45 Seymour Street, Hawarden
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 Sunflowers Preschool Limited are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
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What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
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He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whāngai Establishing |
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Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whakaū Embedding |
Sunflowers Preschool Limited is a small, rural early childhood education and care centre. Most teachers, including the owner, are qualified. The centre caters for infants, toddlers and young children, up to five years old, in a mixed-aged setting. Since 2017, the service has increased its opening hours, to five days per week. The philosophy emphasises the Māori values of turangawaewae, whanaungatanga, manaakitanga and tangata whenuatanga.
Tamariki have many opportunities to learn through experiencing a responsive curriculum that is underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Kaiako foster positive relationships. They establish learning-focused partnerships with whānau that include opportunities for sharing information about tamariki wellbeing and progress. Assessment practices are mana enhancing, responsive to tamariki languages, cultures and identities and show their capabilities as learners. Kaiako regularly plan and evaluate teaching and learning to promote equitable outcomes for children.
Kaiako know tamariki well. They are beginning to understand and use some cultural competencies when working with Māori and Pacific learners. They are increasingly making purposeful use of te reo Māori, including aspects of te āo Māori, in the curriculum and written documentation. There is further work to do to fully implement a culturally responsive curriculum that reflects Māori ways of knowing, being and doing, the cultural narrative of the area, and educational success for Pacific children.
Kaiako foster a sense of belonging and are nurturing and responsive to the individual needs of infants, toddlers, and young children. They successfully promote relationships underpinned by the Māori values of ako and tuakana-teina. Kaiako work collaboratively with whānau and seek external expertise to enable tamariki with diverse needs to succeed in their learning. Predictable routines and clear expectations positively support tamariki wellbeing.
There is a systematic, collaborative approach to self-review. Regular professional discussions, reflective practice and peer feedback are actively promoted. There is further work to do to increase the capability of all kaiako to undertake in-depth internal evaluation.
Leadership and kaiako collaboratively enact the service’s philosophy, core values, vision, and goals. There is a well-organised, systematic approach to the operation of the service. The learning and wellbeing of tamariki and their whānau, are the primary consideration in decision making.
Sunflowers Preschool Limited will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning: These are to continue to embed:
Before the review, the staff and management of Sunflowers Preschool Limited 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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
2 November 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Sunflowers Preschool Limited |
| Profile Number | 46632 |
| Location | Hawarden, North Canterbury |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
27 children, including up to 2 children aged under 2 on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and 25 children, including up to 5 children aged under 2 on Tuesday and Friday |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
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Service roll |
50 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 8, NZ European/Pākehā 30, other ethnicities 12 |
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Review team on site |
August 2021 |
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Date of this report |
2 November 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, April 2017 |
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Sunflowers Preschool is well placed to promote positive outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Sunflowers Preschool opened in February 2015. It is a small, rural centre in North Canterbury. The centre is privately owned and located in the former, purpose-built Playcentre building.
The centre provides education and care three days a week for children from two years to school age. Families from a diverse range of cultures attend the centre.
The centre operates with two fully-qualified and certified teachers who are supported by other trained adults. This is the centre's first education review.
Children are happy and confident in the learning programme. They experience respectful, positive relationships with each other, their teachers and staff. Older children readily support the younger children with their learning and routines. Children have many opportunities to develop their creativity and physical skills in the thoughtfully-presented environment.
Teachers are welcoming and inclusive of children and families. They build effective, responsive relationships with families to promote meaningful connections between home and the centre. Teachers regularly involve parents with setting goals for their child’s learning.
Teachers purposefully extend children’s creativity and oral language skills. They provide a wide range of activities in the well-resourced, spacious environment. Teachers create meaningful wall displays to accurately record children’s interests and involvement in the learning programme.
Transition into the centre is well managed to meet the needs of children and families. Teachers have a positive relationship with the two local schools and share ideas about play-based learning with the new entrant teachers. Teachers intentionally support the development of children’s independence and self-help skills to foster their successful transition to school.
Parents are kept well informed about children’s learning through learning stories and discussions with staff. They are regularly invited to share their ideas and become involved in decision-making processes at the centre.
Teachers benefit from appropriate opportunities to take responsibility for centre tasks and processes to build their leadership capability. They regularly participate in systematic appraisal processes and a relevant range of professional development that impacts positively on their practice.
The centre manager has developed a useful strategic plan with appropriate action plans to guide the operation of the centre. Self review is contributing to achieving centre priorities.
The centre manager and ERO agree that the key next steps to improve outcomes for children are to:
continue developing bicultural perspectives and use of te reo Māori in assessment and the learning programme
further strengthen assessment, planning and evaluation by increasing the focus on learning in group planning and reflecting children’s cultures in learning stories
document appraisal procedures and guidelines in more detail.
Before the review, the staff and management of Sunflowers Preschool Limited 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 Sunflowers Preschool Limited will be in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Te Waipounamu)
26 April 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 |
Hawarden |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46632 |
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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 |
27 children two years and over |
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Service roll |
29 |
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Gender composition |
Girls: 17 Boys: 12 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Fijian Other ethnicities |
2 20 2 5 |
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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 |
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
March 2017 |
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Date of this report |
26 April 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report
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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:
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.