48 Awaroa Road, Sunnyvale-Auckland, Auckland
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 |
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.
The Grange Early Learning Centre is a privately owned service. A qualified owner/manager is responsible for daily operations. She is supported by a compliance leader and a curriculum leader who are both qualified. The teaching team includes five qualified teachers, three unqualified staff and a relieving teacher. A small number of children enrolled have Māori heritage.
The service curriculum provides children with a range of experiences and opportunities to extend their learning and development both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups. Children benefit from a language rich environment. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships.
There are regular opportunities for parents to communicate with adults providing education and care about their child and be involved in decision-making concerning their child’s learning. Positive steps are taken to respect and acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau for their children.
Next steps include:
improving the extent to which assessment and planning information demonstrates an understanding of individual children’s learning, their interests, and progress over time
continuing to develop a curriculum that reflects individual children’s languages, cultures, and identity.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
Ensuring windows and other areas of glass accessible to children are either made of safety glass, covered by an adhesive film, or effectively guarded by barriers (PF7).
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
4 May 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
The Grange Early Learning Centre |
| Profile Number | 20310 |
| Location | Sunnyvale, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
37 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
43 |
|
Review team on site |
April 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
4 May 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Reviewed under previous ownership: Education Review, August 2018; Education Review, January 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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
The Grange Early Learning Centre is a well-established centre in Sunnyvale, West Auckland. The centre is licensed for up to 37 children, with a maximum of eight under the age of two. Children who attend reflect the increasingly multicultural community.
The owner oversees centre operations, and is supported by an experienced centre manager who leads a team of registered early childhood teachers.
The centre's philosophy is underpinned by the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The centre's core values include respect, whanaungatanga, diversity and learning through play. The philosophy statement also articulates a commitment to excellence, natural environments, and literacy and numeracy development.
ERO's 2014 report identified many positive practices. Since 2014, centre leaders have continued to strengthen their practices through systematic internal evaluation. Initiatives have been set in place that have helped children to understand the richness of New Zealand's bicultural heritage and strengthened relationships within the community.
Children are greeted warmly on their arrival in the calm, attractive and well-resourced centre. The nurturing environment and purposely positioned photos support connections with homes and families and promote a strong sense of belonging for children.
Infants enjoy a variety of activities and the opportunity to make their own choices in a play based programme. Warm interactions and reciprocal conversations with teachers and carers foster children's vocabulary. Adults' respectful care practices nurture toddlers' self-help skills and encourage independence. Wet weather clothing is available to allow children to participate in all aspects of the programme and have good access to outdoor activity.
Older children play well alongside each other. They are viewed as inquisitive and capable learners. Supportive adults listen to children's ideas and encourage them to try new ideas, problem solve and lead their own learning. Their interests are recognised and nurtured through good quality conversations. Extended periods of uninterrupted play promote opportunities for children to develop their own inquiries.
The indoor environment and multi-level landscaped outdoor space offer a compelling invitation for imaginative and creative play, as well as supporting appropriate risk taking and physical development. Teachers respond to children's learning strengths and interests by offering prompts to foster children's curiosity and encourage inquiry and investigation.
Teachers work collaboratively, and they engage respectfully with children. Deliberate acts of teaching facilitate purposeful learning experiences that extend children's thinking and develop complexity in their play. Opportunities for literacy, numeracy and exploring the natural world are naturally woven into the programme. Digital devices are used purposefully for research.
The centre's strong commitment to a bicultural curriculum is apparent in the environment, and has resulted in rich, authentic learning experiences for whānau and staff. The inclusion of te reo and tikanga Māori is an integral part of centre practices that affirm Māori children’s cultural identity. Teachers are increasingly confident in their use of te reo Māori. It is timely to consider ways to make children's language, heritage and culture more evident in their portfolios.
Meaningful connections with the local community are expanding learning experiences for children. A focus on environmental sustainability is encouraging children to build their skills and knowledge, and to contribute to the local community gardens.
Parents are very positive about the education and care their children receive. Regular documentation, an online communication system and well-presented portfolios allow children's learning progress to be shared with families. Transitions into and through the centre are thoughtfully managed. Positive relationships with local schools have helped establish good processes around children's transition to school.
