152 Queen Street, Northcote Point, Auckland
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.
Northcote Point Community Creche is a not-for-profit community-based service established in 1984. It is based in a heritage building, the old Council Chambers/Library. The service is governed by a committee of parents. A qualified head teacher leads a team of three qualified teachers and two staff.
Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. The service curriculum is inclusive, and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning experiences.
The service curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Consistent implementation of health and safety practices is required to maintain all aspects of regulatory standards.
Since the onsite visit, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
A means of verifying that perishable food is kept at a temperature at or below 4°C (PF16).
Adults providing education and care are familiar with relevant emergency drills and carry these out with the children on at least a three-monthly basis (HS8).
Records of excursions to include evidence of parents/caregivers having given prior written approval for the proposed child:adult ratio for regular and special excursions, and the signature of the person responsible giving approval for the excursion to take place (HS17).
Rooms used by children are kept at a comfortable temperature no lower than 18C (at 500mm above the floor) while children are attending (HS24).
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
20 July 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Northcote Point Community Creche |
|
Profile Number |
20119 |
|
Location |
Northcote Point, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
26 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
44 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 2, NZ European/Pākehā 37, other ethnic groups 5 |
|
Review team on site |
June 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
20 July 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, September 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.https://www.ero.govt.nz/assets/Centre-Assurance-Statement-Master-January-2017.pdf. 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:
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 certification; ratios)
evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
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.
How well placed is Northcote Point Community Creche to promote positive learning outcomes for children?
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Northcote Point Crèche was established in 1984. It is based in a heritage building, the old Council Chambers/Library. The crèche is currently carrying out an extensive upgrade of the outdoor facilities. It is licensed to provide care and education for 26 children, including up to 10 children under the age of two years.
The governance committee is ably managed by parents. They hold meetings once or twice per term and parents are encouraged to join and support these meetings. The committee is responsible for overseeing staff appointments and staff support, strategic development and ensuring legislative requirements are in operation.
The four permanent staff are supported by parents/caregivers who are rostered as parent helpers. Since the 2012 ERO report, a new head teacher and administration support person has been appointed. The head teacher manages the day-to-day running of the centre and mentors teachers and parent helpers in curriculum delivery.
The centre’s philosophy values child-initiated learning and expresses a commitment to bicultural practices. These aspects are acknowledged and celebrated in the programme, which is underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
The 2012 ERO report identified good quality adult interactions with children and noted that children responded positively to adults. These aspects remain a key feature in the centre’s programme.
The centre’s highly effective and inclusive teaching practices affirm and build on the strengths children bring. As a result children are confident and are well supported to be independent. They are keen learners and engage well in the range of activities teachers provide. Children are given the space to initiate their own play and conversations with each other. Teachers are unhurried and calm and this allows time for children to explore their environment.
The learning environment is used well to enrich children’s learning and to promote play that challenges children’s thinking. Teachers’ review of the learning environment has resulted in more provision of quality resources that provoke children’s thinking to enquire and explore.
Teachers plan and implement a high quality curriculum for children that reflects the centre’s philosophy and Te Whāriki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum. The curriculum also prioritises Maori language, culture and values. Teachers are committed to further continue strengthening their bicultural journey.
The programme is holistic, inclusive of all children and provides authentic learning experiences. Attractively presented programme documentation shows how children’s interests and parent aspirations guide the programme. Children’s portfolios are highly valued and are often added to by families. They clearly show children’s learning journey.
Teachers are reflective and use self review effectively to improve their teaching practices and learning outcomes for children. Recent self review has resulted in improvements to centre resources and to programmes for children, including routines designed to start the day off well for children. Changes are resulting in children being better engaged in the learning programme.
Partnerships between parents and teachers are strong. They are respectful and responsive to each other and to children. Parents receive clear and open communication from the centre. The contributions parents make to their children’s learning programmes are appreciated by teachers. Parents value the culturally diverse and inclusive programme teachers promote. Parents are positive about the well managed programme. They appreciate how teachers are building positive networking relationships within the community through fundraising events and working bees to maintain and improve the facility. These good practices contribute to parents’ and children’s sense of belonging to their centre.
Strong professional leadership enables the centre to maintain its focus on providing high quality early childhood education and care. Positive working relationships, mentoring and collaboration between management and staff help create a culture of trust and respect.
The management committee provides very good governance. They are active and committed to their role and have developed robust systems that clearly demonstrate their roles and responsibilities. They support the head teacher and teachers well. The committee values and uses self review to build on their knowledge, to measure their progress, and to make strategic decisions about the centre’s future direction. They could further strengthen this by aligning their strategic plan to an annual plan that unpacks how progress against strategic goals will be achieved.
Centre leaders, parents and teachers agree that they could continue to strengthen:
Before the review, the staff and management of Northcote Point Community Creche 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.
The next ERO review of Northcote Point Community Creche will be in four years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
2 September 2015
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 |
Northcote Point, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
20119 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
26 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 years old |
||
|
Service roll |
71 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 38 Girls 33 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā other Asian other European Indian |
5 60 3 2 1 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
50-79% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
May 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
2 September 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
July 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
March 2006 |
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:
Pou Whakahaere – how the service determines its vision, philosophy and direction to ensure positive outcomes for children
Pou Ārahi – how leadership is enacted to enhance positive outcomes for children
Mātauranga – whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to achieve positive outcomes for children
Tikanga whakaako – how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity and support positive outcomes for children.
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.