244 Naenae Road, Naenae, Lower Hutt
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 |
Not meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Not meeting |
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Governance, management and administration |
Not meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
Best Start Naenae, formerly called Community Kindy Naenae, operates under the umbrella of Best Start Ltd. An area manager and professional practice leader support the service. There has been substantial turnover of staff since the previous ERO review. A new centre manager has recently been appointed. The service is divided into three age-based areas.
The service is not meeting regulatory standards in a significant number of areas. Children do not have sufficient opportunity to engage in meaningful, positive interactions with teachers that enhance their learning. A language-rich environment is not evident. The service curriculum does not reflect the diverse cultures of the families that attend. Children’s learning has not been supported by regular assessment, planning and evaluation.
Support and guidance should be provided to teachers regarding their roles, responsibilities, and ensuring practices consistently reflect health and safety policies and procedures. Parents should have increased opportunities to contribute to decision making regarding their children’s learning.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education & Care Services 2008, C2, C3, C4, C6, C8, C11, C12, HS12, HS16, HS17 GMA4.
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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
18 May 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | BestStart Naenae |
| Profile Number | 46715 |
| Location | Lower Hutt |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 12 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
91 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 38, NZ European/Pākehā 18, Pacific 11, Indian 7, Filipino 5, Middle Eastern 4, Other ethnicities 8. |
|
Review team on site |
March 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
18 May 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, July 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.
Community Kindy Naenae provides education and care for children from two to five years of age, five days a week. It is licensed for 47 children, providing for both sessional and full-day enrolments. Of the 75 enrolled, 28 identify as Māori and 24 as Pacific.
The philosophy places emphasis on giving children opportunities to lead and achieve positive learning experiences enhanced by collaborative relationships with whānau and the community.
Most staff are fully qualified. Day-to-day operation is the responsibility of the manager. A head teacher leads curriculum delivery.
The centre is owned and operated by BestStart Educare Ltd. It is a large organisation that owns early learning services across New Zealand. Regional BestStart personnel support the manager in her role.
The service was established in 2015 with funding from the Ministry of Education's Targeted Assistance Programme. This programme aims to create new opportunities for participation in early childhood education within high priority areas.
This is the service's first ERO report.
Children lead their own learning within a play based programme guided by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. They make choices about their involvement in play, demonstrating confidence and curiosity. The centre's open ended resources promote creativity, exploration, investigation and problem solving.
Literacy, numeracy and science experiences are highly evident throughout the programme, in keeping with community objectives. Children's sense of belonging is enhanced through representation of themselves, their work and their whānau within the surroundings.
Children confidently engage with a range Māori and Pacific resources. Waiata, some use of te reo Māori and legends are used to support a bicultural curriculum. Increasing the use of te reo Māori in meaningful contexts is a next step.
Teachers are warm, welcoming and responsive to children's needs. They continually reflect on how to support children to achieve their learning goals. Positive relationships with others are promoted.
Fostering wellbeing is a strong focus for the service. Leaders proactively develop relationships with local health providers to meet their community's needs. Children with additional learning needs are well supported to achieve positive outcomes. Teachers work collaboratively with external agencies and parents to set goals for them.
Teachers should continue to strengthen aspects of learning stories assessment by:
Leaders and teachers undertake a range of initiatives that are highly effective in supporting children's successful transition to school. A partnership with the neighbouring school is well established and there are regular opportunities to experience school life.
Relationships with parents and whānau are strong. Regular opportunities for consultation and to take part in centre celebrations support families' participation in the programme. Staff are developing their knowledge of educational success for Māori and children of Pacific heritage. Further promoting the culture, language and identity of Māori and Pacific learners is a next step.
A planned approach to self review is aligned with the centre's strategic goals. Staff are developing their understanding and use of internal evaluation for improvement to children's learning outcomes.
Teachers and leaders are well supported in their roles. BestStart provides opportunities for them to participate in a wide range of professional learning opportunities. A comprehensive policy framework, including procedures and systems, guides the operation of the centre. The Professional Service Manager provides regular feedback, support and guidance to contribute to improving positive outcomes for children.
Teachers should continue to strengthen:
the meaningful use of te reo Māori across the programme
responsiveness in promoting educational success for Māori and Pacific children
the consistency of assessment, planning and evaluation practices
internal evaluation to support ongoing improvement.
Before the review, the staff and management of Community Kindy Naenae 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 Community Kindy Naenae will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
28 July 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.
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Location |
Lower Hutt |
||
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46715 |
||
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
47 children aged over 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
75 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 35, Boys 40 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
28 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
June 2017 |
||
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Date of this report |
28 July 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
|
No previous ERO reports |
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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:
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.