109 Sealey Street, Thames
View on mapMini Miners
Mini Miners
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 Mini Miners are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
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Ngā Akatoro Domains |
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Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakaū Embedding Whakaū Embedding |
2 Context of the Service
This centre’s philosophy highlights respect, love, relationships, and courage. Led by the service owner, there has been progress against the key next steps in ERO’s 2020 report. A small number of enrolled children are identified as Māori, and a range of other ethnicities are represented in the centre.
3 Summary of findings
Children’s learning and development are enhanced by caring relationships within a strongly play-based curriculum. Their growing social competence and emotional wellbeing are prioritised. The curriculum for children under two promotes care as central to their experiences in the mixed age setting. Deliberate work through centre self-review ensures that children’s transitions into and through the centre are responsive and based on what is regarded as high-quality practice for children.
The learning environment is well resourced to reflect the centre’s location and enables children to lead their own learning. Regular beach and bush excursions allow older children to experience their local and wider community. All children hear and experience some te reo Māori and tikanga Māori through the curriculum. Leaders have identified that an authentic bicultural curriculum continues to be an area for growth, and ERO affirms this.
Teachers and leaders share their learning, take responsibility for, and actively contribute to each other’s professional growth. Processes of teacher inquiry, reflection and review contribute to children’s learning and the centre’s improvement journey. Leaders are beginning to build the use of learning outcomes from Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, in curriculum planning.
Those responsible for leadership and governance clearly understand and enact the values of the centre. They have established a culture of relational trust, where professional accountability and collective responsibility for children’s wellbeing and learning are understood. Children are the main consideration throughout self-reviews, however the full cycle of evaluation is in the early stages of being understood by the teaching team.
4 Improvement actions
Mini Miners will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
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Develop the use of intended outcome indicators in evaluation for improvement and assessment for learning practices. This would help leaders and teachers to better understand the effectiveness of teaching and changes in practice in improving outcomes for individuals and groups of children.
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Strengthen the bicultural curriculum in partnership with whānau, children and teachers, with a focus on the things, places, and people of significance to the local area.
5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements
Before the review, the staff and management of Mini Miners 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:
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curriculum
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premises and facilities
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health and safety practices
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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:
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emotional safety (including positive guidance and child protection)
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physical safety (including supervision; sleep procedures; accidents; medication; hygiene; excursion policies and procedures)
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suitable staffing (including qualification levels; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)
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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.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
1 September 2023
6 About the Early Childhood Service
Early Childhood Service Name | Mini Miners |
Profile Number | 47641 |
Location | Thames |
Service type |
Education and care service |
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
Service roll |
39 |
Review team on site |
July 2023 |
Date of this report |
1 September 2023 |
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akanuku | Assurance Review, December 2020. |
Mini Miners - 03/12/2020
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.
ERO’s Judgement
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 found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Background
Mini Miners is a privately owned and operated service. The centre provides education and care for children from infants to school age in a mixed aged setting. This is the centre’s first ERO review since a change of ownership.
Summary of Review Findings
Children are viewed as competent and confident learners, who are involved in making decisions about their learning. Teachers are responsive to children’s individual needs through positive and reciprocal interactions. The curriculum is informed by assessment and evaluation. Teachers actively seek knowledge from families and respond to information about their aspirations for their children.
The service is effectively governed and managed. Parents and whānau are consulted about service operation. An ongoing process of self-review supports teachers to improve the quality of education and care for children attending the service.
Key Next Steps
Continue to improve the provision of:
- a curriculum that supports each child to be confident in their own culture and encourages them to respect other cultures
- opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitiangi.
Next ERO Review
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
3 December 2020
Information About the Service
Early Childhood Service Name |
Mini Miners |
Profile Number |
47641 |
Location |
Thames |
Service type |
Education and care service |
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 10 aged under 2. |
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
Service roll |
48 |
Gender composition |
Male 26, Female 22. |
Ethnic composition |
Māori 3, NZ European/Pākehā 35, Other ethnic groups 10. |
Review team on site |
November 2020 |
Date of this report |
3 December 2020 |
Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports. |
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.