107 Duchess Crescent, Mayfair, Hastings
View on mapAkarangi | 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.
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.
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.
Little Sunbeams Mayfair is a privately owned kaupapa Māori service situated in Hastings. Twenty-seven children identify as Māori and five of Pacific heritage. The centre director manages the day-to-day operations as well as supporting the teaching team. The March 2019 ERO report identified non-compliances. These have been addressed.
Children have many opportunities to develop an understanding of the dual heritage and culture of Aotearoa. Celebrating their culture, language and identity is an important part of an inclusive curriculum. The design and layout of the service supports the different types of indoor and outdoor experiences. It includes quiet spaces, areas for physically active play, and space for a range of individual and group learning experiences.
Whānau contribute to the development of the service’s operational documents and curriculum. Health and safety is monitored and prioritised.
Next steps include:
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
3 May 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Little Sunbeams Mayfair |
| Profile Number | 55365 |
| Location | Hastings |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 35 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80%+ |
| Service roll | 35 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 27, Pacific 5, Other ethnic groups 3. |
| Review team on site | March 2021 |
| Date of this report | 3 May 2021 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, March 2019; Education Review, January 2016 |
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.
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:
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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Little Sunbeams Mayfair requires further development to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Little Sunbeams Mayfair is one of two private Hastings services governed and managed by the same owners. It is licensed for 35 children, including 15 aged under two years. At the time of this ERO review there were 35 children on the roll and 24 identify as Māori.
The licensee oversees the day-to-day operation of the centre. A services manager was appointed in June 2016. She is responsible for curriculum and teacher development at Little Sunbeams Mayfair and Little Sunbeams Central.
The centre philosophy promotes whanaungatanga and manaakitanga.
The February 2016 ERO report identified a number of key next steps in relation to: assessment, planning and evaluation of children's learning; staff appraisals; and internal evaluation. The centre has made some progress in addressing these, however further development is needed.
Children's cultural heritage is valued and cherished within an environment that provides familiarity between home and the service. Teachers and whānau work together to support children's individual learning pathways. Warm, responsive and respectful relationships with whānau are evident.
Children's transitions between Little Sunbeams Central and Mayfair are responsive to their individual needs and whānau wishes. The recently developed Kids in Transition to School programme (KITS) is beginning to support children and families as they prepare for their move to school.
Infants and toddlers have opportunities to explore and participate in centre activities. Teachers promote tuakana teina relationships and older children support their younger friends.
Further work is required to improve teaching and assessment practices. Systems to monitor health and safety procedures and the review of centre policies should be fully implemented to ensure that legislative requirements are consistently met.
Creating a co-ordinated approach to assessment, planning and evaluation that is responsive to individual children continues to be a priority. This includes the development of clear expectations to guide teacher practice. This was a finding in the previous ERO report. Children's learning stories record their participation in centre activities. They reflect the aspirations that parents and whānau hold for their children. Leaders are continuing to explore strategies that support teachers to improve assessment, planning and evaluation of children’s learning.
Use of the recently revised appraisal system should be further strengthened and consistently implemented to ensure that it meets the requirements of the Teaching Council. This should include:
Internal evaluation that leads to some change is established. The services manager is providing leadership and teachers are beginning to inquire into their practice and to identify areas for improvement. Developing the teaching team's evaluative capacity to measure the quality and value of programmes and operation remains a priority. This has been an ongoing area for development in previous ERO reports.
The services manager recognises that teaching practice requires strengthening across the Little Sunbeams services. She has introduced some measures to increase teacher accountability and to improve consistency of practice. These initiatives are yet to be embedded. Clearer guidelines and expectations about practice are required to strengthen governance.
Priorities for the service are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Little Sunbeams Mayfair 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:
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:
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to governance, and health and safety. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas:
To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas:
To improve current practice, the early childhood service management should also ensure that:
Since the on-site stage of this evaluation the service has:
ERO recommends that the service, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, develops a plan to address the key next steps and actions outlined in this report.
The next ERO review of Little Sunbeams Mayfair will be within two years.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region
12 March 2019
The Education Review Office (ERO) is the government department that, as part of its work, reviews early childhood services throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. ERO’s reports provide information for parents and communities about each service’s strengths and next steps for development. ERO’s bicultural evaluation framework Ngā Pou Here is described in SECTION 3 of this report. Early childhood services are partners in the review process and are expected to make use of the review findings to enhance children's wellbeing and learning.
| Location | Hastings | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 55365 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 35 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 35 | ||
| Gender composition | Girls 18, Boys 17 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Other ethnic groups | 24 8 3 | |
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:5 | Meets minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:3 | Better than minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | November 2018 | ||
| Date of this report | 12 March 2019 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | January 2016 | |
| Education Review | November 2012 | ||
ERO’s overarching question for an early childhood education review is ‘How well placed is this service to promote positive learning outcomes for children?’ ERO focuses on the following factors as described in the bicultural framework Ngā Pou Here:
Pou Whakahaere – how the service determines its vision, philosophy and direction to ensure positive outcomes for children
Pou Ārahi – how leadership is enacted to enhance positive outcomes for children
Mātauranga – whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to achieve positive outcomes for children
Tikanga whakaako – how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity and support positive outcomes for children.
Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness of arotake – self review and of whanaungatanga – partnerships with parents and whānau.
ERO evaluates how well placed a service is to sustain good practice and make ongoing improvements for the benefit of all children at the service.
A focus for the government is that all children, especially priority learners, have an opportunity to benefit from quality early childhood education. ERO will report on how well each service promotes positive outcomes for all children, with a focus on children who are Māori, Pacific, have diverse needs, and are up to the age of two.
For more information about the framework and Ngā Pou Here refer to ERO’s Approach to Review in Early Childhood Services.
The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
ERO reviews are tailored to each service’s context and performance, within the overarching review framework. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to the service.