11 Falls Street, Warkworth
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 Reach Forward Early Learning Centre - Warkworth are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) | Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Akatoro Domains | |
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions | Whakawhanake Sustaining Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Reach Forward Early Learning Centre - Warkworth is one of two services under private ownership. The qualified service director oversees governance and the curriculum provided with support from a centre manager. The service offers three spaces for different age groups of children in a 1950s, repurposed villa. A small number of Māori and Pacific children are enrolled.
Children’s learning and development is supported through purposeful teaching and a culturally responsive approach. There is a mix of child-led and teacher-led experiences that enable children to lead their own learning and revisit their interests. Infants, toddlers and older children have opportunities to extend their inquiries by engaging in both child-led and teacher-led investigations. They engage in activities that focus on developing their mathematical, literary, musical and scientific learning.
The service has robust systems and processes in place that consistently show children’s progress based on the learning outcomes of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Teachers use multiple sources of information to plan, identify and reduce barriers to children’s learning. These strategies effectively provide for and promote equitable learning opportunities for all children.
Assessment and planning records show that learning-focused partnerships between teachers and parents, including those of Māori and Pacific heritages, are highly evident. Children are very well-supported through the implemented local curriculum to make connections between people and places, such as the local marae.
Leaders and teachers collaboratively enact the service’s vision, plans and priorities for improvement. The centre director allocates time and resources to build staff capability. As a result, teachers and leaders demonstrate professional knowledge of theories and the enactment of their Christian character through targeted mentoring.
Outcomes for children are considered and promoted by robust organisational systems including high quality internal evaluation processes. Children’s learning outcomes and the impact of teachers’ practices are consistently scrutinised to evaluate and identify children’s learning and progress. Leaders and teachers work with relevant agencies and the local school to support individual children’s transitions, learning and needs.
Reach Forward Early Learning Centre - Warkworth will include the following action in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Reach Forward Early Learning Centre - Warkworth 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:
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.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
15 August 2024
| Early Childhood Service Name | Reach Forward Early Learning Centre - Warkworth |
| Profile Number | 47522 |
| Location | Warkworth |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 48 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80-99% |
| Service roll | 36 |
| Review team on site | June 2024 |
| Date of this report | 15 August 2024 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Akanuku | Assurance Review, October 2020 |
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.
Regulatory standards | ERO’s judgement |
| Curriculum | Meeting |
| Premises and facilities | Meeting |
| Health and safety | Meeting |
| Governance, management and administration | Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
Reach Forward Early Learning Centre Warkworth opened in 2019 and has three spaces for different age groups of children. The open-plan layout offers a variety of indoor and outdoor experiences. This is the first ERO review of this service.
Teachers engage in meaningful and positive ways that enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Teachers maintain a calm, slow pace in which younger children have space and time to lead their learning.
The physical environment provides a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend learning and development. The service provides a sufficient quantity and variety of furniture, equipment and materials that are appropriate for children’s learning and abilities.
Teachers respond to the cultures, languages and identities of the children and their families.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS9, 14, 28.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
23 October 2020
| Early Childhood Service Name | Reach Forward Early Learning Centre - Warkworth |
| Profile Number | 47522 |
| Location | Warkworth |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 48 children, including up to 10 aged under 2. |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80%+ |
| Service roll | 36 |
| Gender composition | Girls 23 Boys 13 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 3 NZ European/Pākehā 20 South African 6 other ethnic groups 7 |
| Review team on site | September 2020 |
| Date of this report | 23 October 2020 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | First ERO review of the service |
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.
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:
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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through: