15 Moody Avenue, Whau Valley, Whangarei
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 |
Not meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Not meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified areas of non-compliance with regulatory standards that are an unacceptable risk to children.
Seeds and Sprouts Childcare Ltd is a privately owned service. Since ERO’s previous review in 2018, there has been a change of ownership. One of the new owners oversees daily operations in the role of centre manager. At the time of the review a third of the children enrolled are of Māori heritage.
The service’s curriculum is inclusive and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decision making about their learning.
Adults engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. They provide a language rich environment which supports learning. The place of Māori as tangata whenua is acknowledged. Children are provided with opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Regular opportunities are provided to parents to be involved in decision making concerning their children’s learning. Leaders now need to strengthen monitoring processes to ensure compliance against regulatory standards is maintained.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
ensuring adults providing education and care carry out relevant emergency drills on an, at least,
three-monthly basis
ensuring equipment and premises are checked on every day of operation for hazards to children that include all requirements of this criterion and that hazards are mitigated
having a written procedure for safety checking children’s workers and a record of safety checks which shows periodic rechecking of staff every three years.
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS8, HS12, GMA7A]
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Ensuring first aid kits comply with the requirements of Appendix 1 (PF28).
Having a space for sleeping children under the age of two which allows for adequate supervision (PF37).
When children leave the premises on an excursion, parents have given prior written approval of the proposed ratios and a person responsible signature is sought (HS17).
Having a record of training and/or information provided to adults who administer medication to children other than their own while at the service (HS29).
Documenting an annual plan which identifies the ‘who’ in relation to key tasks undertaken each year (GMA8).
Ensuring attendance records are maintained which meets the requirements outlined in the Early Childhood Education Funding Handbook (GMA11).
ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence issued to this service provider. ERO will not undertake a further review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets regulatory standards.
The next ERO review will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
28 March 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Seeds and Sprouts Childcare Ltd |
|
Profile Number |
46096 |
|
Location |
Whau Valley, Whangarei |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
40 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
67 |
|
Review team on site |
January 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
28 March 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Previously reviewed as: BJ’s Childcare (Ltd): Education Review, August 2018 |
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 |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
BJ's Childcare (Ltd) in Whau Valley, Whāngarei, caters for up to 40 children from two to six years of age. Māori children make up 70 percent of the roll.
The centre's philosophy aims to provide opportunities for children to become confident in their cultural identity, particularly Māori children. It recognises the development of the whole child as important to establishing a positive attitude and approach to learning. It promotes respectful relationships with children and their families in a homely setting.
The centre manager leads a team of three registered and two untrained teachers, including one teacher in-training. She is responsible for the planning and provision of teaching and learning programmes. Together with the director/owner, she oversees the day-to-day operation of the centre and teaches alongside staff.
Positive features identified in the 2014 ERO report continue to be evident. Very good progress has been made towards the recommendations from that report, particularly in professional leadership, teacher appraisal processes, and teachers fostering individual children's interests.
Children are happy and confident in the centre where their cultural identity and language are affirmed. They have very good relationships with teachers and consistently engage in play that interests them. Children's independence is fostered through many opportunities to make choices, develop self-help skills and use their musical talents.
Children enthusiastically explore the environment, often playing in small groups, communicating respectfully with each other and responding well to adult support. They benefit from uncluttered indoor spaces and a good variety of natural and open-ended resources.
Teachers know children very well. They respond to individual interests and are sensitive and responsive to children with additional learning needs. Adults' conversations with children encourage them to share their ideas and sustain their play for long periods. Teachers often integrate te reo Māori and foster the use of children's first languages. They support children to develop early literacy and numeracy skills in meaningful ways.
Leaders and teachers maintain strong, trusting relationships with families. They are highly responsive to the social, emotional and physical needs of the centre community. Respect for Māori culture and taonga provides a sense of belonging for all. Leaders consult families informally and through surveys about teachers' planning and children's learning. The centre provides a digital portal for families to access learning stories.
