3 Pratt Street, Freemans Bay, 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 (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 Oma Rāpeti Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
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What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Kia rangatira ai te tipu Excelling |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
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He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
|
Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
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Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
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Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Kia rangatira ai te tipu Excelling |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Oma Rāpeti Early Learning Centre is a privately owned service. Ownership of the centre changed in 2018. The owner and centre manager lead a teaching team of 12 teachers. Children learn in two separate areas for different age groups. The centre philosophy is underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early learning curriculum, and guided by the philosophies of Emmi Pikler and Magda Gerber’s RIE®.
Children are respected as capable learners. Their mana is enhanced through an unhurried learning environment. They confidently engage in conversations with adults. Children are supported to be active explorers and confidently take a lead role in their learning.
The centre philosophy is enacted by all staff and underpins the welcoming nature of the centre. Parents and whānau who communicated with ERO expressed an appreciation of the reciprocal partnerships they experience with centre staff. They value the high level of respect, genuine interest and care, staff show to their children.
The spacious outdoor area offers a range of meaningful learning experiences that promote children's physical skills and confidence. The indoor area offers inviting spaces which inspire children’s wonder and exploration. The Discovery Group provides regular excursions for older children to further their knowledge and understanding about their local environment.
Infants and toddlers benefit from responsive and trusting relationships with kaiako who respond to their daily needs with care and sensitivity. Calm and affirming kaiako help these children to feel relaxed and secure. Effective transition processes into, within and from the centre support the needs of children and their whānau.
Kaiako integrate te reo and tikanga Māori practices in the programme, demonstrating their respect for Māori culture. Children use simple te reo Māori phrases and enjoy reciting karakia and singing waiata.
High adult:child ratios enable kaiako to respond to and extend children’s individual curiosities and interests in timely and meaningful ways. Learning stories acknowledge children’s uniqueness, celebrate their individual interests and learning and development.
Kaiako are highly reflective and work collaboratively to build their professional knowledge and expertise. Coaching and mentoring, and relevant professional development enable kaiako to deepen their understanding of curriculum and effective teaching practices.
The leadership team foster high levels of collaboration and coherent conditions to influence positive outcomes for children and their whānau. Effective governance and management support continued developments of centre operations. Internal evaluation practices guide ongoing teaching and learning improvements through the centre.
Oma Rāpeti Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Oma Rāpeti 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.
Phil Cowie
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
22 September 2021
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Oma Rāpeti Learning Centre |
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Profile Number |
20052 |
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Location |
Freemans Bay, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
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Service roll |
45 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 2, NZ European/Pākehā 42, other ethnic groups 1 |
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Review team on site |
22 July 2021 |
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Date of this report |
22 September 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, October 2017 ; Education Review, March 2014 |
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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.
Oma Rāpeti Early Learning Centre in Freemans Bay is licensed to provide education and care for 50 children, including up to 12 children aged under 2 years. Children are in two separate areas with infants and toddlers in the 'Burrow' and those aged over two years in the 'Meadow'. Parents have the option to enrol children for morning or afternoon sessions or for a longer day.
The centre owner and manager leads a team of 14 qualified teachers. She is supported by an assistant manager and two senior teachers. The centre is privately owned.
The service's philosophy is strongly underpinned by trusting and caring relationships. Centre routines and operations are focussed on instilling a sense of wellbeing for each child. The arts form a valued part of the programme. Teachers believe that nature provides the optimal play experience, and environmental sustainability is an increasingly important team focus.
The 2014 ERO report highlighted the genuine and trusting relationships between children and teachers, and the strong sense of team across the teaching staff. It also noted, close relationships with parents and whānau were supporting children's learning, and that the well planned programme was responsive to children's interests and abilities. These positive aspects have been maintained.
Areas for continued development identified in the 2014 report were the strengthening of strategic planning and bicultural practices, and extending older children's critical thinking through self-assessment. There has been some progress in all these areas.
Children are active participants in planning their play. Teachers support their growing independence, trusting in their developing social skills, and ability to solve their own problems. Friendships amongst the children are evident.
Infants and toddlers benefit from a calm atmosphere, a well paced programme and consistent caregiving. Sensitive responses from teachers in both rooms support each child's need for strong and secure attachments. Teachers seek permission from the children before preparing them for care moments or meal times.
Teachers interact with all children in positive and respectful ways. They effectively model language and provide opportunities for children to extend their vocabulary and verbal skills. Centre routines allow for long periods of uninterrupted play where children can choose to play indoors or outside. Trips within the local area and parks are a regular part of the programme. Consideration could be given to how resourcing of the centre supports children to take risks and engage in more complex play.
The bicultural nature of Aotearoa is evident in the programme through the appropriate use of karakia and waiata. Teachers use te reo Māori incidentally in their conversations with children. The team's commitment to deepening their bicultural practice is reflected in the continued engagement of an external facilitator to support authentic engagement and integration of the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi into daily practice.
Children's portfolios of learning reflect the individual child. Some contain contributions from whānau. Teachers could more explicitly record their conversations with whānau about the learning journeys of individual children, to make more visible the learning partnerships between parents and whānau.
Teachers work together well as a team. Their strong commitment to a shared philosophy of care and education provides children with consistent messages about their participation in the programme as they transition through the centre.
Centre leaders have established an organisational culture of ongoing improvement. Teachers are offered a wide range of opportunities to engage in ongoing professional learning and development opportunities. Teacher appraisal processes allow time for discussion about teaching practice. There is also commitment from the team to provide learning opportunities for their community.
Internal evaluation projects are often affirming of chosen topics for reflection. The process of self review could be strengthened through the use of a more evaluative lens on areas of investigation. The refining of the centre vision could provide more direction for the teaching team as they review their philosophy statement. This could also support the alignment of internal evaluation, teachers' appraisals and annual planning.
Centre leaders agree that key next steps include:
a review of the environment to provide opportunities for children to take risks and experience challenge, particularly in the outdoors
refinement of the centre vision to help guide future direction and planning
further strengthening programme planning processes with a particular focus on more rigorous and critical evaluation
reviewing the 2016 centre philosophy with a focus on the teacher's role in bringing complexity to children's learning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Oma Rāpeti 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.
Centre managers need to ensure room temperatures are maintained at a temperature of no lower than 16 degrees Celsius.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008, PF12.
The next ERO review of Oma Rāpeti Early Learning Centre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
20 October 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 |
Freemans Bay, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
20052 |
||
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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 |
50 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
||
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Service roll |
61 |
||
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Gender composition |
Boys 31 Girls 30 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
2 |
|
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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 |
|
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 |
20 October 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2014 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 2012 |
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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.