129-131 Moire Road, West Harbour, Auckland
View on mapAkarangi | Quality Evaluations evaluate the extent to which early childhood services have the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama Indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most and Early Childhood Education (ECE) Improvement Framework (teacher led services) are the basis for making judgements about the quality of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Evaluations for improvement | Ngā Aronga Whai Hua is integrated across all of the above domains.
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.
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.
Aspirations Early Learning Centre is one of two services under the same ownership. The owner is responsible for governance, management, and daily operations. Approximately 35 percent of children enrolled are either Māori or have Pacific heritages. This is the first ERO review of the service since a change of ownership in 2021.
The design and layout of the premises support the provision of different types of indoor and outdoor experiences. The environment includes quiet spaces, areas for physically active play, and spaces for a range of individual and group learning experiences that enhance children’s learning.
The curriculum respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture, and encourages children to understand and respect each other.
Teachers providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Children are supported to develop social competence skills and an understanding of appropriate behaviour.
Leaders need to more closely monitor systems and practices to ensure regulatory standards are maintained.
Next steps include:
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
2 November 2023
| Early Childhood Service Name | Aspirations Early Learning Centre |
| Profile Number | 20529 |
| Location | West Harbour, Auckland |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 70 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80-99% |
| Service roll | 69 |
| Review team on site | October 2023 |
| Date of this report | 2 November 2023 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Previously reviewed as West Harbour Whizz Kidz: Education Review, February 2018; Supplementary Review, June 2014 |
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 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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
West Harbour Whizz Kidz is licensed to provide all day care and education for up to 66 children including 20 aged under two years. Children aged under three have their own separate indoor and outdoor play spaces. Children come from an increasingly diverse range of cultural backgrounds.
The centre owner manages the centre. She leads a team of four other qualified teachers, one teacher in training and one unqualified teacher.
The philosophy of the service is strongly based on children learning through play, and recognises each child as unique. Teachers acknowledge their responsibility towards honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and ensuring that the culture, language and identity of Māori are protected and enhanced. The development of positive, respectful relationships with children and their whānau is important to the teaching team.
Key next steps from the 2014 ERO report included the development of strategic planning, strengthening parent contributions, and a review of teacher led aspects of the programme. There has been good progress in these areas. Centre leaders and teachers continue to work with an external professional development provider to establish a robust internal evaluation process.
Children display a sense of belonging in the centre environment. Centre routines allow for long periods of uninterrupted play. This allows older children to engage in imaginative and dramatic play where they set the scene, negotiate roles and learn to play co-operatively together. Strong friendships among the children are evident.
Children under three are well supported by teachers to make decisions about their play, and to be independent and responsible. Children are well respected. The relaxed pace of the programme allows all children to take their time, and to initiate and make decisions about their play.
Te ao Māori perspectives are becoming more widely included in programme planning as teachers' bicultural knowledge and confidence grows. Some teachers are skilled in their knowledge of te reo Māori, and include words and phrases in children's portfolios. Teachers could consider how they might use te reo more in their daily interactions with children and each other.
Teachers have established positive, sensitive and responsive relationships with children. They genuinely listen to them, encouraging and respecting their verbal language and conversations. Teachers recognise and support children's interests in literacy and mathematics at an individual level. They make links across time and activities to revisit children's ideas and interests.
Parents who spoke with ERO acknowledged the positive relationships established with centre staff, and the regular information they received about their child's learning. Parent aspirations for their children's learning are visible in programme planning processes.
Children's portfolios are individual to each child. They show continuity of learning, and are easily accessible to children and whānau. Teachers analyse learning stories well to identify individual learning, and to plan possible learning pathways that support more complex thinking. Curriculum planning and evaluation processes continue to evolve as the team undertakes ongoing professional development in this area.
Teachers are committed to teaching and learning that creates positive outcomes for children. The teaching team is becoming collaborative, and teachers are encouraged to contribute to an organisational culture of continual improvement. The manager provides good opportunities for teachers to develop professionally.
The manager has established annual and strategic plans, in consultation with teachers that will guide centre direction. The vision and mission statements are evident in teachers' and manager's practice. Managers should continue developing systems for ongoing review, and policies and procedures that meet current legislative requirements.
Centre leaders have discussed with ERO key next steps that include:
Before the review, the staff and management of West Harbour Whizz Kidz 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.
A systematic and prioritised review plan needs to be established to ensure centre policies and procedures continue to meet current legislation.
The next ERO review of West Harbour Whizz Kidz will be in three years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
22 February 2018
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.
| Location | West Harbour, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 20529 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 66 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 43 | ||
| Gender composition | Boys 22 Girls 21 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Chinese Filipino Indian other | 11 18 3 2 2 7 | |
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:4 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:8 | Better than minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | January 2018 | ||
| Date of this report | 22 February 2018 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | June 2014 | |
| Education Review | May 2013 | ||
| Education Review | March 2010 | ||
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:
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.