The Oaks Montessori

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

At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

The Oaks Montessori is one of three privately-owned services under the same ownership. Children play and learn in four age-based areas and three outdoor playgrounds. The roll is increasingly diverse with a high number of tamariki Māori attending and a smaller group of children of Pacific heritages. This is the first ERO review of this service.

Summary of Review Findings

The curriculum provides children with a range of experiences and opportunities to promote and extend their learning and development, individually and in groups. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning.

Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Positive steps are taken to respect and acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau for their children.

The design and layout of the premises supports provision of different types of learning experiences both indoors and out. Service leaders take practicable steps to promote appropriate health and safety systems and practices.

Key Next Steps 

Next steps include:

• increasing opportunities for children to hear and speak te reo Māori
• making visible children’s individual cultures, languages, and learner identity in their assessment documentation and in centre environments
• clearly showing children’s learning and progress over time in relation to the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, by making these more explicit in their learning records.

Next ERO Review 

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

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

1 February 2024

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.