2 Armadale Road, Remuera, 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 are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Remuera Montessori Ltd are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
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What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whāngai Establishing |
Learning Conditions |
ERO’s judgement |
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Whāngai Establishing |
Organisational Conditions |
ERO’s judgement |
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Whakatō Emerging |
The service provides education and care to an increasingly multicultural community. Significant changes have occurred since the previous ERO review, including an increase in licence numbers. The new teaching team, including the centre manager, oversees operational systems and curriculum delivery. The manager is supported by two directors/owners.
Children are provided with an environment that is welcoming and caring. They are settled and demonstrate a strong sense of belonging. Children are confident and can express their ideas competently. They are curious and are engaged in their play.
Children are encouraged to take increasing responsibility for their own and others’ wellbeing. Transitions into and from the service support and respond to the needs of each child and their parents and whānau.
Responsive relationships with whānau guide children’s learning and wellbeing. Children with additional learning needs are positively supported to experience learning and developmental success. Opportunities are available for parents to contribute and participate in cultural events celebrated in the learning programme. Parents’ aspirations are gathered to inform their child’s learning plan. Parents are appreciative about the centre’s responsiveness to their child’s learning and wellbeing.
The curriculum has a strong focus on the ‘Montessori way’ and children’s independent play. Teachers facilitate children’s play and intervene when necessary. They are beginning to explore the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The service manager has identified that building teachers’ knowledge and implementation of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori to provide a more culturally responsive curriculum is in the early stages of development. In addition, a greater focus on the other curriculum strands of contribution, communication and exploration is required.
Leaders and teachers work well together. They have developed a positive working environment that is conducive to building quality adult and child relationships.
Quality improvement systems, processes, and practices for building useful organisational conditions are not yet well established. Support for teachers is required to:
build knowledge and theory of the practices required to successfully implement Te Whāriki
critically reflect on their professional practice individually and collectively to promote collaboration
build internal evaluation capability for ongoing improvement to strengthen the curriculum and improve outcomes for children.
Remuera Montessori Ltd will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Continue to build shared understanding of quality early childhood theory and practice to enable a more consistent implementation of a broader curriculum aligned to all the strands of Te Whāriki, and that is culturally responsive and intentional.
Leaders and teachers to embed internal evaluation processes and practices for ongoing improvement and use the evaluation findings to inform the service’s strategic direction
Before the review, the staff and management of Remuera Montessori Ltd 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.
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.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance areas:
a record of excursions that includes parents giving permission and approving adult-child ratio, and assessment and management of risk (HS17)
stretchers, that will be used by more than one child over time, are securely covered with non-porous material (that is, a material that does not allow liquid to pass through it) that protects them from becoming soiled (PF30).
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
12 May 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Remuera Montessori Ltd |
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Profile Number |
20144 |
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Location |
Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
45 children over the age of 2 years |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
33 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 1, NZ European/Pākehā 6, Chinese 15, Indian 7, |
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Review team on site |
January 2022 |
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Date of this report |
12 May 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, June 2018; Education Review, October 2014 |
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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.
Remuera Montessori Ltd is an early childhood education and care centre located in Remuera, Auckland. Children and families come from a diverse range of local and international backgrounds to attend this service as it offers the Montessori learning approach. The centre was previously known as Remuera Discovery Montessori.
The service is now owned by a family-based company that purchased the centre in 2017 and changed the name of the licence. Two owners are involved in the day-to-day organisation of the centre. One, the centre manager, who is a qualified early childhood teacher, leads the development of teaching and learning. The other owner manages administration, property, health and safety and finance.
The centre's vision merges Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum with the Montessori philosophy. The resulting programmes encourage and support children's personal development, critical thinking and creativity.
The centre is licensed for 30 children over the age of two years and offers a full day programme. Children play together in a mixed-age environment under the care of a centre manager, one head teacher and three qualified teachers.
This is the first ERO review of Remuera Montessori Ltd.
Inclusive relationships between child, teacher and family support children's wellbeing and sense of belonging. Centre staff are working positively to develop effective partnerships with families that promote and develop good quality early childhood learning in a Montessori setting.
The centre's curriculum and well-resourced learning environment support children to learn collaboratively through play, structured learning, exploration and investigation. The range of learning experiences on offer promotes children's cognitive development through thinking challenges and problem solving. There are many opportunities for children to play freely and express their creativity. Early literacy and numeracy skills are skilfully integrated into children's play and learning by capable teachers.
Teachers have a high level of respect for children as competent learners. They listen carefully to children's voice, value their ideas, and support them to choose the direction of their daily activities. They extend children's thinking through open-ended questioning and prompt them to select their own learning resources.
The centre manager and teachers are committed to supporting the partnership in The Treaty of Waitangi and all staff engage with te ao me te reo Māori. Centre investigations and learning displays reflect bicultural New Zealand and the other cultures of children who attend the service. Home languages are supported and affirmed by teaching staff to strengthen children's learning and sense of identity.
Teachers use assessment and planning practice that responds effectively to what they notice about each child. Staff document and record individual and group interests. They work closely with children to help them extend and evolve their interests and inquiries. Teachers also plan deliberately for dispositions development within the curriculum to further enable individual children's progress. They share this information with families through learning stories, conversations and a parent portal to an online platform. This encourages parents to participate in their children's learning pathways.
The centre is developing a sound professional culture for staff to work efficiently and effectively as a team. Teachers are led by a capable head teacher. She is very experienced in early childhood educational practice and has qualifications in Montessori theory. The centre manager leads by example and demonstrates high quality leadership traits.
A useful relationship is now established between the centre and a local primary school with a Montessori unit. The resulting mentoring processes ensure that teachers are well supported to keep their Montessori practice current. Teacher appraisal systems are currently being evaluated. This will help to ensure teachers meet the current requirements of the Education Council regarding renewal of their practising certificates.
Centre leaders are working towards the careful implementation of all key centre systems and operations. They focus on continuous improvement and seek out best practice models and early childhood research to guide the centre's direction and development.
ERO and centre leaders agree that the next phase of centre development should prioritise:
the formulation of a strategic plan for the next three years
continuing the centre's focus on evaluation and review
continuing to develop teachers' performance management and appraisal systems.
Before the review, the staff and management of Remuera Montessori Ltd 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 Remuera Montessori Ltd will be in three years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
21 June 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 |
Remuera, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
20144 |
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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 |
30 children, over 2 years of age |
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Service roll |
26 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 20 Girls 6 |
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Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
8 |
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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 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
May 2018 |
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Date of this report |
21 June 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
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:
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.