Little Loves Early Learning 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 Loves Early Learning Centre are as follows:

2 Context of the Service

Little Loves Early Learning Centre is privately owned. A centre manager and curriculum leader support a team of eight teachers. Some children attending are of Māori or Pacific heritages. There has been some progress towards key next steps from ERO’s 2021 report related to improving curriculum planning and the self-review process.

3 Summary of findings

Children are provided with opportunities to engage in both teacher-led activities and independent play. The structured curriculum supports children to understand the rules and routines of the service. Teachers encourage the sharing of knowledge and engage children in literacy and numeracy experiences. Teachers would benefit from unpacking what learning through play means for the role of the teacher, to further support how they provide for children’s learning within play-based experiences.

A process of individual development planning has been implemented for all children at this service. Leaders and teachers have successfully built relationships with parents and whānau which enable them to contribute to their child’s plan. Assessment information regularly links back to these parent aspirations. Teachers are beginning to explore the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and make them visible within assessment information. Leaders and teachers are in the early stages of building their knowledge and understanding of Te Whāriki and its underpinning theories.

Teachers use basic te reo Māori, include tikanga Māori practices and prioritise close relationships with parents and whānau. Resources such as the Ministry of Education’s Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners and Tāpasā: Cultural competencies framework for teachers of Pacific Learners are not yet used to support teachers ongoing professional learning. They have access to professional learning and some mentoring from service leaders to support their developing teaching practice.

A process for internal evaluation has yet to show the impact improvements have made on equitable outcomes for children. A strategic plan and philosophy statement, which expresses the service’s beliefs and priorities for children’s learning, have been developed. Leaders and teachers would benefit from unpacking this to develop a shared understanding.

4 Improvement actions

Little Loves Early Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

• Develop a deeper understanding of Te Whāriki to build leaders and teachers professional knowledge and understanding of its underpinning theories of learning.
• Develop a shared understanding of the service’s philosophy and the teaching practices required to consistently implement it.
• For teachers to develop shared understandings about way to effectively support children’s learning in a play-based environment.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Little Loves Early Learning 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:

• Carrying out all relevant emergency drills with children (as appropriate) on an, at least, three-monthly basis.
• Gaining written approval from parents for the proposed ratios for regular excursions at the time of enrolment.
• Collecting written authority from a parent at enrolment for the specific Cat (i) medication used at this service.

Licensing Criteria for Centre Based Education and Care Services 2008; HS8, HS17, HS28.

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

11 October 2024

7 About the Early Childhood Service