36 Edinburgh Road, Hillcrest, Hamilton
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Mainly Multiples is a privately owned home-based service, licensed for 80 children from birth to five years of age. The service operates Monday to Saturday. Whānau educators provide programmes for a maximum of four children at a time. Most whānau educators are family members such as grandparents. Mainly Multiples also offer a nanny service.
The service specialises in supporting families with multiple births (twins and triplets), but also caters for all families. The network is overseen by a visiting teacher who is a qualified and registered early childhood teacher. The services day-to-day management structure consists of the service provider/owner, who also has the role of visiting teacher. There is also an office manager and a recruitment educator support manager.
This is the first ERO review for the service. The service vision and beliefs are to provide a family/whānau focused service that supports the holistic wellbeing of families/whānau. The service believes the best start for children is at home.
Children learn in a supportive home-like environment. Their sense of wellbeing and belonging is supported by learning in familiar surroundings and maintaining home routines. They enjoy authentic learning experiences in a range of rich and varied home and community environments. Children access an inclusive curriculum.
The visiting teacher provides personalised support for the various levels of educators understanding and knowledge about children's learning and development. She has a sound understanding of Te Whāriki the early childhood curriculum. She supports whānau educators and nannies to understand the importance of children learning through meaningful play at home and in the community. Professional development and service resources build whānau educators' capacity in literacy and mathematical learning experiences for children.
The organisation has effective systems to support whānau educators in their role. A wide range of service resources supports educators to meet health and safety requirements, and notice, recognise and respond to children's interest and learning. Strong leadership practices build educators capability and positive outcomes for children. Assessment portfolios support partnerships with families. These documents value children's home life and their language, culture and identity. Those educators fluent in te reo Māori skilfully interweave the language and culture within their assessments. Individual child portfolios celebrate children's success in learning.
Children enjoy close, trusting relationships with other adults and children in the home and through regular excursions and social gatherings. The service also provides a support network for families, whānau educators and nannies. Children under the age of two years learn in a small family group that provides them with security and continuity for learning. Children's wellbeing is valued as being central to learning.
Leadership and management of the service is effective. Systems, process and practices provide quality assurance and adhere to regulatory and legislative requirements, particularly around health and safety. Internal evaluation practices are ongoing and responsive to identified priorities and leads to improvement. The service has had a strategic focus on developing bicultural practices. Service leaders have identified the need to continue to build on relationships with the local marae to further enhance learning opportunities. Future plans also include reviewing the service philosophy in consultation with families.
The next steps for the service are to review its service philosophy in consultation with families, and continue to inquiry into ways to develop the service's bicultural curriculum.
Before the review, the staff and management of Mainly Multiples completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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 Mainly Multiples will be in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Waikato
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
14 June 2018
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 |
Hamilton |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46824 |
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Institution type |
Homebased Network |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
63 |
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Standard or Quality Funded |
Standard |
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Gender composition |
Boys 34 Girls 29 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
28 |
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Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
1 |
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Required ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
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Over 2 |
1:4 |
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Review team on site |
March 2018 |
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Date of this report |
14 June 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
First ERO review for service |
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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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
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.