69 McFaddens Road, Shirley, Christchurch
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 |
Not meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified areas of non-compliance with regulatory standards that are an unacceptable risk to children.
Montessori STARS is a privately owned and operated early childhood education service. The owner and mentoring teacher oversees the day-to-day operation of the service. Staffing includes three Montessori trained teachers and a fully certificated teaching team. A small number of the children enrolled are Māori
Children are provided with experiences and opportunities to support their learning and development. Their preferences are respected. The curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It reflects the Montessori philosophy of respect and a focus on the prepared environment. Teachers engage in language rich interactions with children. There are regular opportunities for children to hear and speak te reo Māori.
The environment, premises and facilities support the provision of indoor and outdoor play and opportunities for small group interactions. Policies and procedures guide the operation of the service.
Updating documentation and greater monitoring of the implementation of aspects of health and safety is an ongoing requirement.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
evidence of how the evaluation of emergency drills has been used to inform the annual review of the service’s emergency management plan
daily hazard checks of equipment, premises, and facilities to include kitchen and laundry, windows and areas of glass and bodies or water
completion of the documentation required, when children leave the premises for an excursion includes the signature of the person responsible giving approval for the excursion to take place.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008: HS8, HS12, HS17.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
heavy fixtures and equipment that could topple and cause serious harm are secured [HS6]
maintaining full records of children’s sleep times [HS9]
a record of the names of the adults who are provided with training or information who administer medication to children (other than their own) while at the service [HS29]
a child protection policy that meets the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014, includes the provision for anyone to directly report abuse or neglect to relevant agencies [HS31]
the amount and details of expenditure of any Ministry of Education funding received by the service [GMA3]
processes for human resource management include a definition of serious misconduct. [GMA7]
ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence issued to this service provider. ERO will not undertake a further review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets regulatory standards.
The next ERO review will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Kathy Lye
Director Review and Improvement Services (Acting, Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
24 February 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Montessori STARS |
|
Profile Number |
65039 |
|
Location |
Christchurch |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
24 children |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
|
Service roll |
27 |
|
Review team on site |
November, 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
24 February 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, June 2018 |
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.
having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.
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:
curriculum
premises and facilities
health and safety practices
governance, management and administration.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulatory 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:
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; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
discussions with those involved in the service
consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Montessori St Albans Ltd is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for all children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Montessori St Albans Ltd was purchased by the new owner in July 2017. It previously operated as Learning Curves Montessori St Albans Ltd. The new owner has been employed at the centre for the last 15 years.
The centre provides education and care for up to 24 children from two years old to the age of six. The owner and nearly all staff are qualified early childhood teachers or are in the process of training to become qualified. All full-time staff hold Montessori qualifications. Nearly all staff have been employed at this centre since July 2017.
The centre is operating under the philosophy for Learning Curves Montessori St Albans Ltd. Key points in this philosophy identified by leaders as relevant for this centre include the provision of a well-integrated Montessori and Te Whāriki curriculum that respects the bicultural partnership of Te Tiriti O Waitangi. Leaders also identified the importance of keeping children central in decision making, fostering positive relationships and supporting teachers to be motivated and focused on improving learning and teaching.
Since purchasing the centre, and in consultation with children and parents, a major development for the leaders and staff has been the review and improvement of the outdoor area.
Children enjoy nurturing, respectful and reciprocal relationships with each other and their teachers. They are well supported to develop appropriate social skills, and to be inclusive and welcoming of others.
Children's home cultures, languages and identity are valued and well integrated into the programme. Teachers regularly recognise aspects of children's cultural heritages in the programme, including Māori, Pacific and Spanish. The inclusion of sign language is a positive feature of the programme.
Te reo and tikanga Māori are valued and well integrated into the programme. Some teachers are highly skilled and knowledgeable in this aspect of the curriculum. They willingly share this knowledge with the children and other staff. Children are enthusiastic about te ao Māori and Māori children are proud of their bicultural heritage.
Teachers effectively use the curriculum and children's interests to make learning meaningful, interesting and captivating. They use a wide range of carefully-considered strategies to extend children's thinking, problem solving and investigative skills. The thoughtful integration of Montessori and Te Whāriki approaches to learning and teaching is ensuring children experience a wide interwoven curriculum. This includes literacy, mathematics, and creative and physically challenging experiences.
