4103 Great North Road, Glen Eden, Auckland
View on map1 ERO’s Judgements
Akarangi | 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 Imagination Station Early Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
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What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakatō Emerging |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
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He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whakatō Emerging |
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Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whāngai Establishing |
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Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whakatō Emerging |
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Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakatō Emerging |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whakatō Emerging |
Imagination Station Early Learning Centre is managed by the owner. She and a team leader lead a team of three qualified teachers and four other staff members, including a cook. Children aged two years and under have a separate area to the older children. The two age groups join for mealtimes and some curriculum experiences. A quarter of the children attending are Māori.
Children engage in play of their choosing in a settled, unhurried environment. Teachers respond respectfully to children’s interests and are beginning to use Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, to guide programme planning.
Teachers work positively together and promote tuakana/teina relationships between older and younger children to enhance their sense of belonging and independence. Teachers respond well to infants’ and toddlers’ verbal and non-verbal communication.
Leaders work with parents and whānau to ensure children with additional learning needs have full access to the curriculum provided. Teachers contribute to individualised programmes that are inclusive of each child’s interests and needs.
Leaders and teachers are working to build partnerships with parents and whānau that are based on their aspirations for their children’s learning. Teachers acknowledge and respect the languages and cultures of children and their families. They are beginning to integrate te reo and tikanga Māori into their teaching practice.
The owner and team leader have deliberately built high relational trust among staff. This has created a culture of collaboration, professional growth and an openness to change for ongoing improvement. Through professional learning opportunities and mentoring, teachers are beginning to develop the confidence to challenge their beliefs and practices.
The team leader works alongside teachers to develop their practice and leadership capabilities. She models effective teaching practices focused on improving outcomes for children. This approach is contributing to teachers’ understandings about how to use internal evaluation to grow their practice. The service’s framework of policies and procedures is up-to-date, coherent and fit for purpose.
Imagination Station Early Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Imagination Station 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:
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-compliance:
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
11 June 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Imagination Station Early Learning Centre |
| Profile Number | 46599 |
| Location | Glen Eden, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
30 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 8 |
|
Review team on site |
April 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
11 June 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, September 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.
Imagination Station Early Learning Centre is a newly established, purpose-built centre in Glen Eden. The centre is licensed to provide education and care for a maximum of 80 children, including 20 up to two years of age.
The centre is organised in one large spacious room. An office space separates the pre-schoolers' and infants' and toddlers' areas. These groups have their own outside spaces. The teaching team includes five registered teachers and two staff who are in training.
The largest groups attending are Māori, Indian and Pākehā. There are smaller groups of children from Pacific and other ethnic backgrounds. Some teachers represent the cultural diversity and speak the home languages of the community.
The centre’s philosophy is based on the aspirations of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It prioritises a nurturing environment and positive relationships for children and whānau.
Children and their whānau are made to feel welcome. The service supports new families to transition smoothly into the centre. Children are engaged and happy in their play and with their teachers. They benefit from mixed-aged play and engage in tuakana/teina roles where older and younger children learn from and support each other. These roles help children to develop social and communication skills.
Children enjoy spacious and adequately resourced inside and outside learning environments. Children know centre routines and are beginning to become familiar with rolling morning and afternoon tea times. Teachers work alongside children and engage in conversations with them. They could now consider how to make better use of questions to extend and deepen children’s thinking and to promote more complex play.
Infants and toddlers have a safe space in which to play. Teachers talk with them about their play and interact respectfully and warmly. Toddlers are encouraged to develop independence and to make choices about their play.
The centre encourages families to share their cultures. Some teachers use te reo Māori and some of the children's home languages during the programme. Developing a bicultural curriculum continues to be a centre priority.
Teachers speak to whānau informally to seek their aspirations and expectations. This approach allows them to get useful information to help them plan programmes that respond to children's individual preferences. Children's portfolios provide a record of their time at the centre. Teachers could now strengthen the links between learning stories to show how they have responded to what they observed, to support the child's learning. They are currently working to strengthen their partnerships with parents and whānau.
The owner and centre manager work together to provide effective professional leadership and support for staff. Staff initiate spontaneous and short term evaluations to support ongoing improvement. Some of these evaluations have resulted in changes to the programme. Managers could support staff to strengthen internal evaluation by encouraging them to reflect on the impact of their teaching practice on outcomes for children.
The owner and manager agree that key next steps for centre development are to strengthen:
internal evaluation that focuses on improving the centre's philosophy statement, bicultural practices and strategic planning
assessment, programme planning and evaluation that is more focused on children’s interests
teachers' conversations with children to extend their learning and the complexity of their play.
The owner and manager recognise that it would be worthwhile to access external advisory support to help them refine:
strategic and annual planning
teacher performance appraisal processes
policies, procedures and systems that guide the centre operations.
Before the review, the staff and management of Imagination Station 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.
To improve current practice centre leaders need to strengthen systems for administering medication, hazard identification and recording sleep monitoring.
The next ERO review of Imagination Station Early Learning Centre will be in three years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
7 September 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 |
Glen Eden, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46599 |
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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 |
80 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
67 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 35 Boys 32 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
14 |
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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 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
July 2017 |
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Date of this report |
7 September 2017 |
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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.