88 Main Highway, Ellerslie, Auckland
View on mapLittle Wings Early Childhood Education & Care Centre
Little Wings Early Childhood Education & Care Centre
1 ERO’s Judgements
Akarangi | 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 Wings Early Childhood Education and Care Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) | Whakatō Emerging |
Ngā Akatoro Domains | |
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions | Whakatō Emerging Whakatō Emerging |
2 Context of the Service
Little Wings Early Childhood Education and Care Centre has been under new ownership since January 2023. This is the first ERO review of the service since the change of ownership. A qualified owner/centre manager manages the service and acts as a curriculum leader. The service philosophy embodies the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and recognizes New Zealand’s bicultural heritage. Two age-specific areas provide for children from infants to school age.
3 Summary of findings
Children have opportunities to make decisions and choices in their play, contributing to their developing independence. They are familiar with routines and demonstrate respect for rules. Teachers foster children’s oral language development and encourage them to look after each other and the environment.
Children experience both teacher-led and child-initiated opportunities for learning. Their growing social and emotional competence is well supported. Infants and toddlers’ experience calm teaching approaches that enable them to engage with the curriculum provided at their own pace.
Children benefit from aspects of a bicultural curriculum, such as access to resources, waiata and kupu Māori (Māori words) being used by teachers and visible in the environment. Teachers regularly use children’s home languages. Diverse cultures are acknowledged through celebrations. The manager acknowledges a need to increase the visibility of children’s language, culture, and identity within children’s documented assessment records.
Children’s assessment records evidence their interests and participation in the programme. Learning outcomes from Te Whāriki are evident. Teachers have yet to identify priorities for children's learning and evaluate the effectiveness of their curriculum.
Teachers have some established relationships with parents who share their values and cultural perspectives. Teachers are yet to use this information to plan a responsive curriculum for children.
Teachers regularly review policies. The manager has developed a strategic plan, and teachers have access to relevant professional learning and development. An internal evaluation framework is being used. The service is at an early stage of implementing improvement systems and developing shared understandings about quality teaching practices.
4 Improvement actions
Little Wings Early Childhood Education and Care Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
- Unpack and develop shared understandings of how to use the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki to show children’s progress and learning over time.
- Strengthen between teachers and children to encourage and support children’s thinking and
problem-solving capabilities. - Grow teacher capability and shared understandings about how evaluation can help them to understand and learn about the difference improved teaching practices can make for children’s learning.
5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements
Before the review, the staff and management of Little Wings Early Childhood Education and Care Centre 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.
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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)
- relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
6 Actions for Compliance
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
- Having a written emergency plan that includes details of the roles and responsibilities that will apply during an emergency situation.
- Maintaining a record of the written authority from parents for the administration of category ii medicine in accordance with the requirement outlined in Appendix 3; a record of all medicine given to children align with the record of the written authority from parents.
Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Centres 2008, HS7, HS28.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
24 July 2024
7 About the Early Childhood Service
Early Childhood Service Name | Little Wings Early Childhood Education and Care Centre |
Profile Number | 47370 |
Location | Ellerslie, Auckland |
Service type | Education and care service |
Number licensed for | 30 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
Percentage of qualified teachers | 80-99% |
Service roll | 30 |
Review team on site | May 2024 |
Date of this report | 24 July 2024 |
Most recent ERO report(s) | Akanuku | Assurance Review, September 2022; Akanuku | Assurance Review, June 2020 |
Little Wings Early Childhood Education and Care Centre
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
Little Wings Early Childhood Education and Care Centre is a privately owned service located in Ellerslie, Auckland. It provides education and care for children from birth to five years in two age-defined learning spaces. The qualified owner manages the service and acts as curriculum leader. This is the service’s second Akanuku | Assurance Review.
Summary of Review Findings
The service’s curriculum is informed by assessment planning and evaluation that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning, their interests and life contexts. It supports each child to be confident in their own culture and encourages children to understand and respect other cultures.
Adults providing care and education engage in positive interactions with children to enhance their learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. They also provide opportunities for parents to share and be involved in decisions about their child’s learning.
Ongoing monitoring is required to ensure that the service maintains compliance with the regulatory standards.
Actions for Compliance
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
-
Ensuring an annual plan guides the service’s operation and identifies the ‘who’ in relation to key tasks undertaken each year (GMA8).
