130 Commercial Road, Helensville
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 |
| Curriculum | Meeting |
| Premises and facilities | Meeting |
| Health and safety | Meeting |
| Governance, management and administration | Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Sunny Days Community Preschool is located in a semi-rural community. The service is managed by a qualified centre manager, who leads a team of four certificated and four unqualified teachers. A committee made up of parents and community members provides governance support. About a third of children enrolled are Māori.
Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships.
The service curriculum provides a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning, their developing social competence, and their understanding of appropriate behaviour. The curriculum is inclusive, and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning experiences.
Information and guidance are sought, when necessary, from agencies and services to enable adults providing education and care to work effectively with children and their parents.
Next steps include:
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
16 November 2023
| Early Childhood Service Name | Sunny Days Community Preschool |
| Profile Number | 20067 |
| Location | Helensville, Auckland |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 34 children, including up to 6 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80-99% |
| Service roll | 39 |
| Review team on site | October 2023 |
| Date of this report | 16 November 2023 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Akanuku Assurance Review, July 2022; Education Review, September 2018 |
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 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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
ERO’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 |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Not meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Not meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified areas of non-compliance with regulatory standards that are an unacceptable risk to children.
Sunny Days Community Preschool is based in a semi-rural community. A parent and community committee and accountant provide governance support alongside a centre manager. The staff include five qualified and four unqualified teachers.
Teachers and leaders providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Teachers provide children with experiences and opportunities to support their learning and development. Children’s preferences are respected by the teaching team. Children are involved in decisions about their learning experiences.
Staff provide a curriculum that is inclusive and responsive to children. Leaders seek information and guidance, when necessary, from agencies and other services to enable adults providing education and care.
Consistent implementation of required operational practices is needed to meet and maintain all aspects of regulatory standards.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
a current fire evacuation scheme that is approved by the New Zealand Fire Service
parents of children attending the service, and adults providing education and care, are provided with opportunities to contribute to the development and review of the service’s operational documents
all children’s workers who have access to children are safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS4, GMA4, GMA7A.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
A first aid kit that complies with the requirements of Appendix 1 (PF28).
There is a written emergency plan and supplies to ensure the care and safety of the children and adults at the service (HS7).
Adults providing education and care are familiar with relevant emergency drills and carry these out with the children on at least a three-monthly basis (HS8).
Equipment, premises and facilities checked every day of operation for hazards to the children (HS12).
Water is stored in a hot water cylinder at a temperature of at least 60C (HS14).
A record of all medicine (prescription and non-prescription) given to children attending the service includes evidence of parental acknowledgement of medicine given (HS28).
ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence issued to this service provider. ERO will not undertake a further review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets regulatory standards.
The next ERO review will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
19 July 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Sunny Days Community Preschool |
|
Profile Number |
20067 |
|
Location |
Helensville, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
34 children, including up to 6 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
37 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 10, NZ European/Pākehā 25, other ethnic groups 2. |
|
Review team on site |
May 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
19 July 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, September 2018 |
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 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:
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 certification; ratios)
evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Sunny Days Community Preschool is licensed for 34 children including 6 up to two years of age and has served families in Helensville for over 30 years. Most children are either Pākehā or Māori, and they are joined by smaller numbers of children from increasingly diverse cultural backgrounds.
The centre operates in a renovated bank on the main street of Helensville. Babies and toddlers have their own indoor and outdoor spaces, and children from two years to school age have access to a multi-levelled outside environment and a spacious indoor area. Older children are able to visit the babies and toddlers at times during the day.
The centre philosophy emphasises an inclusive and welcoming environment. It highlights the importance of positive and respectful relationships between teachers and children, and learning programmes that are child initiated.
The 2014 ERO report identified many aspects of good practice that included positive relationships with parents and children. However, it also expressed concern that staffing changes had impeded progress in addressing the next steps identified in ERO's 2011 report.
The centre manager, operations manager and most teachers were new to their roles in 2014, and ERO recommended that the centre respond to the next steps identified in the 2011 ERO report. These areas for development included further enriching children's learning opportunities, participating in centre-wide professional learning for teachers, and promoting parents' contributions to their children's learning journey. In addition, the report suggested that managers provide children with appropriate early learning approaches to learning literacy and mathematics. This 2018 ERO report identifies that some progress has been made in some of these areas for development.
Since 2014, the centre manager and operations manager have continue in their roles, and staff turnover has been low over the past 2 years. A parent-led and elected committee continues to provide governance support for the management team.
Children and parents experience a warm and welcoming centre environment. Children settle easily into their day, and play independently or cooperatively with others in learning areas of their choice. They have strong bonds with their teachers and positive relationships with each other. Teachers are nurturing with children, catering well to their care needs. As a result, children are secure and have a strong sense of belonging in their centre.
Teachers collaborate in planning an increasingly child-centred curriculum. They meet monthly to respond to children's individual interests that emerge from the programme, and create individualised plans for each child. Teachers place an increased emphasis on celebrating children's different cultures through events such as Chinese New Year and simple Samoan words and songs. Matariki is observed as part of the centre's bicultural curriculum, and children experience myths and waiata, and an increasing focus on te reo Māori and tikanga.
Teachers who care for babies and toddlers are calm and unhurried in their approach. They are gentle, affectionate and respectful, following children's cues and parent preferences. Teachers are highly engaged with these youngest children, using effective teaching strategies to promote language and other learning. In response to these good practices, children are very settled and content. Managers are now planning to review and improve how well toddlers are transitioned into the older children's area.
Parents' involvement in the centre is actively encouraged by teachers and managers. A newly established key teacher approach is improving engagement between teachers, parents and children. Teachers' use of an online system allows them to share photographs and stories about their children's learning. This practice and other approaches, promote effective and regular communication with parents.
Centre managers are improvement focused and reflective. They provide generous professional learning opportunities for teachers and recognise teachers' leadership strengths. The centre's strategic plan is well aligned to teachers' goals and to their professional learning. Managers generously staff the centre to maintain the very good teacher:child ratios.
Centre managers agree, that a key next step for the teaching team is to access externally facilitated, in-centre professional learning. This approach would provide opportunities for teachers to learn collaboratively and further improve teaching practices throughout the centre. These improvements include teachers:
partnering with parents to establish and evaluate progress towards children's individual learning goals
evaluating the purpose and effectiveness of the more formal literacy and numeracy learning that occurs as part of the centre's transition to school programme
responding increasingly to children's interests as they emerge in the programmes
increasing the intentional and active role they play in enhancing children's learning
critically reflecting on the effectiveness of their teaching practices in promoting children's learning.
Key next steps for management include:
reviewing and improving the teacher appraisal process so that it meets current Education Council requirements
improving the quality of reports written for the committee so that they are more evaluative
accessing external support for the committee to ensure that all members have a clear understanding of their governance roles and responsibilities.
Before the review, the staff and management of Sunny Days Community 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 Sunny Days Community Preschool will be in three years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
21 September 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.
|
Location |
Helensville, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
20067 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
34 children, including up to 6 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
41 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 24 Girls 17 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
15 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:6 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
July 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
21 September 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2014 |
|
|
Education Review |
September 2011 |
||
|
Education Review |
August 2008 |
||
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.