2H Torrens Road, East Tamaki, 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 WonderKids Childcare & Preschool 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 |
Whakaū Embedding |
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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 |
WonderKids Childcare & Preschool provides education and care for children from infancy to school age. Children attending the centre are from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The owner is a qualified early childhood teacher and is supported by a centre manager to operate the centre and lead the teaching team.
Children learn through a play-based, responsive curriculum that is underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. They experience positive relationships with kaiako. Infants and toddlers are treated with respect and dignity during care routines. The learning environment is well resourced, inviting, and promotes exploration and discovery.
Kaiako have a strong focus on supporting children’s social and emotional wellbeing. They sustain conversations with children and help them to confidently express their feelings and share ideas. Assessment and planning documents show children’s individual and group learning.
Leaders and kaiako value diversity and are very responsive to children’s home languages and cultures. The cultural knowledge shared by families contributes to the curriculum experienced by children. The language and culture of Pacific children is visible in the environment and curriculum design. Parents and whānau who spoke with ERO were highly positive about the service.
Bicultural approaches and Te Tiriti o Waitangi based practices are woven through the curriculum. Kaiako use te reo Māori in meaningful ways with children. Children are well supported to take a lead role in karakia and waiata.
Leaders and kaiako work collaboratively. They participate in regular professional learning and mentoring opportunities. An internal evaluation process has had a positive impact on improving teaching strategies, leading to changes intended to encourage children’s independence and decision making. A deliberate focus on documenting the impact of changes made would help teachers to evaluate the difference they are making for children’s learning.
Well-established governance and management systems and processes support service operations. There is a high level of respect and relational trust between leaders and kaiako. This has contributed to maintaining effective adult-child-whānau relationships and consistent approaches to education and care for children. Leaders need to monitor that all licensing requirements are consistently being met.
WonderKids Childcare & Preschool will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of WonderKids Childcare & Preschool 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.
During the onsite visit the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it had addressed the following non-compliances:
Phil Cowie
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
8 November 2021
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Early Childhood Service Name |
WonderKids Childcare & Preschool |
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Profile Number |
46005 |
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Location |
East Tamaki, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
45 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers) |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
36 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 1, NZ European/Pākehā 3, Southeast Asian 12, Indian 7, Pacific 4, other Asian 5, other ethnic groups 4 |
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Review team on site |
August 2021 |
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Date of this report |
8 November 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 2018 |
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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.
Wonderkids Childcare & Preschool is licensed for 45 children, including up to five aged under two years. Children attend either six hour or full day sessions.
The owner/director is responsible for overall management and governance, and the two head teachers for the day-to-day management. Four registered teachers are supported by relief and part time teachers, and a cook.
Children have opportunities to play together in mixed age groups. Older children can access a large outside area. There is a separate area for babies and toddlers to crawl, play and sleep. The centre philosophy focuses on supporting children's independence and leading their own learning.
Children and their parents have a variety of cultural backgrounds, with a large proportion being Chinese. Teachers also reflect some of the diverse cultures represented in the centre.
ERO's 2014 review identified areas of good practice that continue to be evident. ERO suggested that the centre should improve its bicultural practices, and this area has been addressed well.
The centre director and teachers use a variety of effective strategies that support children to settle well into the daily programme. Teachers value parents as partners in their child's learning and encourage their involvement in the programme. Specific areas are provided for parents and children to interact with each other, and develop a sense of belonging in the centre.
Teachers encourage children to develop inquiry learning skills. They skilfully prompt children to deepen their interests through rich questioning, and hands-on experiences. These good practices, more consistently implemented, would enhance the centre's child-led learning philosophy.
Children under the age of two years are well cared for. The centre's primary-caregiver practices benefit these children. The environment supports younger children's physical and emotional development, and teachers respond well to their non-verbal communication cues to meet their needs.
Children with additional needs are well supported. Teachers work closely with parents to develop children's individual learning goals. They collaborate with external agencies when extra support and expertise is needed for individual children.
The centre director supports teachers to include aspects of te reo and tikanga Māori in the daily programme. Children readily participate in waiata, and respond positively to basic instruction in te reo Māori. Children's home languages are valued and are used by teachers to build relationships, and develop children's confidence in learning English. Centre leaders plan to enhance their cultural responsiveness to support all children's sense of identity.
The curriculum provides opportunities for children to experience science, numeracy and literacy learning in their play. Teachers prioritise hands-on exploration, and learning based on children's current interests. Teachers could consider their role in extending children's use of literacy and numeracy in their play.
Teachers meet with parents formally once a year, and discuss parents' aspirations for their child's learning. They provide activities and resources to respond to children's interests and inquiries. It would be more useful for teachers to use children's individual goals and dispositions to guide their planning. Children's learning stories could more strongly reflect their ongoing progress in relation to these goals and dispositions.
Good governance and management processes guide the centre's operation. Internal evaluation is becoming established, and teachers use a useful format to guide this process. Teachers are becoming more reflective about the quality of their teaching practices. They could further evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching on outcomes for children, particularly practices used to extend children's learning.
The director and head teachers agree that useful next steps for improvement include:
Before the review, the staff and management of WonderKids Childcare & Preschool 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 WonderKids Childcare & Preschool will be in three years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
4 May 2018
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 |
East Tamaki, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46005 |
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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 |
45 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
47 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 31 Girls 16 |
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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 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2018 |
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Date of this report |
4 May 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2014 |
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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.