50 Harley Street, Masterton
View on mapERO’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.
Ōhua is a family-owned service that provides education and care for children from birth to school age in a mixed aged setting. One of the owners works as centre manager and teacher to support and oversee the teaching team. This is the first ERO review under new ownership.
The service curriculum is based on Te Marautanga o Kahungungu ki Wairarapa and acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. It is inclusive and a sense of manaakitanga and whanaungatanga is reflected in interactions between kaiako, tamariki and whānau. Tamariki are viewed as confident and competent learners. A range of play experiences and resources are provided that are appropriate for the learning abilities of the children attending. Health and safety procedures are monitored, and changes made when required. Whānau contribute to the development of the service’s operational documents such as philosophy, policies, procedures, and curriculum.
Next steps include for all kaiako to:
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
11 April 2022
| Early Childhood Service Name | Ōhua |
| Profile Number | 60109 |
| Location | Masterton |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 27 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 100% |
| Service roll | 34 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 18, NZ European/Pākehā 15, Other ethnic groups 1 |
| Review team on site | January 2022 |
| Date of this report | 11 April 2022 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, December 2018; 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:
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Speckled Frog Preschool is a privately owned early learning service. It is licensed for 27 children, including 15 aged up to two years. The owner/manager oversees the day-to-day operation of the centre. A manager is responsible for curriculum and teacher development. Team leaders oversee the two separate learning areas.
Since the January 2016 ERO report, there have been some staff changes. The owner is currently in the process of building another early childhood centre at a different site.
The previous ERO review report identified a number of key next steps in relation to: assessment, planning and evaluation; success for Māori; staff appraisals; children's transitions; internal evaluation; and aspects of the curriculum. The centre has made some progress in addressing these, however, further development is needed.
Aspects of the centre's philosophy are evident in practice. Children are engaged in a programme based on their interests. Parents and whānau are warmly welcomed. Children participate enthusiastically in a range of learning experiences. They work well together problem solving, taking risks and having fun. A recent focus on sustainability is supporting them to learn about their role in looking after the environment.
Teachers ensure a calm, slow pace in which younger children have the space and time they need to engage in learning. Communication books provide useful links between home and the centre, supporting their care routines and daily needs.
Teachers work with a range of external agencies to assist children who require additional learning support to achieve their goals. There has been a deliberate focus on developing strategies to support these children's transition pathways.
Children do not have a curriculum that maintains connection to their culture, language and identity. Te reo me ngā tikanga Māori are apparent but are not embedded in practice. Teachers have identified that strengthening understanding of educational success for Māori is an important next step for them. This was an area for development in ERO's 2014 and 2016 reports.
A variable approach to planning for learning is in place. Centre leaders have identified a need to develop the quality of teachers’ approach to assessment, planning and evaluation of children’s learning. Creating a coordinated and consistent approach that is responsive to individual children, is a key next step. This includes the development of clear expectations to guide teacher practice. This was a finding in the January 2016 ERO report.
Support for teacher's development needs strengthening. The improvements evident in the previous ERO report have not been sustained. The appraisal process does not yet follow Education Council guidelines. Urgency is required to implement an approach that includes:
the setting of meaningful development goals
observations of teacher practice and useful feedback about next steps
documentation of appraisal meetings
guidelines to support implementation
tracking and monitoring of teaching practice.
Internal evaluation is in the early stages of implementation. This has been an ongoing area for improvement in previous ERO reports. Teachers should continue to strengthen their knowledge and understanding of inquiry and evaluation. This should help them to monitor the effectiveness of centre operation and practice and guide decision-making about change.
Clearer guidelines and expectations about practice are required to strengthen governance. A management assurance process that monitors the quality and implementation of policies and procedures, and compliance with legislative requirements should be put in place.
Leaders and ERO agree that the priorities are to:
further develop consistent assessment, planning and evaluation practices that respond to the learning needs of individuals
strengthen the bicultural curriculum and teachers' knowledge and understanding of educational success for Māori
improve the appraisal
develop shared understanding and use of internal evaluation
strengthen knowledge and understanding of mandatory regulatory requirements
implement an effective quality assurance process.
Before the review, the staff and management of Speckled Frog Preschool 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:
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 registration; ratios)
evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
ERO found significant areas of non-compliance in the service relating to governance, and health and safety. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas:
strengthen record keeping in relation to appraisal, excursions, medication, earthquake drills
ensure that documentation essential to centre operation is kept to meet regulatory requirements
ensure suitable resource management practices are implemented, including appraisal.
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS17, HS28, HS8, and GMA 7]
ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence of Speckled Frog Preschool. ERO will not undertake a further education review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets licensing requirements.
The next ERO review of Speckled Frog Preschool will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services Southern Region
18 December 2018
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.
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Location |
Masterton |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
60109 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
27 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
33 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 17, Boys 16 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
4 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
October 2018 |
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Date of this report |
18 December 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
January 2016 |
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Supplementary Review |
January 2014 |
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Education Review |
August 2012 |
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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:
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 and the timing of the next review will depend on how well placed a service is to promote 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.