Mini Me In-Home Childcare

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

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

Mini Me In-Home Childcare is a privately owned home-based service. A qualified owner, alongside a qualified visiting teacher oversee day-to day service operations. Most of the educators are children's family members, such as grandparents. All children enrolled are of Chinese heritage.

Summary of Review Findings

Educators engage in positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. 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.

A philosophy statement expressing the service’s values and beliefs guides operations. Formal and informal opportunities are provided for parents to regularly communicate with educators and coordinators about their child and share information about their learning. Parents have opportunities to be involved in decision-making about their child’s learning.

Service leaders must ensure regulatory standards are implemented, monitored, and maintained.

Actions for Compliance

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence to show the following non-compliances have been addressed:

• Ensuring that the outdoor activity space is enclosed by structures and/or fences and gates designed to ensure children’s safety, and that children cannot leave the premises without help or knowledge of the educator (PF11).

• Ensuring heavy furniture, fixtures, and equipment that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage are secured (HS6).

• Ensuring equipment, premises, and facilities are checked every day of operation for hazards to children; and consideration of hazards must include the condition and placement of learning, play and other equipment and bodies of water (HS11).

• Having evidence that whenever children leave the premises on an excursion, the names of adults and children involved are recorded and there is a documented supervision plan specific to each excursion (HS14).

• Ensuring that supervision plans in homes show how children will be supervised while they are involved in activities or routines (such as sleeping, eating and toileting) in separate parts of the home, using play equipment and resources both indoors and outdoors, and interacting with other people in the home, including visitors (HS34).

• Having a process for human resource management that includes discipline/dismissal procedures (GMA6).
• Having an annual plan that identifies ‘who’ in relation to key tasks undertaken each year (GMA7).

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)                    

24 April 2023

Information About 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 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 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.