47 Ludstone Road, Kaikoura
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 |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Little Tamariki Montessori Pre-school is privately owned and operated. The owner, along with two team leaders, are responsible for professional leadership and day-to-day operation of the service. A quarter of enrolled children are Māori and a small group have Pacific heritages. This is the service’s first review under new ownership.
The service’s curriculum is based on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and aspects of the Montessori philosophy. It is informed by individual children’s assessment, planning, and evaluation that show an understanding of children’s learning, their interests and whānau contexts. Aspects of te ao Māori are visible in the service’s philosophy, curriculum, and environment.
The design and layout of the premises support the provision of different types of indoor and outdoor experiences. This includes quiet places, areas for physically active play, and space for a range of individual and group learning experiences appropriate to the abilities of children attending.
Next steps include:
further developing assessment, planning and evaluation practices to show how learning outcomes from Te Whāriki are used to monitor children’s intended learning and their progress over time
strengthening the integration of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori in the bicultural curriculum, having regard for the Treaty of Waitangi, treaty-based practices, and the National Education Learning Priorities.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
25 October 2023
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Little Tamariki Montessori Pre-school |
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Profile Number |
65200 |
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Location |
Kaikōura |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
39 children, including up to 9 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
48 |
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Review team on site |
July 2023 |
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Date of this report |
25 October 2023 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, June 2016; Education Review, December 2012 |
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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Little Tamariki Montessori Preschool is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Little Tamariki Montessori Ltd is a privately owned and operated centre in the township of Kaikoura. It is a long-established service that provides care and education for infants and toddlers to school age within two mixed age group settings. There are separate indoor and outdoor areas for each age group.
The centre's programme is based on a blend of the Montessori philosophy and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
The owner, manager and teachers have made good progress in addressing most of the areas for development identified in the 2012 ERO review. They have made increased connections with the local Māori community and strengthened aspects of assessments and evaluation practices.
Children, parents and whānau are warmly welcomed into the centre. Teachers are nurturing, caring and supportive of children’s sense of belonging and wellbeing. Children benefit from predictable and well-paced routines and respectful interactions. Teachers are highly responsive to the interests, needs and capabilities of individual children.
Managers and teachers have a shared philosophy and ways of working with children. They are focused on continuous improvement and providing positive outcomes for children and their families.
Children learn in attractive, well organised environments that reflect the natural world. They have easy access to a wide range of high quality resources that provide different challenges to extend on their learning. Teachers carefully consider ways to support children's independence. They place a strong emphasis on naturally integrating literacy and mathematics within the learning programme.
Children are encouraged to explore and make discoveries in interesting and well-considered outdoor areas. Teachers notice and respond to individual children’s developing physical skills. They make good use of the local community and natural environment to extend the learning programme and opportunities for children's physical activity. The centre manager has long-term plans to significantly extend the property and provision for physical challenges for older children.
Teachers work closely in partnership with parents. They regularly share information to support children’s learning and wellbeing. Parents are kept well informed about their children’s involvement in a variety of interesting learning experiences through regular communication and attractive profile books.
The manager and teachers have extended their links to external agencies, other early childhood providers and local schools. This is supporting teachers' professional growth and opportunities to share good practice. Increasing links with the local Māori community have resulted in a deliberate focus on building bicultural practices across the centre.
Children's transitions into the centre and between rooms are individualised and flexible to meet the needs of children and their families. Teachers are building purposeful, professional relationships with schools. They ensure transition to school is graduated and planned. Parents are provided with useful information to support their child's transition to school.
The manager and head teachers support teachers to think deeply about their practice and make improvements. They regularly review aspects of the programme and their practices to ensure high quality care and a healthy and safe environment for children.
The centre manager, leaders and ERO agree that the key priorities are to:
further develop strategic planning, including implementing and evaluating annual action planning
strengthen the appraisal process to ensure the requirements of the Education Council are met
clarify some management roles and responsibilities
continue to extend aspects of internal evaluation
further develop and strengthen aspects of assessment, planning and evaluation.
The centre managers and teachers should also continue to give prominence to bicultural perspectives in key documentation.
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 centre manager agrees that priority should be given to updating centre policies and procedures to ensure they reflect the requirements of the Vulnerable Children Act.
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of Little Tamariki Montessori Pre-school Preschool will be in three years.
Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern
14 June 2016
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 |
Kaikoura |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
65200 |
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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 |
39 children, including up to 9 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
55 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 28; Girls 27 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Pacific Asian South American |
19 32 1 2 1 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
50-79% |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
April 2016 |
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Date of this report |
14 June 2016 |
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Most recent ERO reports
|
Education Review |
December 2012 |
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|
Education Review |
September 2009 |
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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.
