7 Penihana Place, Mangere, Auckland
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 |
|
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.
Nurture and Bloom Early Learning Centre is owned, governed, and operated by two qualified directors. They are supported by a teaching team of seven qualified teachers, and 13 staff including an administrator and a cook. A quarter of the children enrolled are Māori and a third have Pacific heritage. This is the first ERO review of the service since a change of ownership in January 2021.
Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. It respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture and encourages children to understand and respect other cultures.
Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Information and guidance is sought, when necessary, from agencies/services to enable adults providing education and care to work effectively with children and their parents.
Consistent implementation of health and safety practices and systems for governance and management is required to meet regulatory standards.
During and since the onsite visit, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Having evidence of a current fire evacuation scheme approved by Fire and Emergency New Zealand (HS4).
Securing of heavy furniture, fixtures, and equipment that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage (HS6).
Having records of the time each child attending the service sleeps, and checks made by adults during that time (HS9).
Ensuring that furniture or items intended for children to sleep on (such as stretchers) and bedding are hygienically stored when not in use (HS11).
Maintaining a record of excursions, including evidence of the names of adults and children involved, parental permission and approval of adult:child ratios for special excursions and the signature of the person responsible for giving approval for the excursion to take place (HS17).
Having records of illnesses that occur at the service, including actions taken (HS27).
Having records of all medicine (prescription and non-prescription) given to children attending the service, including the name and amount of medicine given, and evidence of parental acknowledgement (HS28).
Having a process for human resource management including discipline/dismissal procedures (GMA7).
Maintaining a record of all safety checks and the results (GMA7A).
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
29 November 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Nurture and Bloom Early Learning Centre |
|
Profile Number |
25387 |
|
Location |
Mangere, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
115 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
94 |
|
Review team on site |
October 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
29 November 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Previously reviewed as LIFE Childcare Centre: |
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.
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.
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
LIFE Childcare Centre leaders and teachers would benefit from external support to improve the quality of teaching, the learning programme, leadership capacity and capability, and internal evaluation.
LIFE Childcare Centre requires further development to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
LIFE Childcare Centre provides full-day care and education for children. The centre is part of the LIFE Church organisation. It is licensed for 138 children, including up to 35 under two years of age. The largest groups of children are Māori, Samoan and Tongan. Nearly half of the children have English as an additional language.
The centre's philosophy upholds the LIFE Church values and emphasises acceptance and equity for all. Children learn and play in four age-related rooms. The two younger groups of children have their own outdoor areas, while the two older groups share an outdoor area.
Since the 2016 ERO review the service has re-structured leadership roles. A new centre manager and team leaders have been appointed and several of the teaching team are new. Other changes include extending the service's licence and upgrading the outdoor environment.
The 2016 ERO report identified improvements needed in planning, partnerships with parents and acknowledging the importance of bicultural practice and cultural diversity. These areas have yet to be fully addressed.
The service is a member of the Whakatipu Akoranga Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning.
Children and their families are warmly welcomed and experience positive and respectful relationships with teachers. Teachers make connections with parents/whānau and show care and concern for children's wellbeing. Parents of children with additional needs comment positively about the support given by teachers.
Infants are nurtured and encouraged to independently investigate their environment. Younger children have easy access to the outdoor area for their own exploration. Older children readily move around the centre exploring a range of activities set up for them. Children demonstrate great enthusiasm for times when they meet as a group for stories and food.
Teachers are building shared understandings about effective teaching and continue to review their practices to increase alignment with Te Whāriki, the revised early childhood curriculum. A next step for leaders and teachers is to ensure that learning opportunities encourage children to be curious and creative problem solvers.
Leaders and teachers should review provision in each of the areas of play, including science. Improved resourcing, supported by intentional teaching strategies, would help to deepen children's engagement and support them to be partners in planning their learning. Offering more complex learning challenges for older children would also support their interests and help them to guide their own learning.
Transitions into, through and out of the centre are generally well managed. Parents are kept informed about their children's participation in the learning programme. Parents comment positively about an online platform that the centre has introduced.
The governing board resources external professional learning and development for teachers. This external support is helping with change management, appraisal processes and support for new teachers. A useful strategic plan and a policy framework guide the centre's future direction. Reviewing the philosophy and aligning it with the strategic plan could further support with achieving the centre's valued outcomes for children.
Key next steps include:
seeking assistance to embed the expectations of Te Whāriki into daily practice
continuing to develop indicators of quality teaching practices expected at this centre, that align with the philosophy, and provide a guide for the teaching team in evaluating their practice
developing leadership roles and responsibilities and distributing leadership of the curriculum.
