99 Portage Road, Papatoetoe, 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 |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Fun ‘N’ Play Childcare Centre is a privately owned service. The owner/manager supports a recently appointed, qualified head teacher, who leads a team of two qualified teachers and two support staff. Almost half of the children enrolled at the service have Pacific heritages, and there is a small number of Māori learners.
The service’s curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It is informed by assessment, planning, and evaluation that demonstrate an understanding of children’s learning, their interests, whānau, and life contexts.
The curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 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.
Next steps include:
During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
14 December 2023
| Early Childhood Service Name | Fun 'N' Play Childcare Centre |
| Profile Number | 46561 |
| Location | Papatoetoe, Auckland |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 50 children over the age of 2 years |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 50-79% |
| Service roll | 44 |
| Review team on site | November 2023 |
| Date of this report | 14 December 2023 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Akanuku | Assurance Review, March 2022 |
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 license 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.
Fun ’N’ Play Childcare centre is a privately owned service that offers full day education and care. The owner is responsible for governance and management. A qualified manager leads a team of four qualified teachers and two unqualified staff. Children attending have culturally diverse backgrounds.
Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. The service curriculum provides children with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development, individually and in groups. 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.
Ongoing monitoring of health and safety and governance and management practices is required to maintain all aspects of regulatory compliance.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS12, GMA7.
Since the onsite visit, the service provided evidence to ERO to show the following non-compliances have been addressed:
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.
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
23 March 2022
| Early Childhood Service Name | Fun ‘N’ Play Childcare Centre |
| Profile Number | 46561 |
| Location | Papatoetoe, Auckland |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 50 children aged over 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 100% |
| Service roll | 29 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 7, Indian 8, Fijian 4, Pacific 8, other ethnic groups 2 |
| Review team on site | February 2022 |
| Date of this report | 23 March 2022 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, June 2017 |
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 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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Topcare (Portage) Early Childhood Centre offers full-day and sessional options for children aged from two to five years. The centre is licensed for 55 children. Currently 10 children are enrolled. Most of these children are Indian and a few are Samoan or Tongan.
The centre was opened in 2014 and this is its first ERO report. It is one of two privately owned Topcare Early Childhood Learning Centres. Both centres are owned by a family trust, which delegates centre management to a director.
A supervisor has responsibility for the day-to-day running of the centre. She and two staff are qualified teachers and two more staff are currently in training to gain early childhood qualifications. Several teachers speak languages other than English, including from the Philippines, India, Fiji and China.
The centre's philosophy promotes positive relationships with families alongside core values of respect, care and having fun. It also has a commitment to heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Children are settled in the centre environment and are supported to make independent choices. They are friendly and play well alongside each other. Children and parents are warmly greeted at the start of their day.
Teachers have positive relationships with families. They talk with parents about the aspirations they have for their children. Teachers value families' home languages and cultures. The visits that teachers make to children's homes are a significant feature of the centre. This practice, along with the use of social media, enhances communication and connections with children and their families.
Teachers are gentle, calm and supportive of children and each other. They work with children to encourage them to talk about learning. Teachers have a specific focus on promoting children's oral language. Children choose from the activities that teachers provide and engage well with those that interest them. There are opportunities for children to revisit prior learning experiences. Teachers use some te reo Māori in waiata and centre displays.
The spacious indoor environment is appropriately resourced and has a good flow to the outdoors. Children have opportunities for learning literacy, mathematics and science alongside creative and imaginative play. Many different cultural events are celebrated during the year. Teachers have made links with two local primary schools with the aim of better supporting children as they start school.
Teachers make links to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, in their programme planning and assessment of children's learning. They have started working together to identify and plan for individual children's interests and dispositions. They meet each weekend with the director. Teachers appreciate the considerable professional learning provided since the centre opened.
The supervisor models calm, respectful approaches with the teaching team. She is supported by an experienced teacher and aims to extend leadership roles within the teaching team. The supervisor and teachers have developed a useful internal evaluation process that includes parent input.
The director has accessed external support to develop the centre's policy framework, strategic planning, internal evaluation, curriculum and other operational systems, including teacher appraisals.
Key next steps for the centre include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Topcare (Portage) 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:
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 Topcare (Portage) Early Childhood Centre will be in three years.
Steffan Brough
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
14 June 2017
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 | Papatoetoe, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 46561 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 55 children, over 2 years of age | ||
| Service roll | 10 | ||
| Gender composition | Girls 6 Boys 4 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Indian Samoan Tongan | 7 2 1 | |
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Over 2 | 1:5 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Review team on site | April 2017 | ||
| Date of this report | 14 June 2017 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| No previous ERO reports | ||
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.