491 Te Irirangi Drive, Flat Bush, Manukau
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Litttle Learners Childcare is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
The service provider needs to improve systems for the monitoring of health and safety and governance and management requirements.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Litttle Learners Childcare provides for children in two age-related groups in adjoining rooms of a purpose-built facility. Children share use of the outdoor area and often play as a mixed-age group.
Children's cultural backgrounds reflect the local community. Many of the families are recent immigrants to New Zealand who have English as an additional language. There are small numbers of Māori and Pacific children. The centre's philosophy aims to provide a 'home away from home' and is underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
The teaching team includes four fully registered and two provisionally registered teachers. The owners maintain financial and other governance responsibilities, and delegate the daily leadership of the centre to the centre manager.
The 2016 ERO report noted positive relationships between teachers, children and families and the centre manager's leadership, particularly in bicultural practices. These continue to be strengths of the centre. Areas for further development included internal evaluation, establishing policies and procedures, and improving teacher appraisal. Good progress has been made in these areas.
The centre is a member of the South East Christian Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning.
Children receive very good education and care in an environment that supports their learning and development. They benefit from positive learning experiences with teachers and each other. The learning environments are well organised and well resourced.
Children experience respectful relationships and interactions that promote their curiosity, language development and sense of belonging. They make choices about where they play and actively participate in a range of activities. Children understand routines and support each other during their play.
Infants and toddlers benefit from respectful interactions which are supportive and affirming. Teachers work closely with parents to ensure that individual routines are followed.
Children's transitions within the centre and on to schools are well managed. Teachers' positive partnerships between families and local schools support these transitions.
Teachers know the children well. They provide a curriculum that focuses on children's interests and dispositional learning and skills. Teachers support children to access resources and engage in meaningful conversations to build children's oral language skills.
Children with additional learning needs are welcomed into the centre. Staff work with parents and external agencies to provide appropriate learning opportunities for these children.
Teachers celebrate the languages and cultures of Māori and Pacific children well. Whānau are consulted and encouraged to participate in cultural events. The diverse cultures of all families at the centre are reflected in the programmes.
The centre manager provides strong leadership to improve teachers' bicultural practices. She recognises the need to continue building teachers' confidence and capability to use te reo Māori.
Parents are encouraged to share information about their children. Developing more learning-focused partnerships with parents is a centre priority. Close contact with parents of infants and toddlers ensure that their children's individual routines are followed.
Teachers use portfolios to share information with parents about their child's learning and development. The assessment of learning could be strengthened by teachers revisiting and evaluating children's learning progress over time. Teachers could also be more specific about the strategies they plan to use to extend learning.
The centre manager has established an effective staff appraisal system. Together with targeted learning and development, the appraisal process supports teachers to strengthen their professional practice. Internal evaluation could be strengthened by clarifying the evaluative question teachers use to guide each inquiry.
Aspects of the service's operation have been reviewed and policies updated. The centre owners and manager could now review their job descriptions and ways of working to ensure that the centre manager has the support and time to complete all aspects of her role. More regular meetings to plan for ongoing improvement could help centre leaders to monitor progress towards identified goals.
Key next steps include:
improving internal evaluation
clarifying governance and management roles.
Before the review, the staff and management of Litttle Learners Childcare 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 relating 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.
To improve practice, service leaders must consistently record the specific type and timing of emergency drills undertaken.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region - Te Tai Raki
10 August 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.
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Location |
Flat Bush, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
25029 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 years |
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Service roll |
40 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 18 Boys 22 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
1 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2020 |
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Date of this report |
10 August 2020 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2016 |
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Education Review |
March 2013 |
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Education Review |
June 2010 |
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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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Litttle Learners Childcare provides for up to 50 children including up to 20 two years old. The centre is in a modern, purpose-built facility. Children are catered for in two age-related groups in adjoining rooms. They share the outdoor area and often play as a mixed-age group.
Children's cultural backgrounds reflect the local community. Many of the families are recent immigrants to New Zealand and have English as an additional language.
The centre's philosophy aims to provide a 'home away from home,' with teachers who nurture and care for children. The teaching team includes five fully qualified teachers. Many staff members have worked together in the centre for several years. As a result, their relationships with parents are well established.
There have been recent changes in staffing and the management structure of the centre. The owners are now becoming more closely involved in the centre and more familiar with the requirements of early childhood education. This should help them to support the centre manager and team leaders.
The 2013 ERO report noted many positive aspects of the centre including relationships between teachers and children, bicultural practice and children's learning opportunities. These good practices continue to be evident. The report also identified further development of the curriculum and professional learning for teachers as areas for improvement.
Children have a strong sense of belonging in the centre and confidently approach adults to initiate conversations. They are familiar with the pattern and routines of the day. Children are highly social and engage well with their play. Many children are able to sustain play over time. They are respectful of each other and cooperate well during creative play. Children are keen to learn and take good advantage of the learning opportunities that teachers provide for them. There is a balance between child-directed play and teacher-initiated activities.
Infants and toddlers play in a welcoming environment. They are settled in their interactions with teachers and with each other. They explore freely and have good access to appropriate resources. Teachers are responsive to their individual needs.
Relationships between teachers and children are positive. Teachers engage easily in children's conversations and are interested in and responsive to children's questions and ideas. Teachers supervise children effectively and routines are well implemented.
The centre manager provides good leadership for teachers in bicultural practice and in promoting te ao Māori. Several teachers support children to learn through their home languages. This helps children to settle into the centre and to build relationships with their peers. These teachers also assist parents to fully understand discussions about their children’s learning.
Parents share worthwhile information about their children. Teachers add to this information to establish a more complete picture of the child as an individual and as a learner. Teachers consider the ages and stages of development of groups of children when they plan for the day.
Teachers evaluate the programmes they have provided. Teachers should now consider how they could respond more closely to individual children’s interests. They could also consider how they can extend the complexity of children’s play to promote critical thinking and problem solving.
Centre governance and management structures are currently being reviewed and a strategic plan has yet to be developed to guide centre operations and ongoing improvements. The owners and manager should also establish:
effective management planning and systems, up-date policies and procedures, and a robust performance appraisal process
systems for the regular review of all aspects of centre operations, that evaluate the quality of provision for children and assures the owners that all legal requirements are met.
The centre manager and teachers could deepen their programme evaluation to consider the extent to which their practices, and particularly their programme for older children, reflect the expectations of Te Whariki, the early childhood curriculum, and demonstrate a good understanding of current theories in early childhood education.
ERO recommends the owners and centre manager seek external guidance to improve management documentation and processes and to support teachers to improve programmes for children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Litttle Learners Childcare 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 three areas of non-compliance. To address these, the owners must:
establish policies and procedures, and keep the required documentation, to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to promote the health and safety of children and adults in the service
implement an ongoing process of improvement focused internal evaluation that considers all aspects of centre operations and informs strategic and annual planning
develop suitable human resource practices including a system of regular appraisal that meets the requirements of the Education Council of NZ.
Education (ECS) Regulations, 2008 46(1a,d), 47(1a,c); Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008, HS7,12,17, GMA6,7,9.
The next ERO review of Litttle Learners Childcare will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
29 June 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 |
Flat Bush, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25029 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
53 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 27 Boys 26 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese Indian South East Asian other |
6 10 20 5 3 9 |
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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 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
May 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
29 June 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
March 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2010 |
||
|
Education Review |
April 2007 |
||
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.