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 |
Not meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
Mercury Bay Preschool (2018) Ltd is a privately owned service. Since the July 2019 ERO Akunuku | Assurance Review, there have been changes in leadership and teachers. ERO identified areas of non-compliance in the July 2019 report relating to teacher appraisals, excursion records and emergency drill records. Some progress is evident.
Children are provided with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development. They are involved in decisions about their learning experiences. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions that nurture reciprocal relationships.
The quantity and variety of resources provided are appropriate for the learning and abilities of children attending.
Procedures are in place to manage health and safety requirements including excursions and emergencies.
Processes for reviewing and evaluating teaching and learning practices require strengthening. Appraisals of the centre manager and teachers are yet to be implemented.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA6, GMA7]
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.
The next ERO review will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
4 December 2020
Early Childhood Service Name |
Mercury Bay Preschool (2018) Ltd |
Profile Number |
30303 |
Location |
Whitianga |
Service type |
Education and care service |
Number licensed for |
39 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% |
Service roll |
44 |
Gender composition |
Female 24, Male 20. |
Ethnic composition |
Māori 14, NZ European/Pākehā 21, Pacific 3, Other ethnic groups 6. |
Review team on site |
November 2020 |
Date of this report |
4 December 2020 |
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akanuku | Assurance Review, July 2019; Education Review, December 2015. |
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 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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through: