66 Lovegrove Cres, Otara, 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 are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Enriching Otara Early Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakatō Emerging |
Learning Conditions |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Whakatō Emerging |
|
Organisational Conditions |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Whakatō Emerging |
Enriching Otara Early Learning Centre is a privately owned service that provides education and care for children from birth to school age. The roll consists mostly of children of Pacific heritage. There are 10 staff, which includes six registered teachers, admin support and the centre manager who oversees the daily operations and curriculum.
Children experience responsive and caring interactions. They are confident and initiate conversations with each other and adults. This confidence demonstrates children’s strong sense of wellbeing and belonging. Children’s learning and development is supported in the well-resourced environment. They are able to explore confidently and challenge themselves physically.
Teachers work together with parents and whānau to support children’s developing social competence and cultural connectedness. Most teachers are fluent speakers of the Tongan language. They integrate te reo me ngā tikanga Māori in daily teaching practice. Karakia, waiata, tikanga together with lea fakatonga are an important part of the daily rituals.
The service philosophy is very evident in practice. It integrates languages and cultures of Pacific children, with a focus that reflects Tongan beliefs and values. Children with additional learning needs, and their whānau, are supported to succeed. Assessment for learning practices do not yet focus strongly on teachers recognising and responding to children’s learning.
The service’s curriculum document shows the intent of providing a quality curriculum. ‘Ilo, Ako and Poto concepts give guidance and clear expectations for teachers to promote a curriculum that enriches children’s lives. The curriculum’s useful structure could help teachers evaluate the effectiveness of teaching practice, and how well the curriculum creates opportunities for improved outcomes for children. Effective monitoring and evaluation of teaching practice, in relation to this document, has not yet been established.
The governance board’s primary consideration is the wellbeing of children, families, and staff. A focus is required on supporting teachers to better understand, and consistently implement, service policies and procedures. The service is at an early stage of developing the learning and organisational conditions to improve quality and realise equitable outcomes for children.
Enriching Otara Early Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Establish assessment practices that focus on teachers recognising and responding to children’s learning.
Establish processes to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the local curriculum and teaching practice to enhance children’s learning and development.
Develop teachers’ reflective practice, capabilities, and collective capacity to do and use evaluation for improvement.
Support teachers to understand and implement policies and procedures that are current, coherent, fit for purpose and guide practice effectively.
Before the review, the staff and management of Enriching Otara Early Learning 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:
curriculum
premises and facilities
health and safety practices
governance, management and administration.
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.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
A procedure for monitoring children's sleep that ensures that children are checked for warmth, breathing, and general wellbeing at least every 5 to10 minutes, or more frequently according to individual needs (HS9).
A documented risk management system that identifies hazards to the safety of children and how these have been eliminated, isolated or minimised (HS12).
A record of all food served during the service’s hours of operation other than that which parents provide for their own children. Records show the type of food provided and are available for inspection 3 months after the food is served (HS19).
Children are supervised and seated when eating (HS22).
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
5 April 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Enriching Otara Early Learning Centre |
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Profile Number |
46956 |
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Location |
Otara, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
70 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
51 |
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Ethnic composition |
Tongan 38, Samoan 9, other ethnic groups 4 |
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Review team on site |
February 2022 |
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Date of this report |
5 April 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, September 2018 |
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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.
Enriching Otara Early Learning Centre is located in the Otara Town Centre, adjacent to the 'Api Fakakoloa Home Based Service. It opened in May 2016 and is licensed for 70 children, including up to 20 children under 2 years of age. Most of the children enrolled are Tongan. There are some children from other Pacific backgrounds including Samoan, Niuean and Cook Island Māori. A small number of children have Māori heritage.
An experienced and highly qualified team provides governance, support and guidance for the early learning service and for the home-based service. Leaders have established a management framework and overarching policies and procedures to guide practices. They delegate many day-to-day responsibilities to the service manager, supervisor and assistant supervisors. Seven staff members, including the service manager, are registered early childhood teachers. The service manager and assistant supervisors are new to their roles.
The shared philosophy values children and their families as koloa (gifts, wealth or valuables) and promotes their cultural identities and languages. It acknowledges the spiritual aspect of children and promotes dispositions that relate to the 'heart'. These include lototo (humility), loto'ofa (love), loto melino (peacefulness) and lotolelei (goodness or gentleness). The philosophy encourages the fakakoloa or enrichment of children and their kainga (families), through practices that are borne of the 'heart'. It focuses on developing children's dispositions to encourage them and adults to fakakoloa each other so that they are enriched, koloa'i.
This is the first review of the Enriching Otara Early Learning Service.
Children's learning is enhanced through a significant focus on bringing the service's philosophy to life. Teachers' interactions reflect faka koloa. Children and kainga experience warm, inclusive and welcoming approaches from teachers and other adults. Children are settled and confident, and engage in a variety of play in the indoor and outdoor learning environments. They show high levels of social competence and enjoy respectful relationships with adults. These good practices promote a strong sense of belonging for children and kainga in the service.
Children show skill and confidence in their use of lea faka Tonga through talanoa, hiva, and in their understanding of and respect for faka koloa. The unique curriculum is responsive to children's identified strengths and interests. It provides good opportunities for children to engage in a variety of interesting learning experiences.
Children learn about te reo Māori through teachers' modelling and are increasing their understanding of tikanga Māori through stories and celebrations of significant occasions. Other aspects such as science are incorporated into children's programmes alongside play-based literacy and numeracy learning. Children under two years of age receive gentle and nurturing care. They have good opportunities to develop physical skills.
Teachers respond well to children's requests and care needs. They sit alongside children as they play, encouraging conversation and singing in Tongan, te reo Māori and English. Children's own languages and cultural identities are encouraged and celebrated regularly in the programme. Parents support these good practices and are encouraged to share aspects of their culture with all children in the service.
Teachers work collaboratively to plan, assess and evaluate learning programmes. They respond to children's interests in the programme and to input from kainga about their learning. Children's learning stories show the progress that children make over time, and highlight how children's skills and knowledge are enhanced through different areas of play.
Teachers are well supported through internal and external professional development. They communicate effectively and appreciate working in an environment where their koloa are valued and respected. Teachers support each other as learners and leaders, engaging in talatalanoa to develop shared understandings about new professional learning. Internal professional development and mentoring also helps to build the service manager's capacity to appraise teachers.
The service is well led and governed. The governance team is well known by kainga and the wider education community. There is a good framework for internal evaluation, which is clearly understood as a mechanism for accountability and improvement.
Key next steps for the service include:
strengthening challenge in the programme and increasing the complexity of play as part of extending children's learning
evaluating areas of play with a view to refreshing and replenishing equipment and resources.
Before the review, the staff and management of Enriching Otara Early Learning 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 next ERO review of Enriching Otara Early Learning Centre will be in three years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
13 September 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 |
Otara, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46956 |
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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 |
70 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
66 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 38 Boys 28 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
6 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
July 2018 |
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Date of this report |
13 September 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
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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.