796 Main North Road, Belfast
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 |
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Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed non-compliances and is now taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Creative Cubs Belfast is a privately owned education and care service. The owner is supported by a centre manager and a qualified teaching team. Previously known as ABC Belfast, it has been re-licensed and under new ownership since January 2020. This is the centre’s first ERO review as Creative Cubs Belfast.
Children experience a free-play programme that reflects the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Teachers engage in meaningful interactions to enhance learning and nurture reciprocal relationships to support children’s sense of belonging. Infants and toddlers learn in a calm, unhurried programme in which they have time to explore. The creative and expressive arts and children’s learning is encouraged through planned and spontaneous experiences. Parents and whānau contribute to their children’s learning and to the service operations. Health and safety procedures are monitored, and changes made when required. A policy framework and annual plan guide centre operations.
Next steps include:
increasing the opportunities for children to hear, speak and experience te reo me ngā tikanga Māori in meaningful learning contexts
strengthening intentional teaching practice to promote and celebrate the language, culture and identity of all children.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
the excursion form template did not allow for the recording of adults’ names
no evidence that the amount and details of the expenditure of any Ministry of Education funding received by the service were reported to the parents.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008; HS17, GMA3.
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
21 March 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Creative Cubs Belfast |
| Profile Number | 65009 |
| Location: | Christchurch |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
40 children, including up to 10 aged under 2. |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
45 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 4, NZ European/Pākehā 31, Other ethnic groups 10 |
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Review team on site |
October 2021 |
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Date of this report |
21 March 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, February 2017; Education Review, July 2013. |
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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.
ABC Belfast is owned and operated by BestStart Educare Ltd. The centre provides full-day education and care for up to 45 children from two years old to school age. Older children are in the Mana Nui room and younger children are in the Kiwi room. The centre is located in the heart of the Belfast community and is actively involved in community events. A cook is employed to provide meals and the centre has recently achieved the whānau level of the Healthy Heart Award.
A centre manager and head teacher form the leadership team. A BestStart Business manager and BestStart Professional Services manager visit regularly to support the service. All teachers are qualified, or in training to become registered early childhood teachers.
Since the 2013 Education Review, there have been a number of staff changes. A new centre manager, head teacher and more recently BestStart managers have been appointed. Good progress has been made in addressing the recommendations of the 2013 report. This includes strengthening systems for planning assessment and evaluation, improving the outdoor play area and giving children greater choice about their involvement in group times.
This review was part of a cluster of six reviews in the Best Start Group in Canterbury.
Children learn in an environment where respect is modelled and given high priority. This is evident in:
the respectful relationships teachers have with children and their whānau
the strong friendships children have with one another
the way the play areas and resources are thoughtfully presented and well cared for.
Children, including those who need additional support in their learning, benefit from an interesting programme that is based on the principles and strands of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Teachers know children well and use their interests as the starting point for planning for learning. They provide a wide range of relevant experiences, outings and visitors to the centre that build on and extend children's learning.
Teachers are creating a strong sense of belonging for children and their families. This is evident in the way some families feel comfortable to share their skills and spend time with their children at the centre. Teachers ensure smooth transitions into and out of the centre that contribute to children's wellbeing and learning. This includes providing a 'be school ready' programme and developing closer links with the local school. Children of all ages have opportunities to experience meaningful early literacy and mathematics through their everyday play.
Teachers are making very good progress towards their goal of providing a programme that reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. This is helping all children to develop knowledge and understanding of the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand. Teachers should continue to strengthen their work in this area.
Ongoing development has led to clear and well understood systems for planning assessment and evaluation. Leaders identified that assessments would be further strengthened by continuing to seek and respond to parents' aspirations for their children.
The centre manager is fostering and developing collaborative teamwork. There is a strong culture of improvement and critical reflection. The centre manager and BestStart professional services manager are supporting all staff to build their confidence and understanding of internal evaluation. Internal evaluation practices would be strengthened by having an evaluative focus and by using indicators at all stages of the evaluation.
The philosophy and strategic plan give useful guidance for decision making and outline the direction for the service. When the philosophy is next reviewed it should also include the agreed desired learning outcomes for their children. There is also the potential to include key Māori values that are important in the centre.
There are well-developed systems and processes in place to help services achieve BestStart expectations for high quality education and care. This includes regular monitoring and support for the quality of practice and identifying what is going well and what the centre needs to do next to improve. A strengthened appraisal system leading to greater reflection is in place and would be further enhanced by making links to Tātaiako, the Māori cultural competencies. Professional learning is promoted at all levels of the organisation.
ERO and the centre leaders agree the key next steps to improve outcomes for children are to:
clarify the service's desired outcomes for children and ensure these are embedded in key documents such as the philosophy
refine aspects of planning and assessment practices
continue to develop all teachers' understanding and use of internal evaluation.
Before the review, the staff and management of ABC Belfast 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.
The next ERO review of ABC Belfast will be in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Te Waipounamu)
7 February 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.
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Location |
Christchurch |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
65009 |
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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 |
45 children over two years of age |
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Service roll |
38 |
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Gender composition |
Boys: 23 Girls: 15 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese |
3 33 2 |
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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 |
N/A |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
November 2016 |
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Date of this report |
7 February 2017 |
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Most recent ERO reports
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Education Review |
July 2013 |
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Education Review |
December 2009 |
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Education Review |
December 2006 |
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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:
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 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.