153a Bank Street, Regent, Whangarei
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 |
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 |
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed non-compliances and is now taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Stepping Stones Preschool is one of three services under the same ownership. The two owners support a professional practice manager who oversees all three services. Staff includes six teachers, three of whom are qualified. At the time of the review almost half of the children enrolled were Māori.
The service’s curriculum provides a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning. It is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning, their interests, whānau and life context.
Regular opportunities are provided for parents and whanau to communicate with adults providing education and care about their child and be involved in decision-making concerning their child’s learning. The service has a philosophy statement that guides the centre’s operations.
Consistent implementation and monitoring of health and safety and governance, management and administration practices is required to maintain regulatory standards.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Having a current Fire Evacuation Scheme approved by the New Zealand Fire Service (HS4).
Having a written emergency plan that includes a list of safety and emergency supplies and resources sufficient for the age and number of children and adults at the service, details of how these will be maintained and accessed in an emergency, and a communication plan for families and support services (HS7).
Maintaining a record of the time each child attending the service sleeps and checks made by adults during that time (HS9).
Ensuring equipment, premises, and facilities are checked every day of operation for hazards to children, including hazards present in kitchen and laundry facilities, vandalism, dangerous objects and foreign materials, and the condition and placement of learning, play and other equipment (HS12).
Ensuring water stored in any hot water cylinder is kept at a temperature of at least 60°C (HS14).
Ensuring all practicable steps are taken to ensure that noise levels do not interfere with normal speech and/or communication or cause any child attending distress or harm (HS15).
Having a record of excursions that includes the names of adults and children involved (HS17).
Ensuring where food is provided by parents, a copy of Ministry of Health: Reducing food-related choking for babies and young children at early learning services is provided at the time of enrolment (HS22).
Maintaining a record of all injuries, illnesses and incidents that occur at the service which include the date of the incident (HS27).
Maintaining a record of all medicine (prescription and non-prescription) given to children attending the service which includes the name and amount of medicine given (HS28).
Having written information letting parents know how to access the amount and details of the expenditure of any Ministry of Education funding received by the service (GMA3).
Having a process for human resource management that includes a definition of serious misconduct and discipline/dismissal procedures (GMA7).
Ensuring all children’s workers who have access to children are safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014 and that risk assessments are completed after all relevant information is obtained (GMA7A).
Maintaining an attendance record that meets the requirements outlined in the Early Childhood Education Funding Handbook (GMA11).
Next steps include:
improving the service’s positive guidance practices to help teachers better support children’s developing social competence and understanding of appropriate behaviour
providing opportunities for children to lead and make decisions about their learning experiences.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
4 April 2023
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Stepping Stones Preschool |
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Profile Number |
10410 |
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Location |
Regent, Whangarei |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
26 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
22 |
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Review team on site |
January 2023 |
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Date of this report |
4 April 2023 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, March 2019; Education Review, April 2015 |
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.
having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.
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:
curriculum
premises and facilities
health and safety practices
governance, management and administration.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulatory 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:
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; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
discussions with those involved in the service
consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Stepping Stones Preschool is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Stepping Stones Preschool is located in suburban Whangarei in a small, attractive bungalow and tree filled backyard that have been adapted for purpose. The centre provides for children from two to five years of age. Thirty percent of children attending the centre are Māori.
The centre came under new ownership in April 2017, and a new team leader was appointed in May 2018. The Ministry of Education provided initial support and guidance for the new owners and centre manager, who continue to work with external advisors to facilitate further improvements.
The centre's philosophy has undergone an extensive review. Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, underpin the philosophy. Two magnificent pūriri trees provide a visual metaphor for the centre's philosophy.
Families and children are warmly welcomed on arrival. Children settle quickly and demonstrate a sense of belonging and ownership of their environment. They make choices about their learning and are confident in organising their play.
Children respectfully play alongside each other for sustained periods of time. They freely participate in imaginative and creative play using open-ended resources. Children's rich oral language is a feature of this play. Children are provided with opportunities that encourage their thinking and develop their problem solving skills.
Teachers provide good opportunities for children to learn, be resilient and develop physical competencies. Outdoor environments promote physical challenges for children as they confidently explore the natural environment. Teachers listen, and ask and respond to questions in ways that develop children's language.
Teachers know children and whānau well, and respond to individual needs with sensitivity. They value their partnerships with families. Whānau contributions are evident on the planning wall and in children's learning stories.
The centre has a strong commitment to bicultural learning and this is evident throughout the programme. Teachers and children use te reo Māori as part of learning and play. Staff are committed to further developing their bicultural competencies.
The new centre leader is developing practices and procedures to support teachers' professional practice. The centre has developed a good appraisal process, which is not yet fully implemented. The centre manager and owners agree that professional development is required to support the meaningful implementation of the appraisal system.
Internal evaluation contributes to some actions for improvement. As leaders and teachers develop a better understanding of the purpose of internal evaluation, it should become a more effective improvement tool in all areas of the centre.
Centre policies are robust and regularly reviewed. The new strategic and annual plans are bringing about some positive outcomes. Centre owners and leaders understand that aligning the strategic and annual plans to policies and professional development is essential to ensure the centre successfully meets its goals. Deliberate action plans that are aligned to centre goals would give centre leaders a clear guide for achieving planned improvements.
Leaders agree that key next steps for centre improvement include:
deliberate alignment of strategic and annual plans and actions to guide centre improvements
ongoing leadership development and mentoring for new leaders
implementation of the teacher appraisal process to meet Teaching Council requirements.
Before the review, the staff and management of Stepping Stones 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
8 March 2019
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 |
Whangarei |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
10410 |
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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 |
26 children aged over 2 years |
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Service roll |
24 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 12 Boys 12 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
8 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
January 2019 |
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Date of this report |
8 March 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
First report under Stepping Stones Preschool Previously known as Big Steps Early Learning Centre |
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|
Education Review |
April 2015 |
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|
Education Review |
February 2009 |
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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 will depend on how well the service promotes 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.