138 Condor Drive, Pyes Pa, 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 |
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Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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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.
Country Kids Pre-School Ltd is a privately owned full-day service located in Pyes Pa. Children play and learn across three aged-based settings. The service’s adjoining farmyard and orchard incorporate nature and animals throughout the curriculum. The philosophy is underpinned by Christian values. Governance is involved in the services day-to-day operations.
Young children experience positive and meaningful interactions with teachers providing education and care. The curriculum is language rich and supports the development of social competence. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning. A range of experiences and opportunities extend and enhance learning both outside and indoors. The curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua and is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation.
A philosophy statement and annual plan guide the service’s operations.
Next steps include:
strengthen assessment, planning and evaluation processes to make more visible the aspirations of parents and whānau and each child’s own home context, identity, language and culture.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
a procedure for hygiene and infection control when washing sick or soiled children (PF26)
a current Fire Evacuation Scheme approved by the New Zealand Fire Service (HS4)
heavy furniture that could fall or topple and cause serious injury is secured (HS6)
a written emergency plan to ensure the care and safety of children and adults in the service (HS7)
emergency drills are carried out and evidence of how evaluation of the drills has informed the service’s emergency plan (HS8)
a procedure for monitoring children’s sleep is displayed (HS9)
a procedure outlining the services response to injury, illness and incident including the review and implementation as required (HS27).
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
15 June 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Country Kids Pre-School Ltd |
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Profile Number |
46110 |
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Location |
Tauranga |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
56 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
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Service roll |
81 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 4, NZ European/Pākehā 71, Other ethnic groups 6 |
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Review team on site |
May 2022 |
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Date of this report |
15 June 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
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Education Review, March 2018; Education Review, February 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.
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 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:
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.
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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.
Country Kids Pre-School is located in Pyes Pa, Tauranga and is a privately owned centre. It's licensed for 56 children, including 10 children aged under two years. At the time of the review the roll of 84 includes 2 Māori and a small number of children from diverse ethnic backgrounds. It provides all-day education and care from 7.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday. There are three age-based areas for infants, toddlers and preschool children.
Country Kids aims to provide high-quality care and education in a safe, stimulating, homely environment in an interactive farmyard setting.
The centre philosophy is based on the belief that every child is special and unique, and they are committed to building reciprocal relationships with every child and their whᾱnau. In addition, Christian beliefs and values are respected and celebrated. The importance of the Treaty of Waitangi is acknowledged across the service.
Since the 2015 ERO report the centre has restructured the leadership team, reviewed their philosophy and continued to improve performance management systems.
The centre curriculum is highly responsive to the strengths and interests of all children. Curriculum design and implementation is underpinned by Te Whariki and is consistent with the centre’s Christian philosophy. A feature of the programme is the opportunity to explore a farming environment and care for a range of animals. The centre curriculum is planned to allow children to play independently and develop social skills with their peers. The outdoor environment provides opportunities for children to take risks and challenge their physical capabilities. Literacy and mathematics are well integrated within the daily programme. Children are happily engaged in play and learning.
ERO observed high-quality teaching practices. These include:
positive, sensitive relationships with children
taking time to listen to children and extend their learning and ideas
talking to children about decisions that affect them
actively promoting peer interactions.
Teachers are attuned to the needs and personalities of infants. Interactions with young children are unhurried, nurturing and focused on empowering children’s sense of belonging and communication. The centre programme and teacher interactions with children include waiata, karakia, local legends and the use of te reo Māori as a functional language. The sense of belonging for children and whānau is nurtured during transitions into and within the service, and when moving to school.
Leaders have established a focus on building teachers' capability. Teachers have undertaken professional development to enhance their practice. They are enthusiastic about further learning. The recently implemented approach to shared leadership has successfully promoted collaboration and built leadership capability across the teaching team. Leaders base relationships on respect, trust and open communication. The distributive leadership approach is contributing to increasingly positive outcomes for children and families.
Recent review of the centre philosophy has affirmed the strategic direction and further embedded the centre's vision and goals. The service demonstrates a strong commitment to consulting with whānau and involving them in decision making about their child’s education and care. They provide effective policies and systems that promote positive outcomes for children.
ERO identified the following areas for ongoing development:
Leaders need to develop a more planned approach to self review. This includes shared understandings, and processes to support spontaneous and planned self-review across the service.
There continues to be a need for centre management to strengthen appraisal processes to include key components of best practice.
Before the review, the staff and management of Country Kids Pre-School 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.
ERO identified an area of non-compliance:
The service provider must ensure that furniture or equipment that could topple and cause injury or damage is secured. [Licensing criteria for Education and care centres 2008, HS6]
The next ERO review of Country Kids Pre-School Ltd will be in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
13 March 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.
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Location |
Pyes Pa, Tauranga |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46110 |
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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 |
56 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
84 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 48 Girls 36 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
4 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2018 |
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Date of this report |
13 March 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
February 2015 |
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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.