47 Beauchamp Street, Karori, Wellington
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.
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 (PDF 3.01MB) are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric (PDF 91.30KB) derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Karori Childcare Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators | ERO’s judgement |
| What the service knows about outcomes for learners | Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains | ERO’s judgement |
He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning | Whakaū Embedding |
Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability | Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement | Whāngai Establishing |
Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement | Whakaū Embedding |
Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management | Whakaū Embedding |
Karori Childcare Centre is a small, community-based, not-for-profit early childhood service. It is governed by a parent committee and supported by a management committee and experienced centre manager. Recently there have been changes in the committees, and significant development of the outdoor area. Children from nine months to school age attend.
Children learn in a child led, play based curriculum, with an emphasis on physical activity and supporting their growing independence, creativity and exploration. Close communication with families focuses on care and wellbeing needs. For younger children this enhances their sense of belonging.
Teachers know the children very well and deliberately foster caring relationships between children. In learning records, they skillfully describe their learning and progress, and foreground their learning dispositions. Teachers are increasingly using the learning outcomes in Te Whariki, to plan more intentionally to extend children’s learning and respond to parents’ aspirations.
The manager has identified the need to incorporate into daily practice meaningful te ao Māori and te reo me ngā tikanga Māori to further strengthen the bicultural curriculum.
Children’s learning and wellbeing are enhanced through teachers’ participation in purposeful professional learning, and their individual and collective reflection on this and their teaching practice. The centre manager effectively supports teachers to work collaboratively, inquire into their practice and enact the centre’s philosophy and vision. Teachers’ capability and capacity continues to grow in doing and using internal evaluation to improve the curriculum.
Sound management and governance systems and practices support the smooth operation of the centre and ongoing improvement. This includes regular review of policies, procedures and related practices. A recent review of the governance has led to better separation of management and governance. Relational trust and effective communication between the leader, management and parent committees are evident.
Karori Childcare Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning. These are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Karori Childcare Centre 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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
14 June 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Karori Childcare Centre |
| Profile Number | 60202 |
| Profile Number | Wellington |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 25 children, including up to 8 aged under 2. |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80%+ |
| Service roll | 31 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 1, NZ European/Pākehā 22, Asian 4, Other ethnicities 4. |
| Review team on site | March 2021 |
| Date of this report | 14 June 2021 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, August 2017; Education Review, June 2014. |
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Karori Childcare Centre caters for children up to five years of age. A parent cooperative has oversight of the governance and management of the centre. Six teachers are employed to oversee the educational programme.
The centre is licensed for a maximum of 25 children including eight up to the age of two years. At the time of the review 35 children were enrolled.
The vision and philosophy of the centre reflect the importance of children learning through free play. The commitment of the staff to this principle is evident in their daily practice. The senior teacher is focused on building the teaching team and the ongoing improvement of the learning environment.
Committee members acknowledge the importance of encouraging greater parent involvement in governance roles to support the long-term sustainability of the centre. Committee members and leaders responded positively to areas for development identified in the June 2014 ERO report.
Relationships are positive, caring and supportive. Teachers use a range of effective strategies to engage and support children in purposeful and sustained play. They actively involve themselves in children's learning, through developing meaningful, respectful conversations that promote thinking, problem solving and exploration.
Children learn in a rich, interesting environment that enables them to play, use their creativity and imagination, and develop their sense of responsibility. Outdoor spaces provide many opportunities to participate in more active play. Indoor areas are well set out with a range of equipment and materials available.
Teachers working with infants and toddlers provide a suitable programme and environment for these youngest learners. Routines are flexible and responsive. Children's preferences for teachers are respected. They benefit from regular interactions with others.
Planning and assessment is responsive to children’s interests and strengths. Portfolios provide a record of learning, participation and development. Reviewing and strengthening how these records show progress in learning over time is a next step.
The centre's well-articulated philosophy is evident in practice. Literacy and numeracy experiences are naturally integrated into the programme. There is extensive use of local community resources and contexts.
There is recognition of the need to strengthen te reo me ngā tikanga Māori in the learning programme and understanding of te ao Māori in the centre.
The senior teacher actively guides the development of a shared vision, building a collaborative staff working environment committed to the development of high quality teaching practices. A well-structured appraisal system supports teacher growth. Updating and reviewing centre policies to ensure they meet current legislative requirements is a focus for trustees and leaders.
There have been developments to strategic planning for the centre. Further refining this process to include desired outcomes for children and families is needed. ERO identified that a next step is for the service to enhance its internal evaluation capacity so that teachers and trustees are better able to measure the effectiveness of their practices.
ERO and centre leaders agree that key areas for development include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Karori Childcare Centre 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.
The next ERO review of Karori Childcare Centre will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
31 August 2017
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 | Wellington | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 60202 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 25 children, including up to 8 aged up to 2 | ||
| Service roll | 35 | ||
| Gender composition | Girls 23, Boys 12 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Other ethnic groups | 2 24 9 | |
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:3 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:7 | Better than minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | July 2017 | ||
| Date of this report | 31 August 2017 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | June 2014 | |
| Supplementary Review | April 2011 | ||
| Supplementary Review | April 2010 | ||
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.