Leaders and teachers should deepen their critical reflection and understanding of robust internal evaluation in order to more effectively guide ongoing improvement in:
children's access to a meaningful and engaging programme, and the quality of the provision for infants and toddlers
teachers' assessment, planning and evaluation practices, and their responsiveness to children's interests, strengths and abilities
organisational culture, professional capability, and the quality of teaching and learning.
Before the review, the staff and management of LIFE Childcare 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:
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.
ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to curriculum. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas:
the use of assessment, planning, and evaluation that is responsive to children's learning, their interests, whānau, and life contexts, to inform curriculum development
practices of adults providing education and care demonstrate an understanding of children's learning and development, and knowledge of relevant theories and practice
a range of experiences and opportunities for children, to extend their learning and development.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, C1,4,9.
ERO recommends that the service, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, develops a plan to address the key next steps and actions outlined in this report.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
31 January 2020
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 |
Mangere, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25387 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
138 children, including up to 35 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
105 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 50% Boys 50% |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Samoan Tongan Cook Island Māori Indian Chinese Niuean other ethnic groups |
16% 16% 18% 16% 10% 5% 4% 4% 11% |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:6 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
October 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
31 January 2020 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2016 |
|
|
Supplementary Review |
February 2013 |
||
|
Supplementary Review |
December 2011 |
||
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.
The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
Very well placed
Well placed
Requires further development
Not well placed
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
LIFE Childcare Centre in Mangere, Auckland provides full day education and care for children. The centre is part of the LIFE Church organisation. It operates in modern buildings within the grounds of the organisation's complex. Christian principles underpin the culture and values of the centre and are woven into the learning programmes and routines.
The centre is now able to cater for 123 children, including 35 children up to the age of two, as a result of merged and extended licences. A new room has been added to provide for this roll growth. Children learn in age-related groups in five rooms. The three rooms with the youngest groups of children have their own outdoor areas, while the two older groups share an outdoor space.
The 2013 ERO report noted that improvements had been made to teaching and learning programmes and management processes. The report identified teachers' appraisal, children's input into programmes and evaluation of teaching practice as areas for development. Good progress has been made in these areas.
Children are settled and have a sense of belonging within their room. They form friendships and play and learn together. Children are confident and articulate. They benefit from warm and caring relationships with their teachers. Respect for children is evident in the interactions between children and teachers.
Children access resources freely and make choices about their play. Teachers provide activities and opportunities so that children are able to develop skills and learn together. They have developed helpful ways to record children's interests and their participation in the programme. In order to make the programme more responsive to individual children, teachers could now find ways to extend and build the complexity of children's play within the context of their particular interests.
Good care is taken of the youngest children. Children up to the age of two years are provided for in two rooms. The room with the youngest children is new and provides a light and appropriate space for infants to explore. Teachers form close bonds with children in their care. They provide daily information for parents about the implementation of care routines for their child. More regular recording of the development and learning of individual children could help teachers to decide how they could respond to the children.
Children with special needs are well supported within the centre. Managers make referrals to outside agencies as needed. The centre takes responsibility for meeting the needs of these children by employing an additional teacher with appropriate expertise.
Many teachers use te reo me ōna tikanga Māori confidently throughout the day. Teachers are well supported to develop this aspect of their teaching. This good practice is likely to affirm the identity of Māori children and to promote bicultural practices for other children.
The transition of children into the centre, between rooms and onto school, has been well considered. The centre has been proactive in establishing relationships with the two schools that most children from the centre will attend. To further support parents who enrol their children at the centre, managers are planning an induction programme to share information and to ensure that expectations and programmes are fully understood.
The management team provides good professional leadership for the centre. This team works closely with teachers and children and as a result managers know their centre well.
Robust management frameworks have been established and are monitored to ensure that centre expectations are being met. Comprehensive documentation has resulted from a focus on improving management systems. Policies are reviewed on a regular cycle. Recent changes in legislation are being incorporated into the review of relevant policies.
Internal evaluation is embedded as an integral component of centre improvement. Several important aspects of the centre have been effectively reviewed. A comprehensive appraisal process promotes professionalism among teachers and improvement in teaching practices. A culture of reflection and review is now evident across the centre's operations.
Centre managers agree that the centre should now focus on:
Before the review, the staff and management of LIFE Childcare 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:
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.
In order to improve current practice, ERO recommends that the governing board take immediate steps to improve conditions for children and teachers by ensuring the temperature in rooms is comfortable and there is sufficient shade in outdoor areas.
The next ERO review of LIFE Childcare Centre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
8 April 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.
|
Location |
Mangere, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25387 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
123 children, including up to 35 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
132 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 51% |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
6% |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
January 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
8 April 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Supplementary Review |
February 2013 |
|
|
Supplementary Review |
December 2011 |
||
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.
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.