3 McDonald Crescent, Wellington CBD, 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.
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.
Capital City Preschool is a community-based service in central Wellington. A parent-led board provides governance. A centre manager and operations manager provide day-to-day management. The November 2018 report identified areas requiring further development, including aspects of health and safety, governance, management and administration.
The service curriculum is inclusive. Children experience positive, respectful interactions with adults. They have opportunities to develop an understanding of the dual cultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand. Strategies are in place to involve parents and whānau in their children’s learning. A policy framework and annual planning guides centre operation. Teacher appraisal and internal evaluation processes are established. Health and safety procedures are monitored and changes made when required. The premises and facilities are resourced to provide for the learning and abilities of the children attending.
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
18 March 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Capital City Preschool |
| Profile Number | 60346 |
| Location | Wellington |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 30 children aged over 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80%+ |
| Service roll | 28 |
| Gender composition | Male 17, Female 11 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 2, NZ European/Pākehā 6, Indian 5, other ethnicities 15 |
| Review team on site | October 2020 |
| Date of this report | 18 March 2021 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review; November 2018, Education Review; October 2015 |
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 |
The October 2015 report identified a number of areas for development. There is limited evidence to show these were adequately addressed and they remain a priority for improvement.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Capital City Preschool is a community-based early childhood service, situated in Wellington's central business district. The centre provides education and care for 30 children from three to five years of age. It serves a diverse community. At the time of this review, twelve of the children come from backgrounds where English is not the first language spoken at home.
A board of parents provides oversight of strategic planning, financial management, personnel and policy development. Day-to-day management is the responsibility of the centre manager and the operations manager who support the teaching team.
The staffing team is well established and the majority of teachers are trained and registered. Since the October 2015 ERO report, two teachers have joined the staff and one is provisionally registered. External expertise is provided by specialist music and yoga teachers who support the learning programme.
The centre's philosophy is to 'provide excellent education and care for children, help them fulfil their potential and facilitate their progress to school and the wider world'.
Key next steps identified in the previous ERO report to be given priority included: play-based curriculum; bicultural perspective; assessment for learning; understanding of self review; developing and refining the board's governance roles and responsibilities.
While some progress is evident, priorities for ongoing development continue to include: bicultural perspective; assessment for learning; understanding of self review and internal evaluation.
Teachers are welcoming and responsive to children and their families. Children's independence is promoted and they are encouraged to make choices and decisions about their learning experiences. They play cooperatively with their peers and engage in sustained play. Teachers use a range of strategies to work appropriately alongside children. They recognise and respond to opportunities to engage in and extend children's learning. Literacy and numeracy are integrated into programmes. Routines are well established and consistently implemented giving children confidence and security.
Children with additional needs are well provided for and teachers access external support when necessary.
Opportunities are provided for children to participate in aspects of tikanga Māori. Teachers are committed to strengthening their use of te reo Māori and have recently participated in professional learning and development (PLD) in bicultural practices. A next step is to plan a more strategic approach to enabling educational success as Māori. This is not yet evident in practice.
Assessment shows that teachers observe children's interests and, at times, recognise the learning. Information about children's progress and wellbeing is regularly shared with parents and whānau and their responses are welcomed. A more consistent approach to assessment is required to better reflect:
Teachers have indicated that they intend to undertake some PLD focused on Te Whāriki: Early Childhood Curriculum 2017. Implementing this new learning so that it is reflected in centre practices should lead to a richer understanding of the curriculum and enhanced learning outcomes.
It is timely for the appraisal policy to be reviewed to include a clear procedure that focuses on improving practice and outcomes for children. Consideration should be given to:
Teachers are improvement focused and regularly reflect on their practice. Internal evaluation is in the early stages of development. A more strategic, in-depth approach, focused on evaluation, should strengthen decision making and improve outcomes for children.
A distributed model of leadership enables teachers to take on additional responsibilities and grow their role. Further consideration should be given to how leaders can more effectively monitor practices such as assessment, appraisal and internal evaluation.
The board of trustees has recently engaged in PLD related to their roles and responsibilities.
Leaders and ERO agree on the following key next steps for the service:
Before the review, the staff and management of Capital City 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:
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 its licence. In order to address this, the board of trustees must:
To improve practice Capital City Preschool should establish systems to:
Since the on-site phase of the review, the service has developed processes to monitor medications and document excursions.
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 Capital City Preschool will be within two years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review & Improvement Services
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
6 November 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.
| Location | Wellington | |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 60346 | |
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | |
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | |
| Number licensed for | 30 children aged over 2 | |
| Service roll | 30 | |
| Gender composition | Boys 15, Girls 15 | |
| Ethnic composition | Māori Asian Pākehā Other ethnic groups | 2 12 11 5 |
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates | 80% + | |
| Reported ratios of staff to children | 1:8 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Review team on site | July 2018 | |
| Date of this report | 6 November 2018 | |
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | October 2015 |
| Education Review | September 2012 | |
| Education Review | June 2009 | |
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.