Little Tamariki Montessori Preschool is well placed to continue to improve outcomes for children.
The centre is a privately owned service that is located in Kaikoura. The philosophy of the service is influenced by the ideas of Maria Montessori on child-centred learning and development. The programme also reflects Te Whāriki, the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum. The teachers have developed a shared vision about the quality of the service they want to provide.
The owner manages the centre while the team leaders provide professional leadership in each room. Children under two and a half have their own room and outdoor area which is separate from the areas for children over two and a half. The outdoor areas have been recently developed into attractive, stimulating spaces for a range of physical and imaginative activities.
The centre has made good progress since the 2009 ERO review. Improvements since then include:
Children are developing as confident, independent learners in the programme. The older children manage their own routines, make choices about their activities and concentrate for extended periods of time. They show respect for their environment by carefully putting away materials and resources after use. Children work happily with each other, supporting newer children as they come to understand the expectations and routines of the daily programme.
Teachers provide a good range of activities in the curriculum. The resources are carefully prepared to invite exploration and stimulate learning. Children’s art work is displayed on the walls and was being collated to create a calendar for families. Children have many opportunities to develop their language skills. For example, they are encouraged to recognise and use their names, learn about letters and sounds, and use songs and movement to remember words in English and te reo Māori. Mathematics, science and geography are integrated into learning in interesting ways. The current theme based on their home town was helping the children to understand their place in the local and wider world. Children can follow their interests and develop their ideas at their own pace during sessions.
Toddlers are very well supported as they settle into the centre and develop confidence in their surroundings. Teachers focus on supporting toddlers’ emotional wellbeing and help them to build trusting relationships with teachers and the other children. Planning is based on the children’s needs and stages of development. Learning stories capture moments of significant learning progress.
The programme prepares children very well for their transition to school. Children are confident learners able to manage themselves independently and maintain positive relationships with others. The programme for children over four extends their interests and skills in ways that engage them and give them a love of learning. The centre has particularly close links with the neighbouring school where the children use the playground and interact with the new entrant class from time to time.
The teaching teams are stable, experienced and are continuing to improve the quality of education and care. Teachers value professional learning and share their knowledge at team meetings and teacher-only days. Professional practice is supported by a well-developed appraisal process and good opportunities for further study and professional development. The manager uses equity funding to maintain low ratios of teachers to children and improve teachers’ access to professional development. The management team and the teaching teams aim to work in collaborative ways to benefit children. Recent professional development has led to a focus on providing a calm learning environment. This was evident in the unhurried way that teachers interacted with children, listening carefully to their ideas and giving them time to express themselves.
The leaders are making good use of self review to improve aspects of the service. A review of assessment records in 2011 led to greater consistency and clearer expectations of quality. The process teachers use is helping them to gather evidence, analyse their own practice and seek ideas from parents and whānau as part of reviews. Teachers later revisit changes and decide where further improvements can be made.
The manager and team leaders have identified, and ERO’s investigations confirmed, the following areas for further development:
ERO also found that further development of strategic planning processes is needed to bring a stronger focus on continuing to improve the overall quality of the service as well as maintaining business outcomes. Planned internal reviews of all aspects of the service would be strengthened by the development and use of clear indicators of quality. Strategic and annual planning also need to be clearly linked to programme objectives, curriculum reviews, appraisal processes and desired educational outcomes for children at the centre.
Before the review, the management of Little Tamariki Montessori Preschool completed an ERO Centre Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they select ‘have’ or ‘have not’ 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 is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services Southern Region
20 December 2012
|
Location |
Kaikoura |
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|
Ministry of Education profile number |
65200 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education and Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 |
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|
Number licensed for |
39 children, including up to 9 aged under two |
||
|
Service roll |
52 |
||
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Gender composition |
Girls 30; Boys 22 |
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Ethnic composition |
New Zealand European/Pākehā Māori Pacific |
41 9 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Exceeds minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Exceeds minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
November 2012 |
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Date of this report |
20 December 2012 |
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|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2009 |
The Education Review Office (ERO) is the New Zealand government department that reviews schools and early childhood services throughout New Zealand.
ERO's education reviews in early childhood services focus on the factors that contribute to positive learning outcomes for children. ERO evaluates how well placed the service is to make and sustain improvements for the benefit of all children at the service. To reach these findings ERO considers:
Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness of self review and partnerships with parents and whānau.
ERO reviews do not cover every aspect of service performance and each ERO report may cover different issues. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to the service.