Sancta Maria Montessori Preschool (Sherbourne) - 09/12/2020

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

Regulatory standards	ERO’s judgement
Curriculum	Meeting
Premises and facilities	Meeting
Health and safety	Meeting
Governance, management and administration	Meeting

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

Background

This is the first review for Sancta Maria Montessori Preschool (Sherbourne). It is one of three Montessori preschools owned and operated as a family business ,Asonjo Limited, in Christchurch. The owners work alongside three other full-time, qualified teachers. The service’s community is ethnically diverse. It caters for children from 2-to-5 years old in a mixed-age setting.

Summary of Review Findings

The service curriculum is inclusive. It is underpinned by the Montessori philosophy, Catholic teachings and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Adults engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Children’s cultures are respected and supported through the use of their home languages and cultural events. Teachers respect and acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau for their children.

The premises and facilities are resourced to provide for the learning and abilities of the children attending. Health and safety processes are monitored and changes made when required. A policy framework and annual planning guide service operations.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

continuing to build teachers’ knowledge about the theories and research that underpin the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki (2017), and develop a localised curriculum
increasing opportunities children have to hear and speak te reo Māori in meaningful contexts.

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)

Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

9 December 2020

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name	Sancta Maria Montessori Preschool (Sherbourne)
Profile Number	47620
Location	Christchurch
Service type	Education and care service
Number licensed for	37 children, over the age of 2
Percentage of qualified teachers	80%
Service roll	18
Gender composition	Male 8, Female 10
Ethnic composition	Indian 8, Asian 8, other ethnicities 2
Review team on site	September 2020
Date of this report	9 December 2020
Most recent ERO report(s)	First ERO review of 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.