The Junction Early Learning Centre - 10/12/2020

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

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.

Background

The Junction Early Learning Centre is a family owned centre that provides full-day and sessional options for children aged 0 to 5 years. There are two separate areas for different age groups of children. This is the first ERO review of the service under new ownership.

Summary of Review Findings

Teachers provide education and care demonstrating an understanding of children’s learning and development. The service curriculum reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Te reo Māori is integrated into day-to-day teaching practices.

The design and layout of the premises support the provision of different types of indoor and outdoor experiences. These include quiet spaces, areas for physically active play, and space for a range of individual and group learning opportunities.

Actions for Compliance

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:

safety checking of all workers who have regular access to children in accordance with the Vulnerable Children Act 2014 (GMA7A)
furniture and items intended for children to sleep on are made of a non-porous material (HS6)
heavy furniture, fixtures and equipment that could fall and cause injury or damage are secured (PF30).

Next ERO Review

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

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)

Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

10 December 2020

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name	The Junction Early Learning Centre
Profile Number	10332
Location	Northcross, Auckland
Service type	Education and care service
Number licensed for	48 children, including up to 14 aged under 2.
Percentage of qualified teachers	80%
Service roll	40
Gender composition	Female 22 Male 18
Ethnic composition	Māori 4 NZ European/Pākehā 6 Chinese 8 Pacific 7 South African 5 other ethnic groups 10
Review team on site	October 2020
Date of this report	10 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.