef provides meals for the children.
Children enjoy respectful interactions with their teachers and each other. They make choices about their play and have easy access to suitable resources in a well-designed environment. Children know the routines of the centre and demonstrate a sense of belonging. They move between the indoor and outdoor areas for much of the day.
Teachers work with children to support their interests and extend their learning through conversations. They support children's emotional wellbeing. Teachers have introduced the project learning approach to promote children's dispositions to explore and discover.
High quality education and care for infants and toddlers is evident. Where possible, home routines are continued at the centre. Teachers have a clear focus on supporting children's language development and early literacy. They engage often with the babies and encourage them to respond. The environment is conducive to supporting children to explore and to access resources that promote learning.
The thoughtful design of the learning environments promotes good communication and transition within the centre. Teachers sensitively manage these transitions giving children and their families time and support to make the changes. Visits between the centre and the local school assist children to prepare for the next stage of their education.
Teachers work successfully with parents. They encourage parents to share their goals and aspirations for their children. Parents report that staff provide advice and support regarding parenting and child development. Regular formal and informal conversations with parents complement the assessment and planning information about their child's development.
Teachers are committed to providing high quality assessment. Their planning documents show children's learning over time and support the provision of appropriate learning opportunities. Teachers record what they notice about children's play, the learning that is taking place and how they might support children's learning. Some of these learning stories make useful links to children's previous learning.
Teachers' observations inform planning for groups and individuals. Teachers write informative learning stories that identify what children are doing and learning. These stories help teachers to extend children's learning.
The centre's commitment to New Zealand's bicultural heritage is evident in the programme and the environment. Some te reo and tikanga Māori is included during the day. The manager acknowledges that further work can be done in this area.
There is good support for children's diverse cultures and identities and In some cases teachers are able to use children's home languages when communicating with them and their families.
Management systems are well designed. Policies and procedures are informed by regulations and best practice guidelines. Personnel management systems support staff to reflect on and improve their professional practice. Teachers regularly participate in professional learning and development. Appropriate appraisal systems are in place.
Strategic planning and internal evaluation could be strengthened. Clearly identified strategic goals and greater use of evaluative questions would better enable managers to guide and monitor ongoing improvement.
The centre manager agrees that centre operations would benefit from strengthening:
assessment of programme planning and children's learning
strategic planning, by setting clear goals and indicators of success and using these to report on progress
internal evaluation, by using specific evaluative questions to guide the review of centre operations.
Before the review, the staff and management of Neemo Childcare 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:
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 Neemo Childcare Centre will be in three years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
18 October 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 |
Hillcrest, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
47102 |
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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 |
58 children, including up to 18 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
58 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 27 Boys 31 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
September 2018 |
||
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Date of this report |
18 October 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
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.