Assessment and planning for individual children is well established, useful and consistent across the teaching team. Parent aspirations are regularly sought and included in children's goals and learning experiences. Plans are regularly evaluated to show children's progress and the effectiveness of learning and teaching approaches.
Internal evaluation is effectively contributing to well-considered improvements to learning, teaching and children's wellbeing and belonging. Evaluation is clearly based on well-researched evaluation theory and practice. The evaluation process includes a clear rationale, a well-planned and understood approach, and in-depth investigation and analysis of information. Action plans are carefully aligned to the analysed data findings. Evaluation of these outcomes is strongly focused on the impact on learning and teaching.
The leaders and teachers have established a high level of relational trust in the short time they have worked together. They share a commitment to providing high quality learning and teaching for all children. They work collaboratively and value the skills and strengths each teacher brings to the centre.
The leaders have identified, and ERO agrees, that the next key steps to improve learning and teaching include leaders and teachers:
Before the review, the staff and management of Montessori St Albans Ltd 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 Montessori St Albans Ltd will be in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region
27 June 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 |
Christchurch |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
65039 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
24 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
25 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 15 ; Girls 10 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Pacific Other |
2 18 1 4 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
N/A |
|
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
May 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
27 June 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
First Review for this centre |
||
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Learning Curves Montessori St Albans Ltd is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Learning Curves Montessori St Albans Ltd is one of four centres with the same owner. The owner and a teaching and operations manager maintain an oversight of, and provide support to, all four centres. This centre is licensed for up to 24 children aged from two years to school age. Children benefit from good child to teacher ratios that exceed minimum requirements. There have been some changes in staff and centre leadership since the September 2011 ERO review. The programme is strongly focused on Montessori activities.
This review was part of a cluster of four early childhood reviews in the Learning Curves Montessori Service.
The centre leaders and teachers know children well and are responsive to their interests and needs.
Teachers are respectful of children and involved in their play. They:
provide a wide range of resources, including Montessori specific equipment, and activities that are easily accessible to children
interact positively with children and support their learning
recognise and value children’s culture, language and identity.
There is strong communication between the centre, families and whānau. There is evidence of parent involvement in the programme and in children’s assessment conferences.
ERO observed examples of well-embedded mathematics in the programme.
The head teacher provides clear guidance to the teaching team. Teachers work respectfully together acknowledging each other’s cultures and needs. Teachers communicate openly and have good communication processes in place. Recent changes to the teacher appraisal system are helping staff reflect more regularly on the how well they interact with children and identify ways they can further improve their teaching. Managers and leaders provide specific and useful feedback to staff.
Teachers are focused on raising their knowledge and use of te reo and tikanga Māori. Some te reo Māori was heard in the programme particularly at the mat time before lunch.
The centre has made good links with a local school to enable children to have a group pre-visit.
There is a good overall framework for spontaneous and planned self review.
A clear management structure is supporting centre development. A useful policy and procedure framework is in place to guide the successful operation of the centre. Managers provide good support for centre leaders, and make effective use of staff strengths. They have good systems to inform them about the quality of the teaching, curriculum and operation in each centre. Managers are responsive to identified needs and external feedback.
The centre owner and the teaching and operations manager clearly articulate their expectations for high-quality teaching and learning. The next step is to better document these so they can be shared more easily with teachers, used to monitor and evaluate centre effectiveness, and guide future planning.
Teachers should review the effectiveness of:
the formal aspects of the centre’s literacy and mathematics practices, such as the regular use of teacher-prepared templates
the opportunities children have to make decisions about their learning.
The managers and ERO agree that other next steps include:
further developing aspects of assessment, planning and evaluation
helping teachers make their self-review practices more in-depth and focused on outcomes for children
increasing teachers' knowledge on Māori perspectives and making use of these in planning, assessment and self review
strengthening strategic planning at both the centre and service level.
Before the review, the staff and management of Learning Curves Montessori St Albans Ltd 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:
curriculum
premises and facilities
health and safety practices
governance, management and administration.
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 Learning Curves Montessori St Albans Ltd will be in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services Southern Region
5 November 2014
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 |
Shirley, Christchurch |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
65039 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education and Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
24 children aged two years and over |
||
|
Service roll |
28 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 18 Girls 10 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Samoan Asian |
2 23 1 2 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
||
|
Over 2 |
1:6 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
August 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
5 November 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
September 2011 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
June 2005 |
||
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.