286 Mt Wellington Highway, Mount Wellington, 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 Treehouse Children’s Creche is a privately owned service, located within the Sylvia Park Shopping Mall. Ownership of the service changed in September 2020. The owner is responsible for daily operations and is supported by a qualified supervisor. The teaching team includes six qualified teachers. The service provides free two-hour activity sessions, seven days a week.
The service curriculum provides children with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development indoors. Adults engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance learning and nurture reciprocal relationships.
Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The service environment is language rich and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. The curriculum respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture and encourages children to understand and respect other cultures.
Consistent monitoring of systems is required to maintain regulatory standards.
Next steps include:
developing a local curriculum to include experiences and learning that are important to children and their families
increasing the range of opportunities children and their families have to share aspects of their cultures and languages.
Since the onsite review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Having evidence that water stored in any hot water cylinder is kept at a temperature of at least 60°C (HS14).
Maintaining a record of safety checking and risk assessment of children’s workers and the results of this process. (GMA7A).
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
28 April 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
The Treehouse Children's Creche |
|
Profile Number |
25399 |
|
Location |
Mt Wellington, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
41 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
|
Service roll |
73 |
|
Review team on site |
February 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
28 April 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 2019; Education Review, March 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 |
The Treehouse Children's Creche is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
The Treehouse Children's Creche is a privately owned centre in Mt Wellington. The centre operates from the Sylvia Park Mall. It provides free two hour activity-based sessions, seven days a week, for children from birth to five years of age. The owner manages all centre operations and supervises a team of permanent and relieving teachers to provide education and care.
The centre is licensed for up to 41 children, including a maximum of 20 children under two years of age. Children can only attend one session per day. Many children who attend are also enrolled in other centres. There is no outdoor area for play.
The centre philosophy acknowledges the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, to help teachers plan. There is a commitment to establishing respectful, trusting relationships with children and their whānau by welcoming and celebrating all cultures.
Since the 2015 ERO report several new teachers have been appointed. Most teachers are qualified. The 2015 report had several recommendations that included strengthening the quality of interactions with children, promoting children's language development and self-help skills, and fostering children's collaborative play. Teachers continue to make progress in these areas.
Children are happy and confident in the centre where their languages and cultures are welcomed. They have trusting and respectful relationships with teachers, and are developing social skills as they play cooperatively with their peers. Many parents stay the whole time and play with their children as a family unit or in small mobile groups. Children respond well to adult support and benefit from a good variety of available resources. Their independence is fostered through many opportunities to make choices, and develop self-help skills.
Teachers encourage children to play independently, and affirm their endeavours with questions and prompts for additional ideas. They engage children in friendly conversations and support their sense of wellbeing in the centre. Teachers include a Māori perspective in the programme, which enables children to become familiar with waiata and te reo Māori, and cultural activities which may involve families sharing their skills and knowledge.
Children up to the age of two benefit from caring teachers who promote a calm and peaceful environment. Education and care routines are appropriately individualised. Younger children have easy access to the mixed age play area for their own exploration, and to play with older children.
Teachers work at a calm unhurried pace readily sharing ideas and practice with parents. They plan activities from observing children's emerging interests. While this approach helps teachers to provide activities that reflect these interests, it does not identify specific teaching strategies or learning goals to extend children's learning. Teachers would benefit from support to strengthen their understanding of their role in extending children's learning, and supporting older children to develop their critical thinking skills.
The manager has developed good systems to support the effective management and operation of the centre. She works collaboratively with staff to monitor the centre's direction. They plan to incorporate the 2017 revised edition of Te Whāriki and strategic documents to develop a clearer alignment to valued outcomes for children.
Key next steps for ongoing improvement include:
sharing what they know about children's developing capabilities and interests, and children's progress and next steps for learning
consolidating and rationalising management systems.
Before the review, the staff and management of The Treehouse Children's Creche 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
2 May 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.
|
Location |
Mt Wellington, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25399 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
41 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
655 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 55% Girls 45% |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
1% |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
March 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
2 May 2019 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
March 2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
December 2011 |
||
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 will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
Very well placed
Well placed
Requires further development
Not well placed
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 Treehouse Children’s Creche is a privately owned centre in Mt Wellington. It provides two hour free activity-based sessions seven days a week for children from birth to five years of age. The centre operates from the Sylvia Park Mall in Auckland. The kindergarten owner manages all centre operations and supervises a team of permanent and relieving teachers to provide education and care.
The centre is licensed for up to 41 children, including a maximum of 20 children under two years of age. Children are only able to attend for one session per day. There is no outdoor area for play. Many of the children who attend are also enrolled in other centres.
Teachers at the centre reflect the cultural diversity of children and their families. Parents often stay for the sessions and support the centre. Some parents enjoy using their first language at the centre to make connections with other parents. Teachers recognise the importance of New Zealand’s dual heritage with Māori as tangata whenua, and continue to build bicultural perspectives in the curriculum provided.
ERO’s 2012 report on the centre made several recommendations for improvements, including those relating to the programme and to management practices. Some progress has been made towards addressing these, and this 2015 ERO report outlines the need for further improvements that would be of benefit to children’s education.
Children attending the centre are responsive to its friendly and gentle tone. They choose from a selection of activities and equipment, settle quickly, and follow routines. They enjoy playing alongside each other in mixed age groups. Some children enjoy uninterrupted play and are supported to revisit their learning by teachers.
Teachers are welcoming and responsive to children’s needs and care. They support each other and work well together as a team. They make positive connections with children and interact well with their families. Teachers relate well to children and use their first languages to help children settle into the programme.
While there is good focus on children’s care and participation in the programme, more focus is needed to ensure teaching approaches reflect those outlined in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and current theory and practice about high quality early childhood education.
There is good evidence to show the positive impact that recent professional learning has had on teachers’ understanding and use of self review to make improvements for children. However, the owner’s vision of providing a free service and relying solely on government funding makes it difficult to create an environment that fully supports and grows teachers’ professional practice. For example, time for teachers to reflect on the programme and to increase their professional knowledge about most effective teaching practices is limited. The challenge is to now find ways to promote ongoing improvements in practice within the structure of a very busy programme that caters for three different groups of children each day, seven days a week.
The owner is currently setting up a new management system, reviewing policies and refining procedures. She is developing new ways to monitor and document the centre’s strategic direction.
The key next steps are for the centre manager to help teachers further develop their professional practice in order to:
strengthen the quality of interactions with children and extend children’s thinking, curiosity and problem solving
promote children’s language development and self-help skills
foster children’s collaborative and group play.
Before the review, the staff and management of The Treehouse Children's Creche 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.
The next ERO review of The Treehouse Children's Creche will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
25 March 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 |
Mt Wellington, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25399 |
||
|
Licence type |
Casual Education |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
41 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
581 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 53% Girls 47% |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese Indian Filipino Samoan Cook Island Māori Other Pacific Other |
5% 63% 13% 6% 4% 4% 2% 2% 1% |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
January 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
25 March 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
December 2011 |
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.