53 Owles Terrace, New Brighton, 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 |
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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.
Nova Montessori Children's house is located on the school grounds of Nova Montessori School, in New Brighton, Christchurch. The majority of children transition into the school. The service is governed by a trust and managed by co- principals. All kaiako are qualified.
Nova Montessori Children’s house is purpose built. The Montessori philosophy underpins the curriculum and has clear links to the principles of Te Whāriki – the early childhood curriculum. The environment is designed to be inviting, and calm to promote children’s learning and growth. Children are supported by kaiako to make choices about their own learning.
There are suitable systems for planning, assessment and evaluation of children’s learning and development. The service has a process of self-review to improve aspects of the curriculum and the service policies and operations.
Next steps include:
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008, HS7.
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
24 June 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Nova Montessori Children's House |
| Profile Number | 70057 |
| Location | Christchurch |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
30 children |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
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Service roll |
22 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 1, NZ European/Pākehā 8, Other ethnicities 13 |
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Review team on site |
March 2021 |
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Date of this report |
24 June 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 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.
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:
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Nova Montessori Children’s House is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Nova Montessori Children’s House is part of the collective school experience with both the Children’s House and the school sharing the same site. Nearly all of the children at the Children’s House continue their education at the Nova Montessori School.
Since the 2012 ERO review, the focus for the trustees has been on continuing to provide children and their families with a settled learning environment in the face of the significant ongoing impacts of the Canterbury earthquakes.
The trust has recently purchased the land and the buildings, on the current site, to provide greater security and sustainability for the Nova Montessori Children’s House and the school.
Children, families and teachers represent a diverse range of cultures. This includes two new teachers appointed in 2014. Some children travel considerable distances to attend the Children’s House.
The Montessori philosophy and the principles of Te Whāriki, the Early Childhood Curriculum, are inherent in the curriculum provided for children.
Leaders and teachers warmly welcome children and families each day as they greet them at the gate. This enables regular communication with each family and fosters positive relationships.
The Montessori philosophy is well embedded in the programme. There is a strong focus on promoting children’s independence, self-management and mastery of new skills. This is supported by:
Teachers model the philosophy of care and respect for one another and for children. They work with children in calm and unhurried ways.
Leaders and teachers value observations as a way of gaining a deeper understanding of children’s learning needs and informing individual planning and assessment. They provide a deliberate approach to building children’s critical thinking skills and knowledge base, including developing and extending children's oral language and vocabulary.
Other positive features of the programme include many opportunities for children to:
Excursions into the wider community and visiting speakers, invited into the school, enhance the curriculum offered to children.
Leaders and teachers value parent voice and have developed useful ways to involve parents more in the planning of their children’s learning.
Children benefit from a supportive and individualised approach to transition into the Children’s House and onto school. Effective practices that promote children's confidence and sense of belonging as they transition include:
The Nova Montessori Children's House is well led and managed by a strong, stable leadership team. Detailed, indepth self review, reflects leaders' deep understanding of Montessori pedagogy.
School leaders and ERO agree that the key next steps are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Nova Montessori Children's House 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 Nova Montessori Children's House will be in three years.
Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)
24 May 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 |
Christchurch |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
70057 |
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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 |
30 children, two years and over |
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Service roll |
19 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 12; Girls 7 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2016 |
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Date of this report |
24 May 2016 |
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Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
December 2012 |
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Education Review |
March 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.
ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review
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.