19 Hadley Drive, RD 1, New Plymouth
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.
Seedlings Nature Kindergarten is privately owned and located in a rural setting. The owners oversee day-to-day teaching and operational systems with an established teaching team. Enrolled children are aged over three and up to six years of age. A small number of tamariki Māori attend.
The service’s nature-based curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It is inclusive, and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Meaningful, positive interactions with adults enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. A language-rich environment supports children’s learning.
The premises support the provision of different kinds of indoor and outdoor play. This includes quiet spaces, areas for physically active play, and a range of individual and group learning experiences appropriate for the children attending.
Suitable human resource practices, internal evaluation and appraisal processes are implemented.
Since ERO’s onsite visit, steps have been taken to strengthen supervision of the bush and tree clad outdoor environment.
Next steps include:
integrating children’s cultures, languages and identity through assessment and planning.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following noncompliance:
Ensuring the outdoor learning environment is effectively supervised whenever children are present.
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008, Regulation 46 (1)
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
7 November 2023
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
20 children |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
|
Service roll |
31 |
|
Review team on site |
September 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
7 November 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akanuku | Assurance Review, May 2021; Education Review, May 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.
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.
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 | Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
Seedlings Nature Kindergarten is a privately owned service located in rural New Plymouth. Staffing consists of three qualified teachers. The May 2017 ERO evaluation identified that governance and management practices required improvement and sufficient progress has been made in response.
The curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki. Children experience a culturally responsive programme that is meaningful and positive. Teachers respect children’s preferences by responding to their interests and urges. Centre design supports the provision of a variety of indoor and outdoor experiences, prioritising a love of nature, earth and life. Strategies are in place to involve parents and whānau in their children’s learning.
Consistent implementation of health and safety practices is required to meet all aspects of regulatory compliance.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centre 2008, HS22].
During the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that the non-compliance identified in this report is addressed promptly.
The next ERO review will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
13 May 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Seedlings Nature Kindergarten |
| Profile Number | 46657 |
| Location | New Plymouth |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 20 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80%+ |
| Service roll | 22 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 8, NZ European/Pākehā 10, Other ethnic groups 4 |
| Review team on site | March 2021 |
| Date of this report | 13 May 2021 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, May 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: