399 Main Road, Huapai
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 (PDF 3.01MB) are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric (PDF 91.30KB) derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for The Secret Garden Huapai are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
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What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
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He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
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Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
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Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
The Secret Garden Huapai is a full-day service licensed for up to 30 children over two years old. The service operates from a modified house that provides an extensive outdoor area. The service is managed by the owner and a head teacher, who is one of four qualified teachers on the staff.
Children confidently and actively involve themselves in the centre’s learning experiences and routines. They are settled and engaged within a calm, unhurried programme. Children are encouraged to take increasing responsibility for their own wellbeing, the wellbeing of others and the environment. They display independence and a strong sense of belonging in the centre environment.
Leaders and teachers provide a responsive curriculum that enhances children’s social and emotional development. Transitions into, within and from the service are well supported. Teachers respond to the needs of each child and their parents/whānau. They remove barriers to children’s participation, and identify learning support needs.
Māori children and whānau have authentic opportunities to contribute to the development of a curriculum that reflects Māori ways of knowing, being and doing. Teachers are committed to strengthening and promoting success for Māori children and fostering tuakana/teina relationships. They work in partnership with whānau who are encouraged to participate in and contribute to the programme.
The large outdoor play space is an outstanding feature of the service. It offers a range of physical challenges, invites children to explore and to become involved in a wide range of learning experiences. The thoughtfully resourced environment encourages children’s critical thought, wondering and creativity and supports their engagement in learning.
Leaders and teachers collaboratively develop and maintain responsive, reciprocal, and respectful relationships with families. Teachers and leaders facilitate collaboration with relevant agencies and community organisations to promote positive outcomes for children and their families. They actively support initiatives that contribute to positive social and community outcomes.
Leaders offer sufficient resourcing, such as time and staffing, specifically allocated to support change and improvement. They promote a positive working environment that facilitates a low turnover of staff and builds and sustains good quality adult:child relationships.
The Secret Garden Huapai will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of The Secret Garden Huapai 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.
During the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
Phil Cowie
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
14 October 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | The Secret Garden Huapai |
| Profile Number | 46798 |
| Location | Huapai |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
30 children, no children under 2 years |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
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Service roll |
47 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 4, NZ European/Pākehā 32, Asian 6, other ethnic groups 5 |
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Review team on site |
July 2021 |
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Date of this report |
14 October 2021 |
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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.
The Secret Garden Huapai is a new service that provides sessional and full day education and care for up to 30 children over two years old. The centre is accommodated in a house that has been modified to provide a bright, open-plan environment, with easy access to an extensive outdoor area. Most enrolled children have Pākehā or European heritage, and a small group of children with Māori or other cultural backgrounds are also well supported in the centre. The centre's philosophy 'to support, affirm, encourage and challenge children to build their dispositions' is reflected in the programme that teachers provide.
The centre is managed by the owner and the head teacher. They work collaboratively to lead staff and guide the operation of the service. The centre has three registered teachers who are encouraged to participate in professional learning linked to their goals and the centre's development priorities. Teachers are becoming familiar with the new early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki 2017, and are using Tātaiako, the guidelines for teachers' cultural competence, to enhance their practices.
This is the first ERO review of The Secret Garden.
The centre is a welcoming and inviting environment for children and their families. Children arrive with enthusiasm, and familiar routines help them to settle quickly and connect with their friends. They have very positive relationships with teachers, and respond well to adults' support for their play. Children are confident communicators. They collaborate well to play in small groups, and engage in reciprocal conversations. They know about making choices, maintaining a tidy environment, and being respectful towards others.
A specific programme to support older children with their transition to school is becoming increasingly focused on social competence rather than formal skills. This is a sound foundation for teachers to develop project work for these children and to add complexity to children's learning.
A large group of two year olds is well supported by a primary caregiver. A programme focus on manaakitanga and tuakana/teina relationships also ensures that older children are mindful of the different needs and capabilities of this youngest group.
Children benefit from the attractive, well-resourced environments. In particular, the large outdoor space with fruit trees, gardens, a water feature, a mud kitchen, and chickens provides many interesting options for learning. Children also enjoy more traditional resources such as the sandpit, climbing equipment, and water play. Currently, despite easy access, children do not move freely between the indoor and outdoor areas. They would take further responsibility for their own learning if this option was constantly available to children.
Teachers actively encourage children to engage with resources. They ask open-ended questions to foster children's ideas, and support them to explore their interests. Teachers have established a meaningful bicultural perspective in the programme, helping children to learn greetings, waiata, and karakia. They provide many opportunities for children to contribute to the programme and to develop self-management skills.
Centre leaders and teachers have established learning partnerships with parents. Teachers develop individual plans for each child focused on their learning dispositions. They invite parents to help identify goals for their children, and suggest strategies for learning. Most families readily contribute to this process, and are well informed about their children's progress. The challenge for teachers is to strengthen the links between children's dispositions and their interests to more effectively extend their learning experiences.
The centre is well managed. Leaders have made good progress in developing systems and documentation to operate the centre efficiently. They have developed annual and strategic planning that states clear goals aligned with the centre's philosophy. Leaders have established procedures for self review, and they continue to develop teachers' understanding of more robust internal evaluation. A recently implemented appraisal process is helping teachers develop their capacity to be reflective practitioners, and take responsibility for their own professional development.
Leaders agree that key next steps for centre development should include:
developing connections between the centre's philosophy, strategic and annual planning, teachers' appraisal and professional development, to ensure that systems are clearly aligned and focused on positive outcomes for children
deepening the quality of teachers' reflections and evaluations in relation to self-review processes, their appraisal inquiries, and planning for children's learning
enhancing teachers' focus on children's individual interests, and using these to strengthen learning challenges, and extend the complexity of children's play.
Before the review, the staff and management of The Secret Garden Huapai 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 The Secret Garden Huapai will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
18 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 |
Huapai, West Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46798 |
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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 |
30 children over 2 years old |
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Service roll |
62 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 31 Boys 31 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
5 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:6 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
October 2017 |
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Date of this report |
18 December 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous report |
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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.