140 Archers Road, Glenfield, Auckland
View on mapAkarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama- indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most (PDF 3.01MB) are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric (PDF 91.30KB) derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Appletree Preschool are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
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What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
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He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whakaū Embedding |
Appletree Preschool is licensed for up to 40 children over two years of age. The centre is privately owned by an experienced teacher. The team, most of whom are qualified teachers, are led by a centre manager and a head teacher
Children are settled and enjoy an attractively presented, well-resourced learning environment. Teachers establish respectful relationships with children. They prioritise opportunities to develop children’s oral language skills by singing and talking with them throughout the day. Good adult:child ratios allow teachers the time to have sustained conversations with children.
Teachers encourage children to play, both independently and co-operatively alongside each other. Teaching practices encourage independence, nurture self-management skills and enhance children’s readiness for transitioning to school. Children with additional learning needs are well supported. Staff sensitively support children to develop social skills and a love of learning.
The centre philosophy promotes an environment where diversity is valued, and all families are welcomed. The cultural diversity of the children is reflected in the teaching team. Teachers have established positive relationships with parents and whānau. They are developing learning-focused partnerships that will positively impact on outcomes for children.
Teachers have made a determined effort to embed te reo and tikanga Māori in the programme. Karakia, waiata and te reo words and phrases are integrated meaningfully in the context of children’s play.
Planning and assessment practices continue to be refined to focus on teachers’ responses to children’s individual strengths and interests. Literacy, numeracy, and natural science are well integrated in the programme. Teachers could deepen children’s learning with more challenging investigations and meaningful inquiries.
Internal evaluation is helping the centre leaders and teachers focus on continual development. Teachers now need to consider how effectively changes made as a result of this process have impacted on learning outcomes for children.
The centre owner has a clear vision for the centre. Strategic and annual plans guide centre operations. Centre leaders acknowledge that some systems now require strengthening to support ongoing centre development.
Appletree Preschool will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Appletree Preschool 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.
Phil Cowie
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
3 November 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Appletree Preschool |
| Profile Number | 25185 |
| Location | Glenfield, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
40 children over 2 years of age |
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Percentage of qualified teachers (delete if not applicable) |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
35 |
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Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā 6, Chinese 5, Indian 4, Korean 4 |
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Review team on site |
July 2021 |
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Date of this report |
3 November 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, October 2017 |
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Apple Tree Preschool in Glenfield is licensed for 30 children over two years of age. It is one of three North Shore centres, owned by The Apple Tree Childcare Centres Ltd. The centre director/owner works across the three centres to support day-to-day operations. The owner is an experienced teacher and is supported by a dedicated centre manager. Five teachers are registered and two staff have other qualifications.
The Apple Tree philosophy of 'create a home away from home, providing warmth, trust, respect and aroha' guides centre practices. Teachers' education and care for children is guided by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
Since the 2014 ERO review there has been a change of centre manager and the appointment of new teachers. The 2014 report noted good provision for children's wellbeing, children's developing social skills, and positive relationships. Areas for development included programme responsiveness to children's interests, and extending the complexity of children's play.
This review was part of a cluster of three reviews in the Apple Tree Childcare Centres Ltd organisation.
Children are settled and engaged in the programme. They have a sense of belonging and wellbeing. Children's play is mainly based on experimenting with equipment. The enclosed deck has increased orderly indoor areas for children's activities.
Children know the routines well. They freely choose to play indoors or outdoors and initiate their own play and learning, often in friendly groups. They form relationships with other children while being cared for by attentive teachers. Teachers support them in exploring aspects of literacy and numeracy. Teachers should now consider how they could extend children’s thinking and use skilful questioning to bring more complexity to their play.
Children enjoy conversations and some are multilingual. The cultural diversity of the children is reflected in the teaching team. This provides children with opportunities to converse in home languages with their friends and with their teachers. It is important that teachers are able to use children's home languages in the centre to model the centre's commitment to valuing language, culture and identity.
Portfolios record children's learning, and celebrate each child as a member of their family and the wider centre whānau. Relevant links are made between children's learning and Te Whāriki. Teachers have reviewed and made improvements to aspects of the programme and environment. They now need to evaluate the effectiveness of the review process, and develop a robust evaluative process that incorporates the views of parents and children.
Managers continue to work on refining teacher appraisal processes. More in-depth professional development for leaders will support them to embed a more robust performance management process to improve outcomes for children.
Apple Tree systems for monitoring and promoting improvement in its three centres have been established. Strengthening alignment between the philosophy, and strategic and annual plans will further guide future direction. A variety of systems and processes contribute to the teaching team’s internal evaluation. It is now timely to include outcomes for children in the evaluation process.
The director/owner and centre manager agree the key next steps include:
reviewing the quality of assessment, planning and evaluation, and how these systems can help teachers to extend children's learning
an evaluation of the extent to which the outdoor environment promotes greater complexity in children's play.
Before the review, the staff and management of Appletree Preschool 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 Appletree Preschool will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
25 October 2017
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.
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Location |
Glenfield, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
25185 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
30 children, over 2 years of age |
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Service roll |
30 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 18 Boys 12 |
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Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
7 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
July 2017 |
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Date of this report |
25 October 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2014 |
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Education Review |
February 2011 |
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Education Review |
February 2008 |
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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.