Teachers purposefully discuss children's interests and learning. They meet regularly to plan responses to children's overarching interests. Teachers have identified the need to strengthen their focus on individual children's interests and use this information to develop continuity in learning stories. They are using Te Whāriki 2017, the revised early childhood curriculum, to support programme planning. Teachers value the ways in which their centre philosophy aligns with Te Whāriki. They recognise that they should become more explicit about learning outcomes for children when they evaluate programmes.
Leaders use a sound policy framework and appropriate health and safety systems to guide centre operations. These key documents are regularly reviewed. Leaders consult with teachers and parents to involve them in decision making. They foster professional development to encourage teachers to undertake individual inquiries into their practice. Leaders recognise the need to further refine processes for teachers' appraisals. Teachers need to document and further develop the processes for the evaluation of their teaching practice.
Centre leaders work collaboratively with staff and parents to develop and monitor the centre's strategic direction. The team is now reviewing the strategic plan to better incorporate Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the centre philosophy.
Key next steps to support ongoing improvement include:
planning for more deliberate teaching strategies that will challenge children's thinking, add complexity to their learning and focus more on learning and less on activities
reviewing the philosophy and strategic plan to develop a clearer alignment with the centre's valued outcomes for children
continuing to use Tātaiako, to promote and support the development of teachers' bicultural teaching practices.
Before the review, the staff and management of BJ's Childcare (Ltd) 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.
The next ERO review of BJ's Childcare (Ltd) will be in three years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
7 August 2018
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 |
Whau Valley, Whangarei |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
46096 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children aged 2 years and over |
||
|
Service roll |
33 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 17 Boys 16 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
23 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
July 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
7 August 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2014 |
|
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:
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
BJ’s Childcare (Ltd.) is a newly developed, privately owned service that is aligned with BJ’s Home-Based Childcare Services operating from the same venue. The centre provides full day care for 30 children over the age of two years.
Children mainly come from Māori and Pākehā families. Recently families from the Pacific Islands have been welcomed into the centre. The centre’s philosophy is to promote respectful relationships with children and their families. The philosophy also values children as unique individuals.
Most of the teachers are qualified. As the centre is not yet operating at full capacity, teachers work part-time hours over the week. The owners are responsible for management frameworks for the two services, and a manager has responsibility for this centre.
This is the centre’s first ERO review.
Children and their families are welcomed when they arrive at the centre. Parents are comfortable to stay with their children and share in their play. Children settle well into exploring the environment with their friends. They have engaging conversations about their interests with teachers. Children help set up the environment and confidently share their ideas for challenges in the playground.
Children learn literacy and mathematical skills in meaningful play contexts. Print-rich displays and literacy resources prompt children to write and enjoy books. Games, resources and language add to children’s understanding about mathematical concepts.
A challenge for teachers has been managing the specific needs of young children, and older children needing extension in their learning experiences. Teachers are working to spend more time settling younger, less confident children. They are also working on extending their conversations with older children nearing school age. These strategies are likely to help teachers to better meet children’s individual learning needs.
Parents appreciate reading about their children’s progress in assessment portfolios and on-line stories about children at play. Electronic links are providing a useful way for parents to comment about their child’s learning. Teachers recognise the need to include parent/whānau aspirations for their children in programme planning. They could also focus more on children’s individual interests in portfolios.
Teachers are strengthening te reo and tikanga Māori understanding for themselves and children. The environment includes reference to Te Ao Māori and teachers are increasingly using te reo Māori with children. External advice could help teachers to create the bicultural programmes and environments they are planning.
A shared leadership model provides opportunities for teachers to take responsibility for projects and programme management. Professional learning is developing individual teachers’ knowledge of theories of early childhood education.
Well-developed management processes are regularly reviewed by teachers. Whānau are also invited to contribute to these reviews. Teachers are becoming more confident in evaluating practices to guide positive changes for children. They could review the centre’s philosophy to create a more considered, agreed and consistent approach to teaching.
ERO and managers agree that key next steps are to strengthen:
Before the review, the staff and management of BJ's Childcare (Ltd) 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.
The next ERO review of BJ's Childcare (Ltd) will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services
Northern Region
8 October 2014
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 |
Whau Valley, Whangarei |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
46096 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
22 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 15 Boys 7 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Tuvalu other |
9 9 2 2 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
NA |
|
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
July 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
8 October 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
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:
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.