159 -161 Landscape Road, Mount Eden, 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 Eden Early Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
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What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Learning Conditions |
ERO’s judgement |
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Whakaū Embedding |
Organisational Conditions |
ERO’s judgement |
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Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Eden Early Learning Centre is one of three services under the same ownership. A qualified centre manager is supported by a leadership team that includes four qualified early childhood teachers. There are four rooms for different age groups of children. The service roll reflects the ethnic diversity of the community.
Tamariki experience environments that encourage them to make choices, take risks and be creative. They show interest in objects, people, and events. Tamariki experience positive relationships with teachers, which encourages friendships with other children, and the development of oral language and social skills.
Service leaders and teachers collaborate to embed learning conditions which enable tamariki to experience inclusive and equitable outcomes. These learning conditions include:
a curriculum that promotes the curiosity, exploration, confidence, mathematical concepts, and literacy skills of tamariki
assessment, planning and evaluation practices that reflect the learning priorities in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum
the implementation of a well-established primary-caregiving approach that fosters attachments between infants and teachers
creating individualised learning pathways for all tamariki
integrating te reo and tikanga Māori practices in the curriculum and celebrating cultural diversity through events and special festivals.
Those in governance and management have sustained organisational systems and processes that contribute to positive learning conditions for tamariki. These processes include:
providing opportunities for kaiako to engage in regular professional learning to extend their knowledge and expertise
promoting collaborative leadership
regularly reviewing policies and procedures to ensure they are updated and meet requirements
embedding internal evaluation of the curriculum that promotes ongoing improvement.
Eden Early Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Eden 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:
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.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
11 May 2022
| Early Childhood Service Name | Eden Early Learning Centre |
| Profile Number | 25072 |
| Location | Mt Eden, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
110 children, including up to 40 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
130 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 9%, NZ European/Pākehā 35%, Chinese 22%, Indian 13%, Other European 10%, Other Asian 5%, Other ethnic groups 6% |
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Review team on site |
January 2022 |
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Date of this report |
11 May 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, December 2016; Education Review, October 2013 |
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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.
Little Wonders Early Childhood Centre is a privately owned centre in Mount Eden and is the first of eight Little Wonders centres operating across New Zealand. The owner is the director of the service, and employs a centre manager and three team leaders to manage the centre.
The centre is licensed to provide for up to 110 children, including 40 up to two years of age. The centre is organised into five rooms. Children transition across these rooms according to their ages and stages of development. There are separate, linked outdoor areas for infants and toddlers, and for pre-schoolers.
The majority of children are Pākehā. Chinese children make up 14 percent of the roll. Small numbers of Māori and other ethnicities also attend. Staff are also culturally diverse and reflect the centre’s community. Many staff provide children with first language support. All teachers are either qualified or in training for qualifications.
The child-centred company philosophy has been personalised for this centre and reviewed by teachers and parents. Teachers are committed to the principles and strands of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) philosophy of respect for children and freedom of movement is also included in programmes.
The strengths identified in the 2013 ERO report remain evident in the centre. These include respectful, positive relationships between teachers, children and parents, and robust self-review practices.
Children and their whānau are warmly welcomed on their arrival at the centre. The service supports new families to transition smoothly within the centre and on to school.
The centre prioritises a culture of children first and foremost. Children are happy, confident, and articulate. Many demonstrate a sense of responsibility for themselves, their peers and the environment. Children have opportunities for tuakana/teina relationships and mixed-age play, which foster their social and communication skills.
Strong, reciprocal and respectful relationships support children’s sense of belonging. Teachers work alongside children having fun in their learning. They are very responsive and encourage conversations that support children's first languages and foster language development in meaningful contexts. Centre leaders are actively developing consistency in the ways that teachers promote language development through open-ended questioning and active listening.
The learning spaces are well used and provide a responsive environment with meaningful and natural resources. The outside areas strongly promote physical challenges, exploration, curiosity and risk taking, appropriate to the children’s age.
Infants and toddlers have a comfortable and quiet area in which to play. The area is spacious and very well organised. The surroundings cater for a wide variety of developmental stages and support children to build confidence while interacting with each other. The RIE philosophy is strongly evident in practice. Responsive caregiving supports children's need for strong and secure attachments with adults.
Teachers maintain a calm, slow pace, allowing space and time for children to lead their learning. Toddlers are encouraged to develop independence in their play and to make choices about indoor and outdoor exploration. Older children contribute to the development of a curriculum that is responsive to their needs and provides them with good early literacy, science and maths learning opportunities.
The owner and leaders have a strong commitment to building teacher capability and confidence in their understanding about bicultural practices. Teachers take personal responsibility for learning te reo Māori and some have a strength with integrating te reo Māori in the programme in meaningful ways.
Parents and extended families take pride in sharing their cultural celebrations with children at the centre. Events such as Diwali, Chinese New Year, Fijian Day, language weeks and Matariki, are well supported by whānau.
Teachers use assessment and planning information very well to understand and identify children's learning. Parents' aspirations and children’s emerging interests are used well to inform teachers' planning for each child. Parents receive useful information about their children’s learning through digital portfolios, newsletters, and informal communication with teachers.
High quality, well aligned systems, documents and practices support centre operations and promote positive outcomes for children. A collaborative leadership team with a clear sense of the centre's vision, values and philosophy sets the direction for the centre. Professional development is strategic, and improvement focused.
The improvement and accountability purposes of self review are well understood and enacted. Self review is authentic, well planned and documented. Comprehensive processes guide effective teacher appraisal. To strengthen these processes, teachers could deepen their inquiry into the implications of their practice for children's learning experiences and outcomes.
The owner, centre manager, and team leaders agree that key next steps are to:
deepen critical evaluation of teaching practices, focusing on positive outcomes for children
gather regular parent input through consultation and surveys
continue to prioritise the development of bicultural practices in their internal evaluation and strategic planning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Little Wonders Early Childhood 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 Little Wonders Early Childhood Centre will be in four years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
16 December 2016
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 |
Mt Eden, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
25072 |
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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 |
110 children, including up to 40 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
141 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 73 Girls 68 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese Indian Pacific other |
2% 65% 14% 6% 4% 9% |
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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 |
October 2016 |
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Date of this report |
16 December 2016 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2013 |
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Education Review |
November 2010 |
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Education Review |
October 2007 |
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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:
Pou Whakahaere – how the service determines its vision, philosophy and direction to ensure positive outcomes for children
Pou Ārahi – how leadership is enacted to enhance positive outcomes for children
Mātauranga – whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to achieve positive outcomes for children
Tikanga whakaako – how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity and support positive outcomes for children.
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.