73 Prince Regent Drive, Half Moon Bay, Auckland
View on mapLittle Angels Childcare& Learning Centre
Little Angels Childcare & Learning Centre
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
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
Curriculum |
Meeting |
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
Health and safety |
Meeting |
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.
Background
The service is privately owned and provides education and care for children up to school age. The owner/centre manager is a qualified early childhood teacher. She works alongside a team of three other qualified teachers and two teachers in training.
Summary of Review Findings
Children are provided with a range of experiences and opportunities to extend their learning and development, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups. Their preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning experiences. The service’s inclusive curriculum is responsive to children as confident and competent learners.
Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships.
A sufficient quantity and variety of furniture, equipment and materials are provided that is appropriate for the learning and abilities of the children attending.
Compliance
Since the onsite review the service has addressed the following non-compliances:
- having a process for reviewing and evaluating the service’s operations (GMA6)
- suitable human resource management practices are implemented (GMA7)
- all children’s workers who have access to children are safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014 (GMA7A)
- a record of emergency drills is carried out and evidence of how evaluation of the drills has informed the annual review of the service’s emergency plan (HS8)
- a record of the time each child attending the service sleeps, and checks made by adults during that time (HS9)
- daily hazards check of equipment, premises and facilities that include all considerations of hazards as part of the HS12 requirement and a documented risk assessment system (HS12)
- a record of all medicine (prescription and non-prescription) given to children and evidence of parental acknowledgement (HS28)
- displaying the current Annual Building Warrant of Fitness (PF3)
- sufficient spaces for equipment and materials to be stored safely (PF8)
- a toilet suitable for adults to use (PF23)
- a procedure displayed outlining how the service will ensure hygiene and infection control outcomes are met when washing sick and soiled children (PF26).
Next ERO Review
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
13 July 2021
Information About the Service
Early Childhood Service Name | Little Angels Childcare and Learning Centre |
Profile Number | 10113 |
Location | Half Moon Bay, Auckland |
Service type |
Education and care service |
Number licensed for |
22 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
Service roll |
23 |
Ethnic composition |
Māori 2 |
Review team on site |
May 2021 |
Date of this report |
13 July 2021 |
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, December 2016 |
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 licence 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 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:
- 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 certification; ratios)
- evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
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.
Little Angels Childcare& Learning Centre - 19/12/2016
1 Evaluation of Little Angels Childcare & Learning Centre
How well placed is Little Angels Childcare & Learning Centre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Background
Little Angels Childcare Learning Centre provides all day education and care for up to 22 children, including five children up to two years of age. The centre is privately owned and operates from a purpose built facility in Auckland's eastern suburbs.
The owner, a registered early childhood teacher, is responsible for daily management and leadership of the centre. Children are cared for and learn in mixed-aged settings that include a well organised and attractive outdoor area, an indoor/outdoor area and an indoor area separated into discrete spaces for children to explore. The centre has a well established teaching team. Teachers have built close relationships with families over time.
The centre's 2013 ERO report noted that children enjoyed an inclusive and caring family atmosphere in a well resourced environment. Areas identified for improvement included improving programme documentation and strengthening self-review practices. Good progress has been made in these areas.
The Review Findings
Children are settled and are familiar with routines. They have a strong sense of belonging and ownership in the family oriented environment. Children have trusting and respectful relationships with caring and nurturing teachers.
Children are confident explorers and their creativity is encouraged. Attentive teachers support children to interact with their peers and adults. Children are confident communicators who socialise well with others. They care for each other and help younger children to participate in the programme.
Children make full use of the aesthetically pleasing and interest provoking environment. They have good access to a variety of high quality resources made of natural materials. The spacious outside area offers a range of interesting challenges that promote the growth of children's physical skills and confidence. The indoor area is made up of inviting spaces which inspire children's curiosity.
Teachers skilfully work alongside children. They respond to children's interests and are aware of each child's learning dispositions and knowledge. Teachers regularly plan together to ensure they notice each child's emerging interests and then develop individual learning programmes to extend children's learning.
Teachers believe in children as capable, confident learners. They regularly record children's learning and collate these stories and photographs in individual assessment portfolios. These records show parents the development of their child's learning dispositions and skills over time and enable children to revisit their experiences. Teachers continue to work at improving the quality of assessment by focusing on how well they document the learning journeys of individual children.
The centre leader and teachers are inclusive of all children and their whānau. They listen to children with warmth and understanding and continually build respectful relationships and positive supportive partnerships with parents. The centre leader and teachers focus on the development of the whole child. Teaching practices support children's ongoing learning and wellbeing.
The centre leader is continually refining administrative systems to ensure that management and leadership operations are transparent and relevant. She recognises the benefits of aligning teachers' appraisal goals with the centre's long term goals while maintaining an overall focus on improving outcomes for children. The centre leader knows the capabilities of teachers and continues to build their capacity by providing leadership opportunities.
Key Next Steps
The centre leader agrees the priorities for centre development include:
- More clearly aligning teacher appraisal goals and annual goals with long term planning goals
- continuing to review the quality of programme planning and the effectiveness of internal evaluation.
Management Assurance on Legal Requirements
Before the review, the staff and management of Little Angels Childcare & Learning Centre 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.
To improve current practice, the manager should ensure there is a written child protection policy that meets the requirements of the Vulnerable Children's Act 2014.
Next ERO Review
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of Little Angels Childcare & Learning Centre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
19 December 2016
The Purpose of ERO Reports
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.
2 Information about the Early Childhood Service
Location |
Half Moon Bay, Auckland |
||
Ministry of Education profile number |
10113 |
||
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
Number licensed for |
22 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
||
Service roll |
24 |
||
Gender composition |
Boys 12 |
||
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
21 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
Over 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
September 2016 |
||
Date of this report |
19 December 2016 |
||
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
June 2013 |
|
Education Review |
April 2010 |
||
Education Review |
April 2007 |
3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews
ERO’s Evaluation Framework
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:
- Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
- Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
- Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
- Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
Review Coverage
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.