The centre manager's leadership has been integral to growing quality in the centre. Focused and purposeful internal evaluation has contributed to the very good quality teaching and learning practices. Teachers are encouraged and supported to be reflective practitioners. Robust induction and appraisal practices promote teacher inquiry, and establish expectations for high quality teaching. A mentor supports the team to critique practices and consider ways to enhance learning outcomes for children. Professional learning programmes extend teachers' practice and capability.
Effective governance systems guide centre operations. Management systems and expectations are clear and robust. The centre's culture of ongoing improvement, business sustainability and desire for high quality outcomes underpins all operations. Comprehensive policies are reviewed against practice. As part of the next review of the centre's philosophy, teachers could consider how it reflects the effective bicultural practice and ongoing focus for improvement evident in the centre.
Centre leaders have comprehensive and relevant strategic plans that focus on using robust internal evaluation and teacher professional learning to build on current good practices across all aspects of centre operations.
Before the review, the staff and management of The Grange Early Learning 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 The Grange Early Learning Centre will be in four years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
7 August 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 |
Sunnyvale, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
20310 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
37 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
55 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 29 Girls 26 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
7 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
July 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
7 August 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
January 2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 2012 |
||
|
Education Review |
September 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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
The Grange Early Learning Centre is situated in Sunnyvale, West Auckland. The centre operates from a converted home and caters for infants and children through to school age. There has been a recent change in centre ownership.
Children attending the centre are representative of the diverse ethnic groups in the local community. Staff work at providing special events for families at times when working parents and whānau are best placed to attend. These events also provide good opportunities for parents and teachers to discuss children’s progress.
The manager and owner share responsibility for the day-to-day routines and programmes. The teaching team is made up of long serving and new teachers, all of whom are qualified and registered. Together they have addressed the areas of compliance identified in the 2012 ERO review, reviewed the centre’s philosophy, and developed a child-centred curriculum.
On arrival, teachers welcome children and their whānau, invite children to participate and support them to settle in to the day’s routines. Teachers take time to talk with parents and whānau as children select activities, greet their friends and become engaged in play.
Children enjoy playing in the upgraded and challenging outdoor environment where they develop their physical skills and explore the adventure-style setting. They have good opportunities to develop social skills through play. Teachers change the equipment and areas of play to suit children’s current interests. Children respect their environment and appreciate the varying levels of challenge the outdoor space provides for them.
The centre programme provides a rich and varied range of experiences for children. Teachers plan meaningful and challenging learning activities, which are responsive to the interests and perspectives of children and whānau. Literacy, mathematics, science and the arts are well integrated into the learning programme. The programme also includes opportunities for children to learn about the local and wider community, and supports them well to become life-long learners.
Children under 2 years of age are well cared for. Centre managers are aware of the challenges of the limited space available for these younger children. Teachers provide opportunities for infants and toddlers to be included in play with older children. They have good access to outdoor play.
A significant feature of the programme is its focus on environmental sustainability. Skills learnt at the centre are put into use each week at the community garden, where children’s contributions are highly affirmed and encouraged.
Teachers have good quality assessment practices that are used to monitor children’s learning. They are becoming more strategic in supporting children to develop their verbal language skills and are using children’s words in their learning stories.
Centre managers and teachers strongly value communication with parents. They are working to improve the effectiveness of online sharing of information with parents. Managers are also developing record keeping systems to better capture information shared in daily meetings between parents and teachers, and in regular professional discussions between teachers. Work to develop a more formal approach to capturing parent and teacher input should help to improve planning for individual children.
Teachers are committed to offering a bicultural curriculum. They recognise that their understanding of bicultural practice needs to be further strengthened. Development in this area would help all teachers and children to understand the richness of New Zealand’s dual cultural heritage. It would also provide more responsive support for children and their whānau who identify as Maori. Some good initiatives in this area are already underway.
The centre is well managed by the centre manager. Her reflective practice, positive attitude and pedagogical knowledge have enabled the centre to function efficiently through the change of ownership. The centre team has used its philosophy, annual goals and appraisal process well to guide its practices and to contribute to strategic goal setting. Feedback and discussion with the owner prompts ongoing improvement and encourages teachers’ reflective practice.
Centre managers agree that next steps include:
Before the review, the staff and management of The Grange Early Learning 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.
The next ERO review of The Grange Early Learning Centre will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern Select Region
26 January 2015
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 |
Sunnyvale, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
20310 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
37 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
48 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 27, Girls 21 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Samoan Chinese Indian other |
6 28 4 3 2 5 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
November 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
26 January 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
February 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
September 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
August 2005 |
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.