-
Ensuring daily hazard checks include consideration of all hazards required for this criterion (HS12).
-
Ensuring that whenever children leave the premises on an excursion the required documentation is completed and includes a signature by the person responsible giving approval for the excursion to take place (HS17).
-
Gaining written permission from a parent to allow children to travel in a motor vehicle while in the care of the service (HS18).
-
Ensuring children are supervised at all times while eating (HS22).
-
Ensuring that medication records are completed with all the information required, including the date and time the medication was administered and evidence of parental acknowledgement (HS28).
Next ERO Review
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
5 September 2022
Information About the Service
Early Childhood Service Name |
Little Wings Early Childhood Education and Care Centre |
Profile Number |
47370 |
Location |
Ellerslie, Auckland |
Service type |
Education and care service |
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
Service roll |
32 |
Review team on site |
July 2022 |
Date of this report |
5 September 2022 |
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akanuku | Assurance Review, June 2020 |
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 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.
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:
-
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 certification; ratios)
-
evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
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.
Little Wings Early Childhood Education & Care Centre - 12/06/2020
ERO’s Judgement
Regulatory standards | ERO’s judgement |
Curriculum | Meeting |
Premises and facilities | Meeting |
Health and safety | Not meeting |
Governance, management and administration | Not meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified areas of non-compliance with regulatory standards that are an unacceptable risk to children, that have since been addressed.
Background
This is the first review of Little Wings Early Childhood Education & Care Centre. It is a privately-owned service. The owner is the centre manager and curriculum leader. Staff and families are from culturally diverse backgrounds. Most of the staff are qualified teachers.
Summary of Review Findings
Children experience a curriculum based on the principles and strands of Te Whāriki. Teachers provide a range of experiences, indoors and out, to meet the interests and abilities of the ages of children attending. They recognise children’s diverse cultures. However, the service was not meeting regulatory standards in a number of areas relating to the premises and facilities, health and safety and governance and management. Some of these areas posed a significant risk to children. The owner had not maintained centre systems to be assured of meeting requirements. Ongoing review that supports improvement is in the very early stages of development. Most of the non-compliances, including all those related to premises and facilities, identified at the time of the review have since been addressed.
Actions for Compliance
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
- the annual review of the emergency plan informed by evaluation of the emergency drills
- ensuring parents are advised how to access the ERO report.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008; HS7, GMA2,
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
- safe and secure storage of equipment and materials, including cleaning products
- systems for monitoring and ensuring there is full and accurate completion of accident, medication, and sleep records
- carrying out emergency drills on at least a three-monthly basis
- ensuring that there is a suitable risk management system including identifying, minimising, isolating or eliminating hazards
- ensuring that parents are advised about how to complain regarding non-compliance with the regulations or criteria.
- ensuring parents are advised of how the Ministry of Education funding received by the service has been spent
- ensuring parents have opportunities to contribute to the development and review of operational documents and there is a schedule showing timelines for planned reviews of the different areas of operation
- ensuring all staff are police vetted in accordance with the requirements of the Children’s Act (2014).
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, PF8,PF25,PF27,PF28,PF30,PF33, HS6, HS8, HS9,HS10,HS11,HS12,HS28, GMA1, GMA3, GMA4, GMA6, GMA7A.
Recommendation to Ministry of Education
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.
Next ERO Review
The next ERO review of Little Wings Early Childhood Education and Care Centre will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
12 June 2020
Information About the Service
Early Childhood Service Name | Little Wings Early Childhood Education & Care Centre |
Profile Number | 47370 |
Location | Ellerslie, Auckland |
Service type | Education and Care service |
Number licensed for | 30 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
Percentage of qualified teachers | 80%+ |
Reported ratio of staff to children under 2 | 1:4 - Better than regulatory standards |
Reported ratio of staff to children over 2 | 1:7 - Better than regulatory standards |
Service roll | 24 |
Gender composition | Male 9 Female 15 |
Ethnic composition | Māori 4 NZ European/Pākehā 7 Chinese 4 Other Ethnicities 9 |
Review team on site | 4 February 2020 |
Date of this report | 12 June 2020 |
Most recent ERO report(s)
| First ERO review of the service. |
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 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 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 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.
As part of an 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:
- 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 certification; ratios)
- evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
As part of an 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.