112 Waimumu Road, Massey, 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 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 Lifewise ECE Waimumu Road are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
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Ngā Akatoro Domains |
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Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakaū Embedding Whakaū Embedding |
Lifewise ECE Waimumu Road is a community based, not for profit early childhood centre. It is one of four centres owned and operated by the Lifewise Trust. The trust is an arm of the Methodist Mission, which supports children and whānau with wrap-around services. Previously known as Vital 5 ECE Waimumu Road, this is the centre’s first review as Lifewise ECE Waimumu Road.
Children are engaged in an environment that is calm, inviting and well resourced. Interactions are unhurried and respectful. Teachers know children well and actively respond to their needs and requests. Children are provided with a range of play-based opportunities, which they explore using their own ideas and interests. These interests are encouraged by teachers who promote children’s independence and agency.
Children’s learning is supported through reciprocal partnerships with parents, whānau, and external agencies. Programme planning is individualised and centred on each child’s needs, as well as their parents’ aspirations. Assessment documentation is bicultural and considers Māori ways of knowing, being and doing. The use of te reo Māori is evident. Children’s own languages, cultures and identities are not yet adequately reflected in their assessment documentation. Doing so would enhance children’s mana and further support their sense of belonging.
Teachers and leaders take responsibility for their own professional learning. Their interests are responded to through varied learning and development opportunities to develop intentional teaching practices. Aligning teachers’ interests, internal evaluations and teacher inquiries to the service’s strategic goals would help the service identify, maintain and sustain quality practices that positively impact on children’s learning.
Those who provide governance and management have a strong focus on equity and equitable outcomes for children. They engage strategies that lead to equity of access, inclusion, and experience for all learners.
Leaders have embedded policies, systems and processes that support evaluation practices. Internal evaluation is undertaken with an aim of acting on findings and making change. Identifying the impact that actions have on outcomes for children is required to further embed evaluation practices. This would show sustained improvement over time, and allow leaders to identify how practices support equity of outcomes for learners.
Lifewise ECE Waimumu Road will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Make visible children’s cultures, languages and identity in assessment documentation to help children develop a culturally located image of themselves as learners.
Further embed evaluation practices to develop a deeper understanding of how improvement actions impact outcomes for learners.
Align teachers’ professional growth cycles with internal evaluation and strategic planning, considering the role of critical reflection, coaching and mentoring practices.
Before the review, the staff and management of Lifewise ECE Waimumu Road 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
19 July 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Lifewise ECE Waimumu Road |
| Profile Number | 46730 |
| Location | Massey, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
75 children, including up to 18 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
67 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 25, NZ European/Pākehā 10, Samoan 8, Tongan 5, Tuvaluan 5, Asian 6, other Pacific 4, other ethnic groups 4 |
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Review team on site |
May 2022 |
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Date of this report |
19 July 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, December 2017 |
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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.
Vital 5 Waimumu ECE in Massey, is a community based, not-for-profit service. It provides high quality education and care for infants, toddlers, and children up to five years of age. The centre is licensed for up to 75 children, including 18 up to the age of two years.
The centre has three indoor spaces that cater for different age groups. Younger and older children have access to separate outside learning areas. Māori children make up 17 percent of the roll, which also includes a group of Southeast Asian children and smaller numbers of other ethnicities. The cultural diversity among teachers reflects that of children and their families.
The centre is owned by the Lifewise Trust, an Auckland-based social development organisation. The trust is an arm of the Methodist Mission, and offers a variety of community services, including a small number of licensed early learning centres.
The centre's philosophy recognises Māori as tangata whenua and reflects the Lifewise Trust's ethos. The centre management team and staff have a strong commitment to supporting and working with families. Social justice and relationships are a key aspect of centre practices.
The centre manager, who is qualified, leads six qualified teachers and three non-qualified staff. A Lifewise service manager supports the governance and leadership of the centre, and in partnership with the centre manager, provides ongoing guidance to the teaching team.
Teachers enact the service's philosophy in their teaching practices. They support children to learn through play in an attractive learning environment that is 'a home away from home'. Culturally responsive, respectful relationships and interactions underpin the centre's warm and welcoming tone. Parents value the centre's strong support for whānau.
Children are independent, have opportunities to lead, and participate in uninterrupted play. They are focused and highly engaged in their learning. Children are free to choose activities based on their interests and preferences. Friendships between children are well established. Children who require extra learning assistance are well supported. External advice is sought and used when required. Teachers have conversations with families to ensure that their children transition confidently through the centre.
Children up to the age of two benefit from caring teachers who promote a calm and peaceful environment. Care routines for younger children are individualised. Children have easy access to their own indoor and outdoor learning spaces, and they are able to explore and learn at their own pace.
Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging. Teachers' interactions with children are respectful and affectionate. They work alongside children and are responsive to their ideas. Teachers build on children's understanding of the world around them in meaningful ways. They sensitively support children to develop social skills and a love of learning.
The carefully planned and attractive centre environments stimulate children’s interest, creativity, and involvement in the programme. Well defined areas of learning and good quality resources support children's play. Teachers' use of natural resources is a key feature that supports the centre's philosophy. Teachers implement Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, well.
Children's individual portfolios show evidence of individualised programmes based on children's interests and parents' aspirations. Teachers use this information to plan learning experiences and skilfully integrate learning about mathematics, science, and literacy concepts into children's play.
Bicultural practices and te reo and tikanga Māori are integral parts of the centre. Pacific culture is also valued in displays and is evident in teachers' practice. Teachers use a range of very good teaching strategies and practices to respond to children's home languages and cultural identities.
The centre manager is very capable, and is well supported by the teaching team. Centre leaders provide very good guidance and support for new staff to ensure continued effective teaching practices are maintained. Teachers are highly reflective practitioners who continually seek ways to improve their practice. They enthusiastically engage in professional learning to enhance outcomes for children. Teachers' individual strengths and passions are valued, and contribute to the centre's high quality of education and care.
Useful systems and processes contribute to robust internal evaluation. This evaluation is both responsive and planned, and is supported by research. Evaluation is used to continually improve teaching practice and outcomes for children. The centre’s strategic plan is linked to the Lifewise Trust strategic plan. It is timely to develop strategic intentions and goals that are specific to the centre, to provide a clearer guide for its future development.
Lifewise Trust provides strong governance and management support for the centre, including a sound policy framework that ensures the health and safety of children and adults. The trust has a good working relationship with centre staff, and is supportive of initiatives that focus on strengthening partnerships with parents/whānau.
Centre leaders agree that key next steps include:
increasing opportunities for children to contribute to programme planning to support their own learning
reviewing and refining the centre's strategic plan to guide future developments.
Before the review, the staff and management of Vital 5 ECE Waimumu 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 Vital 5 ECE Waimumu will be in four years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
13 December 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 |
Massey, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46730 |
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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 |
75 children, including up to 18 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
70 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 38 Boys 32 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
12 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
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 |
November 2017 |
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Date of this report |
13 December 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.