282 Glenvar Road, Torbay, Auckland
View on mapThe Children's Ark
The Children's Ark
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
The Children’s Ark has been operating since October 2020 in a purpose-built building adjacent to, and owned by, the Long Bay Baptist Church. Governance is provided by a committee. The chairperson of the committee is the centre manager/service provider and leads a staff of 14 qualified teachers, two cooks and an administrator.
Summary of Review Findings
The service curriculum is inclusive and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning experiences.
Adults providing education and care demonstrate an understanding of children’s learning and development, and knowledge of relevant theories and practice in early childhood education. Teachers engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships.
The service curriculum supports children’s developing social competence and understanding of appropriate behaviour. It provides a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning.
The premises and facilities are resourced to provide learning experiences appropriate for the ages and abilities of the children attending.
Key Next Steps
Next steps include increasing:
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the extent to which information documented about children’s learning reflects their languages, cultures, and identity
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the opportunities children have to hear and speak te reo Māori in meaningful learning contexts.
Next ERO Review
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
3 October 2022
Information About the Service
Early Childhood Service Name |
The Children’s Ark |
Profile Number |
47920 |
Location |
Torbay, Auckland |
Service type |
Education and care service |
Number licensed for |
74 children, including up to 14 aged under 2 |
Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
Service roll |
78 |
Review team on site |
August 2022 |
Date of this report |
3 October 2022 |
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:
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having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
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previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
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that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
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that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
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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:
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curriculum
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premises and facilities
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health and safety practices
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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:
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emotional safety (including positive guidance and child protection)
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physical safety (including supervision; sleep procedures; accidents; medication; hygiene; excursion policies and procedures)
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suitable staffing (including qualification levels; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)
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relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
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discussions with those involved in the service
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consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
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observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.