Pokeno Child Care Centre

Education institution number:
47555
Service type:
Education & Care Service
Total roll:
67
Address:

17 Pokeno Road, Pokeno

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Pokeno Child Care Centre

1 ERO’s judgement of Pokeno Child Care Centre is as follows:

Domains: Ngā Akatoro

Below the threshold for quality

Above the threshold for quality

The learner and their learning

He Whāriki Motuhake

Improvement required

Working towards

Embedded

Excelling

Collaborative professional learning and development builds knowledge and capability

Whakangungu Ngaio

Improvement required

Working towards

Embedded

Excelling

Leadership fosters collaboration and improvement

Kaihautū

Improvement required

Working towards

Embedded

Excelling

Stewardship through effective governance and management

Te Whakaruruhau

Improvement required

Working towards

Embedded

Excelling

For an explanation of the judgement terms used and of the evaluation process please refer to the last page of this report. These judgements are based on the evidence provided to ERO during the evaluation.

Children’s health and safety

Improvement required

Taking reasonable steps

2 ERO’s Judgements

Akarangi | Quality Evaluations evaluate the extent to which early childhood services have 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 and Early Childhood Education (ECE) Improvement Framework (teacher led services) are the basis for making judgements about the quality of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Evaluations for improvement | Ngā Aronga Whai Hua is integrated across all of the above domains.

3 About the Service

Pokeno Child Care Centre is one of four family-owned services based across the wider Waikato region. A qualified centre manager is responsible for daily operations and leads the curriculum. The diverse teaching team provide education and care for children to school age in three aged-based rooms. The service’s philosophy places emphasis on lifelong learning where children learn through play.

4 Progress since the previous ERO report

The service's 2021 ERO Akanuku | Assurance review showed that they met all aspects of regulatory requirements. Specific areas for improvement were not identified. The service demonstrates continued compliance with regulatory standards.

5 Learning Conditions

The learner and their learning | He Whāriki Motuhake

Children experience a responsive curriculum that promotes their developing social competence, emotional well-being and cultural connectedness in play-based contexts.

  • Older children benefit from opportunities to learn in well-resourced learning environments where intentional teaching practices promote pre-literacy, numeracy, and thinking skills. Children under the age of two learn predominately indoors, through responsive nurturing care that supports their oral language acquisition.
  • Curriculum assessment and planning processes are well embedded. Documentation for older children reflects their interests, skills and learning styles; whilst younger children’s more narrowly focuses on their developmental stages. 
  • Children’s learning is supported by learning-focused partnerships where the goals parents have for their child’s learning are gathered and responded to. There are multiple opportunities for parents to give feedback and be involved in cultural celebrations and events in the centre. 

Collaborative professional learning and development builds knowledge and capability | Whakangungu Ngaio

Leaders and teachers are continuing to build their professional knowledge and expertise to design a rich curriculum that responds to all children.

  • Teachers engage in relevant professional learning opportunities that respond to identified needs and support internal evaluation processes. 
  • A system supporting teachers’ professional growth is well developed and regular. Documentation somewhat reflects the impact of shifts in teacher practice on children’s learning outcomes.
  • Teachers continue to build upon their growing knowledge and developing cultural competencies. Many children’s home languages are naturally integrated into the daily curriculum.

6 Organisational conditions

Leadership fosters collaboration and improvement | Kaihautū

Leaders work collaboratively to enact and embed Pokeno Child Care Centre’s vision, plans and priorities for improvement.

  • Leaders support professional practice and have built relational trust across the team. Internal and external expertise is utilised to grow the collective capability within the teaching team.
  • Leaders have developed processes and practices that identify, support and foster continuity and succession planning. Professional networks are in place, enabling new leaders to develop the relevant knowledge and skills required to lead the teaching team. 
  • Leadership takes increasing accountability for the well-being and learning of children and their families, monitoring both teaching and curriculum implementation. Mentoring of teaching practices is somewhat documented.

Stewardship through effective governance and management | Te Whakaruruhau

Governors use a range of information when making decisions that prioritise children’s holistic development and organisational sustainability.

