1 Vera Road, Te Atatu South, 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 Te Atatu South Childcare Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
|
What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
|
He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
|
Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Te Atatu South Childcare Centre is a privately owned and operated education and care service. Governance and management are overseen by the owner and a centre manager, who lead a team of seven qualified and four unqualified staff. Children come from diverse cultural backgrounds with 19 percent identifying as Māori.
Children experience a strong sense of belonging. They are confident and settled in their environment, demonstrating good social, emotional and communication skills. They initiate conversations with adults and successfully build friendships with their peers.
A calm, unhurried pace is maintained by teachers to give younger children space and time to lead their own learning. Teachers respond to children’s verbal and non-verbal cues in a positive and timely manner.
Leaders and teachers acknowledge, respect and respond to the identities, languages and cultures of the centre’s community. Transition processes into the service, support and respond to each child, their parents and whānau.
Service leaders acknowledge that a priority is to build staff cultural competence to design and implement a culturally responsive curriculum. Teachers are working towards integrating the languages and cultures of Māori and Pacific children in the teaching and learning programme.
Learning environments are inclusive and affirming. Children are encouraged to wonder, explore and become fully involved in a variety of learning experiences.
A positive working environment has contributed to a dedicated and committed team who help the service achieving its vision and goals. Relational trust encourages teachers to inquire, discuss and work collaboratively in their daily practice.
Family and belonging are central to the centre’s philosophy and values. Policies and procedures prioritise children’s wellbeing. Leaders ensure that structural considerations such as qualifications, space, group size and premises support the quality provision of care and education for children.
Te Atatu South Childcare Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Te Atatu South Childcare 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
9 June 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Te Atatu South Childcare Centre |
| Profile Number | 20449 |
| Location | Te Atatu South, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
59 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 11 |
|
Review team on site |
May 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
9 June 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, October 2017 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Te Atatu South Childcare Centre is licensed for 50 children, including 15 up to two years of age. Children are catered for in four age-related groups and are able to move freely in and out of their areas throughout the day
The centre's philosophy integrates Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and is influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education.
The centre has addressed the recommendations from the 2014 ERO report, by further developing bicultural practice, strengthening self review and creating opportunities for children's independence through play. The majority of teachers are long serving and philosophically committed to the centre's child-centred learning approaches.
Children and their families are warmly welcomed into the centre. They are valued and respected as individuals who, with their families, actively contribute to the programme. Children are keen investigators who test and develop their skills and confidence as they play, explore and learn. They have meaningful conversations with each other and with adults, and play cooperatively for sustained periods.
Teachers seek parents' aspirations for their children's learning. They build relationships and cultural connections that support everyone to feel welcome. These strong relationships with whānau help children to engage with learning and become confident and connected learners. Children are relaxed, confident and 'at home' in the centre. Te reo and tikanga Māori are valued and authentically integrated throughout the programme.
Children from two to five years play with each other in the environment and enjoy this interaction. Toddlers and babies are cared for by teachers who are gentle, calm and nurturing, and respond to individual infants' needs. The babies' and toddlers' indoor and outdoor environments are purposefully designed to promote exploration and all-weather learning and play.
Teachers respond to children with care and sensitivity. They allow children to lead their own learning, carefully guiding and supporting them. Teachers provide children with opportunities to choose, and make decisions about their play.
Four year old children have many opportunities to lead and revisit their learning and engage as active inquirers through play. There is good evidence of children's interests leading curriculum, planning and learning. Families are increasingly participating in children's learning through the centre's online learning portal and this is helping to forge strong home and centre relationships.
Children's learning records are of a very good quality. They provide good in-depth evidence of each child's learning dispositions and development, and of opportunities for children to extend their interests. Teachers' knowledge of children and their whānau helps them to include their voices in learning stories.
Transition stages into, through and out of the centre are managed well. They are viewed as positive experiences as they are determined by a child's readiness for the next stage of development and learning. Parents and whānau are encouraged to be fully engaged in this process.
Children learn and play in attractive indoor environments that reflect their interests. The outdoor environment has space and resources for children but now needs to be further optimised by increasing indoor/outdoor flow and provide greater challenge through play for older children.
Centre leaders consult with staff and parents as part of decision-making in relation to change management, practices, policies, and everyday matters. Collaborative leadership enables very good opportunities for teachers and leaders to grow their professional practice. Teachers are reflective professionals who engage in meaningful and strategically relevant professional learning and development.
The centre has an external professional mentor who oversees all appraisals and provides leadership and mentoring for centre leaders. The inclusion of more reflective feedback is a next step for developing teachers' appraisal processes and identifying their next professional learning steps. The inclusion in appraisals of Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners, would be of benefit for all teachers.
Well planned internal evaluation is having a very positive impact on centre practices. Leaders are committed to ongoing learning through professional development, to build the capability of individual teachers and of everyone in the learning community. Teachers are adaptive practitioners who work collaboratively to inquire into the impact of their practice on outcomes for children. There is a high level of commitment by centre owners to resourcing the development of a strong professional teaching team.
There is good alignment across all centre systems, including annual planning, policies, professional learning and internal evaluation. These inform the next steps in centre development. Centre leaders plan to consider the place of an overarching strategic plan to give coherence to centre documentation and provide a long term vision for the centre.
Centre leaders agree that key next steps include:
developing a strategic plan to provide a guiding vision for the centre
optimising indoor/outdoor flow to benefit older children and provide greater challenge through play in their outdoor area
incorporating Tātaiako in teacher appraisals and strengthening appraisal feedback.
Before the review, the staff and management of Te Atatu South Childcare 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.
The next ERO review of Te Atatu South Childcare Centre will be in three years.
Graham Randell Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
4 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 |
Te Atatu South, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
20449 |
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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 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
54 |
||
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Gender composition |
Boys 34 Girls 20 |
||
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
10 |
|
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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 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
July 2017 |
||
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Date of this report |
4 October 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2014 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 2011 |
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|
Education Review |
February 2008 |
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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.