Poimaino 6 Homebased Childcare

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.

ERO’s Judgement

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.

Background

Poimaino 6 Homebased Childcare is one of six home-based education and care networks governed and operated by Poimaino Homebased Childcare Services Limited. The service is led by the owner with the support of a qualified coordinator. This network is quality-funded. Most of the educators are family members of the children who attend. All of the children enrolled are of Tongan heritage.

Summary of Review Findings

The service curriculum provides a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning. It supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture and encourages children to understand and respect other cultures.

Educators providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Children are provided with a range of experiences to enhance and extend their learning, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups.

Ongoing monitoring of practices and systems is required to ensure regulatory standards are maintained.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include the coordinator and educators:

• providing increased opportunities for children to lead their own learning

• strengthening the inclusion of children’s perspectives in assessment, planning and evaluation records.

Actions for Compliance

During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following
non-compliances:

• Having a procedure for monitoring children’s sleep that includes that children are checked for warmth, breathing, and general well-being at least every 10 – 15 minutes (during day-time sleep) or more frequently according to individual needs (HS8).

• Ensuring equipment, premises and facilities are checked on every day of operation for hazards to children that includes vandalism, dangerous objects, and foreign materials (HS11).

• Ensuring that whenever children leave the premises on an excursion, a record of excursions undertaken includes the method of travel (HS14).

• Ensuring that if children travel in a motor vehicle while in the care of the service, written permission of a parent of the child is obtained before travel begins (HS15).

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

28 March 2023 

Information About the Service

General Information about Assurance Reviews

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 license to operate.

ERO undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

• 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.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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.