Happy Turtle 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

At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

This is the first ERO review of Happy Turtle Childcare, which opened in 2020. Two directors and a manager oversee the governance of the service. Children attending have diverse cultural backgrounds. Twenty percent are Māori and there are a small number of Tongan children enrolled. There are three rooms for different age groups of children.

Summary of Review Findings

Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful interactions with children to nurture reciprocal relationships. The service’s curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It provides children with a range of experiences to explore and extend their learning and development.

The curriculum is inclusive, and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Children are encouraged to understand and respect other cultures. Their preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning experiences.

A philosophy statement guides the service’s operation. The aspirations of parents/whānau for their children are respected. An ongoing process of self-review helps the service maintain and improve the quality of its education and care.

Key Next Steps

A key next step is for teachers to develop a shared understanding of how to effectively plan, assess and evaluate the curriculum to enhance children’s ongoing learning.

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

4 March 2022 

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 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.