  • Strategic planning and the review of this process is embedded, enabling governance to be well informed of service progress towards identified priorities for children.
  • Children’s learning and well-being are considered in resourcing and decision-making processes. Higher teacher to child ratios and other equity measures are in place to support children’s ongoing progress and development.
  • Positive working conditions and suitable induction processes for new staff support consistency of care and learning for children and their families. 

7 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Pokeno Child Care Centre completed and 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 system for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children’s health and safety:

  • emotional safety (including positive guidance and child protection)
  • physical safety (including supervision; sleep procedures; accidents; medication; excursion policies and procedures)
  • suitable staffing (safety checking of staff, 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.

8 Where to next for improvement?

Pokeno Child Care Centre will include the following actions in its quality improvement planning:

  • Extend planning and assessment to encompass the varied ways younger children learn, and increase for older children the focus on working theories and higher thinking skills, to further enrich curriculum experiences.
  • Increase the documented processes in improvement practices to more strongly reflect the benefits, impacts and outcomes of changes in teachers practices on children's learning.

Activities undertaken by the evaluation team

  • Pre-visit contact with the service provider/manager.
  • Reading documentation and records of children’s learning and development.
  • Scanning the learning environment and resources.
  • Observations of interactions and teaching practice while onsite.
  • Meetings and / or conversations with leaders and teachers.
  • Sampling of information related to compliance.

Further information about how ERO evaluates early childhood services is available here.

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

7 October 2024

9 Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service NamePokeno Child Care Centre 
Profile Number47555
LocationPokeno
Service TypeEducation and care service
Number licenced for60 children, including up to 15 aged under 2
Percentage of qualified teachers80-99%
Ethnic composition
Using rounded percentages
Māori 12%; NZ European/Pakeha 4%; Indian 66%; Tongan 3%; Cook Island 3%; other Pacific 3%; other ethnic groups 13%
Service roll69
Review team on siteJuly 2024
Date of this report7 October 2024
Most recent ERO report (s)Akanuku | Assurance Review, April 2021

Description around ERO’s judgement terms                                      

ERO’s judgements are based on Te Ara Poutama and the Early Childhood Education Improvement Framework (teacher led services).

 

Above the threshold for quality

Excelling

The service is excelling in the learning and organisational conditions to support high quality education and care for children

Embedded

The service has embedded its learning and organisational conditions to support ongoing improvement to the quality of education and care for children.
 

Below the threshold for quality

Working towards

The service is working towards establishing the learning and organisational conditions to support improvements in the quality of education and care for children.

Improvement required

The service has not yet developed the learning and organisational conditions to support quality education and care for children.

Pokeno Child 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

CurriculumMeeting
Premises and facilitiesMeeting
Health and safetyMeeting
Governance, management and administrationMeeting

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 the first review for Pokeno Child Care Centre. It is one of two early childhood education and care services owned and operated as a family business. One of the owners is the centre manager. She works closely with the head teacher to support the day-to-day operation of the service.

Summary of Review Findings 

The philosophy has been recently reviewed. It expresses the service's beliefs, values and attitudes about the provision of early childhood education. The philosophy, along with the annual and strategic plan, guide the operation of the service. 

The service curriculum is planned to provide children with a range of resources, experiences and opportunities to enhance their learning and development in a range of indoor and outdoor settings. Each child has an individual learning plan aligned to their interests and needs. Positive steps are taken to respect and acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau for their children.

Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:

  • heavy furniture that could topple and cause harm has been secured
  • safe and hygienic handling practices for the care of animals have been implemented.

Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008, HS6 and HS16.

Next ERO Review

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

Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

9 April 2021 

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service NamePokeno Child Care Centre
Profile Number47555
LocationPokeno
Service typeEducation and care service
Number licensed for60 children, including up to 15 aged under two.
Percentage of qualified teachers50-79%
Service roll62
Ethnic compositionMāori 9, NZ European/Pākehā 17, Indian 20, South African 6, African 5, Other ethnicities 5
Review team on siteNovember 2020
Date of this report9 April 2021
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 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.