Environment House 24 Kate Sheppard Place, Thorndon, Wellington
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 |
Not meeting |
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Health and safety |
Not meeting |
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Governance, management and administration |
Not meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified areas of non-compliance with regulatory standards that are an unacceptable risk to children.
Kids' Environment is an early childhood service located in central Wellington. It is governed by a committee made up of parents whose children attend the centre. There have been recent staff changes. All committee members are relatively new to the stewardship role. The staff and community are ethnically diverse.
Teachers work collaboratively to develop and implement the learning programme. Positive steps are taken to recognise the aspirations held by parents for their children. Implementation of a range of learning experiences is supported both indoors and outside. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their participation and play.
Parents’ input in the governance of the service is sought and valued. Better organisation and monitoring of health and safety practices, and aspects of governance and management are required.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, PF6, HS8, GMA7A.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non compliances:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008 PF31 HS6, HS7 HS12,
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.
The next ERO review will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
16 September 2021
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Kids’ Environment |
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Profile Number |
60060 |
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Location |
Wellington |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 10 aged under 2. |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
27 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 1, NZ European/Pākehā 8, Other ethnic groups 18 |
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Review team on site |
June 2021 |
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Date of this report |
16 September 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, April 2018; Education Review, March 2016 |
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:
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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.
Kids' Environment is in the Wellington central business district. The service offers full day early childhood education and care for up to 25 children from infancy to school age. Opening hours are from 7:45am until 5:45pm. Priority places are available for children with parents employed by the Ministry for the Environment, where the service is located. The centre is governed by a committee of parent representatives.
The March 2016 ERO report identified a number of areas needing further development. These included: teaching practice; appraisal; internal evaluation; philosophy review; and governance and management.
The centre has been supported by Ministry of Education funded professional development to address these areas.
The philosophy is evident in practice. Children have a sense of belonging and play together amicably. Their home cultures and first languages are reflected in centre programmes. Warm, responsive interactions foster their security and wellbeing. Teachers recognise that not all daily routines reflect the revised centre philosophy. They know that a key next step is to evaluate the extent to which mat times meet children's individual needs. ERO's evaluation confirms this development need.
A calm, settled environment effectively supports children's daily transitions into the centre. The recently introduced key-teacher approach fosters continuity of care for the centre's youngest children. Parents and teachers work in partnership to support children as they prepare for their move to school.
Internal evaluation is developing and has led to positive changes in the centre. The committee and teachers have worked together to develop their knowledge and understanding of internal evaluation as a way to promote ongoing improvement. A next step is to continue to strengthen internal evaluation, particularly in relation to more clearly considering the impact of changes on outcomes for children.
Teachers have developed a consistent approach to assessment and planning to support children's learning. They work with parents to plan activities and experiences to reflect children's interests at home and in the centre. A next step is for teachers to continue to strengthen their evaluation of assessment information to further extend children's individual learning pathways.
An improved appraisal process is supporting teachers to grow their professional practice. Teachers receive useful feedback and constructive feedforward on their teaching. The senior teacher is taking steps to better align appraisal with recent Education Council requirements.
Children have regular opportunities to experience te ao Māori. The environment, routines and resources reflect the centre's commitment to providing a curriculum which reflects Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Excursions to the local marae and bush walks further support children's knowledge and understanding.
Teachers and the committee have worked collegially to successfully address the key next steps in the previous ERO report. A strengthened strategic plan sets a clear direction for centre operation. Committee members have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and taken steps to promote succession planning. A key next step is to ensure that policy review adheres to the planned cycle and takes account of legislative changes.
Leaders, teachers and ERO agree that the centre's key next steps are to:
continue to strengthen assessment, planning and evaluation practice, particularly in relation to supporting children's individual learning pathways
evaluate the effectiveness of mat times
ensure that policy review adheres to the planned cycle and takes account of legislative changes
continue to strengthen internal evaluation.
Before the review, the staff and management of Kids' Environment 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 Kids' Environment will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
27 April 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 |
Wellington |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
60060 |
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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 |
25 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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|
Service roll |
27 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 18, Girls 9 |
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Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
18 |
|
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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 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
March 2018 |
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Date of this report |
27 April 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2016 |
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|
Education Review |
March 2013 |
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|
Education Review |
March 2010 |
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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.