55 Resolution Road, Welcome Bay, Tauranga
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 |
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.
Children’s Circle Early Years Centre is privately owned and operated. The Rudolf Steiner inspired centre caters for children from birth to school age in two age-based rooms. The centre manager leads a team of five registered teachers. A large group of Māori learners are enrolled.
Children are responded to as confident and competent learners in a language-rich environment. Their preferences are respected. The service curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua.
The practices of adults providing education and care demonstrate knowledge of relevant theories and practice in early childhood education. Kaiako providing education and care nurture reciprocal relationships. These meaningful and positive interactions enhance children’s learning and supports their developing social competence.
Centre systems and processes guide operation. A process of self-review helps the service improve the quality of its education and care.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
ensuring a written procedure for safety checking all children’s workers is in place, that meets the safety checking requirements of the Children’s Act 2014
documenting the results of safety checking for all children’s workers.
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services, 2008: GMA7A]
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
14 December 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Children’s Circle Early Years Centre |
|
Profile Number |
46107 |
|
Location |
Welcome Bay, Tauranga |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
40 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
|
Service roll |
34 |
|
Review team on site |
November 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
14 December 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akanuku | Assurance Review, June 2021; Education Review, June 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.
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.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Not meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Not meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified areas of non-compliance with regulatory standards that are an unacceptable risk to children.
Children’s Circle Early Years Centre is privately owned and operated. The Rudolf Steiner inspired centre caters for children from birth to school age in two age-based rooms. The centre manager leads a team of five qualified and registered teachers.
The service curriculum supports children to become confident and competent learners. The philosophy statement guides centre operations. Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The premises and facilities layout does not support effective adult supervision, and children’s access to the whole licensed space is limited. Effective governance and management systems and an
on-going self-review process that supports improvement requires strengthening. The service is not meeting regulatory standards in a number of areas.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, C1, C7, C9, PF2].
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that it has addressed the following non compliances:
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.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
17 June 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Children’s Circle Early Years Centre |
| Profile Number | 46107 |
| Location | Welcome Bay, Tauranga |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
40 children, including up to 15 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
27 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 2, NZ European/Pākehā 22, Other ethnic groups 3. |
|
Review team on site |
April 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
17 June 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, June 2018; Education Review, April 2015. |
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.
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:
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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Children’s Circle Early Years Centre is a privately owned education and care service located in the Tauranga suburb of Welcome Bay. It is a small centre licensed for 18 children including up to nine under two years of age. The current roll is 27, including six children who identify as Māori. The owner is also the centre manager and has a teaching role. The teaching team is made up of two full time and two part-time teachers.
The centre philosophy is largely influenced by Rudolf Steiner. Teachers work to preserve the precious nature of childhood and use practices that nurture the child’s senses as well as their physical, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing.
The centre has developed a strategic and annual plan and is continuing to work on aspects of self-review.
Children’s Circle Early Years Centre’s philosophy and vision effectively promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The service's philosophy expresses shared values and beliefs which promote the wellbeing, health, safety, learning and development of children. Internal evaluation is ongoing and responsive to identified priorities. Planned and spontaneous self reviews are leading to improved outcomes for children. Management, in consultation, now need to develop procedures and practices for an effective appraisal system for centre manager and leaders. This is necessary to ensure a rigorous performance management process is in place to build capability.
The service has successfully woven Te Whāriki, early childhood curriculum and Rudolf Steiner philosophies together to provide a well-prepared environment centred around children’s individual interests and strengths. Teachers have surveyed the parents of children who identify as Māori to find out how they can be more responsive to individual needs. Teachers are currently upskilling in te reo Māori and have integrated waiata and karakia into daily programmes. The next step is to further engage with the local iwi to further enrich the bicultural curriculum.
Teachers understand and value each child as a unique learner and effectively support children’s sense of belonging. Assessment is used well to identify individual children's strengths and interests and those children needing additional support. Literacy and mathematic concepts are integrated in the daily programme. Teachers empower children to take responsibility for their own learning and promote the concept of tuakana-teina. Children’s sense of belonging is nurtured during transitions into, within the service, and when moving to school.
Responsive and respectful interactions between teachers and children support the building of independent, self-confident children, with a love for learning. The outdoor areas includes a wide range of natural resources and supports children's exploration and imaginative play. Teachers are committed to an inclusive education for all. Children are engaged in prolonged activities in a calm and settled learning environment.
Teachers show high levels of nurture and care for babies and toddlers. They are responsive to the individual routines and needs of young children. Purposeful resourcing supports children’s learning and parents are kept well informed about their children’s interests and development. Babies and toddlers enjoy consistent caregiving that responds sensitively to each child’s changing needs and preferences.
The centre manager has established a culture in which children are first and foremost valued, celebrated and affirmed for who they are and what they bring to their learning. She has created a collaborative environment where teachers, children and parents learn alongside each other. Staff provide many opportunities for parents and whānau to be involved with their children's learning. The centre fosters a family, whānau environment that links to the centre's philosophy and promotes positive outcomes for all children.
ERO and management agree that the centre manager, in consultation with staff, needs to develop procedures and practices for an effective appraisal system.
Before the review, the staff and management of Children's Circle Early Years Centre 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 service needs to ensure that appraisals of staff in teaching positions by the professional leader of the service is based on the Standards established by the Education Council for the issue and renewal of practicing certificates. [Part 31 Education Act 1989]
The next ERO review of Children's Circle Early Years Centre will be in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson Deputy Chief Review Officer
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
1 June 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 |
Tauranga |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
46107 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
18 children, including up to 9 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
27 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 14 Boys 13 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
6 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:6 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
April 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
1 June 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2015 |
|
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.