89 Southbrook Road, Rangiora
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 |
Not meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
Southbrook Early Learning Centre is a privately-owned and operated education and care service. In 2017 Provincial Education Group PEG 2 Limited, purchased the lease to operate the centre. A centre manager supported by a regional manager, leads a team of mainly qualified and certificated teachers across the three learning spaces.
Children have access to a range of learning materials both indoors and outdoors. Teachers promote the use of unhurried, respectful and responsive interactions. There is little opportunity for children to develop an understanding and awareness of their own and other cultures through the curriculum.
A useful policy framework and annual planning guide centre operations. Self-review is established and supports ongoing improvements. Health and safety systems are monitored, and changes are made when required.
ERO found an area of non-compliance in the service relating to:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education & Care Services 2008, C6.
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
11 October 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Southbrook Early Learning Centre |
| Profile Number | 70051 |
| Location | Rangiora |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
70 children, including up to 20 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
52 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 11, NZ European/Pākehā 39, Other ethnic groups 2. |
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Review team on site |
August 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
11 October 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, January 2016; Education Review, July 2012. |
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 |
Southbrook Early Learning Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Southbrook Early Learning Centre is one of four centres owned and administered by Canterbury Early Learning Centres Limited (CELC). The centre provides for babies to children of school age in three separate rooms. The Kiwi Room provides for infants and toddlers up to two and half years of age. The Tui room provides for children from two and half to three and half years and the Pukeko Room for children from three and half years to school age. The Tui and Pukeko rooms share an outdoor area. The Kiwi Room has a separate outdoor play space.
The centre leader and the head teachers in the three classrooms have been appointed since the 2012 ERO review. Nearly all the staff are qualified early childhood teachers. Many teachers are experienced and have worked at the centre for a number of years.
The centre is making good progress in meeting the recommendations from the previous ERO review. Support from CELC leaders is helping the centre leaders and teachers improve self review, child assessment and programme planning. Routines and programmes have also improved, particularly in the Kiwi Room.
This review was part of a cluster of three centre reviews in the CELC.
Children benefit from a wide range of learning experiences within the centre and the wider community. The classrooms and outdoor areas are well equipped and presented. Resources are easy for children to access. Literacy, mathematics, science, the arts and physical activity are well integrated into the programmes. Members of the wider community regularly visit the centre and share their skills and interests. The children are also very involved in community events, including exhibiting at the local agricultural show.
Transitions into the centre, between rooms and to school are well established and managed. Teachers have developed close relationships with local primary schools. They regularly visit and share information about children’s learning and wellbeing. The transition-to-school programme is carefully organised and includes children building their social and self-management skills, and gaining confidence in a range of new situations. Parents receive regular information about their child’s transition and the ways the centre is supporting their child during this process.
Children are well supported in their learning and play by their teachers. Children make good use of their interests to confidently choose their learning and organise their play. Teachers use a range of effective strategies to help children develop their ideas, increase their skills and knowledge, and use their imagination. Children, with support from teachers, willingly involve others in their play and share resources.
The Kiwi Room staff provide a nurturing environment for infants and toddlers. They are responsive and flexible to meet the needs of these young children. Oral language is actively promoted and home routines well integrated.
Children with diverse needs are well supported within the programme and external agencies provide additional support to ensure these children have many opportunities to play alongside and with their peers.
Systems and procedures for child assessment and programme planning are well established. Teachers have been effectively supported by the curriculum leader to improve the quality and usefulness of the learning stories. Most stories provide good information about children’s learning, the way teachers support the learning and next steps for learning and teaching. Children’s individual learning plans also help to ensure all teachers have a good knowledge of each child and the ways that they can best support their learning.
Parents are kept well informed about their children’s learning in the child profile books, wall displays and planned meetings with teachers.
The organisation and centre leaders have made good use of professional development provided to other centres within the CELC to establish more useful self review and strategic planning. Teachers have a shared understanding of self review and its importance in improving learning outcomes for children. The strategic plan provides clear direction for further development of the centre, and learning and teaching.
The managers, leaders and teachers have established effective systems and practices for health and safety and care routines. These systems and practices are efficiently implemented by staff and regularly monitored by leaders and managers.
The managers and ERO agree that the key next steps for the centre include:
CELC is making a number of improvements to the operation of the organisation at centre and management levels. These include:
The CELC managers and ERO agree that the next key steps for the organisation should include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Southbrook 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.
The next ERO review of Southbrook Early Learning Centre will be in three years.
Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)
14 January 2016
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 |
Rangiora |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
70051 |
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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 two |
||
|
Service roll |
112 |
||
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Gender composition |
Girls 51%; Boys 47% |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Pacific Other ethnicities |
11% 87% 1% 1% |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
November 2015 |
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Date of this report |
14 January 2016 |
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|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
July 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2009 |
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.