Hand and Hand Early Learning Centre - Hobsonville

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

Hand and Hand Early Learning Centre - Hobsonville is one of three services in the Hand and Hand group. The owner works as a regional manager, supporting a qualified centre manager with daily operations of the service. The teaching team is reflective of the diverse ethnicities of children enrolled and the local community.

Summary of Review Findings

Children are provided with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups. The curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.

The 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. Positive steps are taken to respect and acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau for their children.

A philosophy statement guides the service’s operation and expresses the services’ beliefs, values, and attitudes about the provision of education and care.

Leaders need to monitor the implementation of operational systems to maintain regulatory standards.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

• increasing opportunities for children to develop their knowledge and understanding of te ao Māori

• strengthening planning, assessment and evaluation practices to show individual children’s learning, interests, whānau and life contexts.

Actions for Compliance

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

• Providing a safe and comfortable space for infants, toddlers or children not walking to be protected from more mobile children (PF14).

• Ensuring furniture for children to sleep on is arranged and spaced so that adults have clear access to at least one side, and the area surrounding each child allows air movement to minimise the risk of spreading illness (HS10).

• Ensuring hazards to children are sufficiently eliminated, isolated or minimised (HS12).

• Ensuring that excursion records include an assessment and management of risk, as well as evidence of parental permission and approval of adult:child ratios prior to the excursion taking place (HS17).

• Ensuring the rooms used by children are kept at a comfortable temperature no lower than 18°C (HS24).

• Ensuring all children’s workers who have access to children are police vetted, and a record of all safety checks and the results is maintained (GMA7A).

Next ERO Review

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

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

1 August 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.