2D Brooklyn Road, Claudelands, Hamilton
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.
Fountain City Montessori is one of two privately owned services. It provides education and care to a multicultural community and a small number of Māori learners. The centre’s vision is to provide a structured learning environment that develops children’s independence and recognises their individuality and learning.
The service curriculum is inclusive and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Parents and whānau are provided with opportunities to be involved in decision making about their children’s learning.
The curriculum is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation. Information and guidance is sought from external agencies and services to enable teachers to work effectively with children and their parents. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions that enhance children’s learning and support social and emotional competence.
A process of internal evaluation helps the service maintain and improve the quality of education and care for children.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
all children’s workers who have access to children are safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014.
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA7A]
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
18 January 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Fountain City Montessori |
|
Profile Number |
46977 |
|
Location |
Claudelands, Hamilton |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
95 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
52 |
|
Review team on site |
December 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
18 January 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akanuku | Assurance Review, June 2021; Education Review, March 2018 |
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 |
Not meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Not meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified areas of non-compliance with regulatory standards that are an unacceptable risk to children.
Fountain City Montessori is one of two privately owned services. It operates out of three age-based rooms. The centre’s curriculum is based on the teachings of Maria Montessori. A centre supervisor and team leader work with a teaching of team of eight qualified and two unqualified teachers.
Teachers seek information and guidance from agencies to work effectively with children with additional needs. Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of bicultural and multi-cultural heritages. Positive steps are taken to respect and acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau.
Annual and strategic planning guide centre operations. Ongoing internal evaluation processes support the centre to improve the quality of education and care for children. Teaching practice does not consistently demonstrate an understanding of theories relevant to the centre’s philosophy. 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 Centres 2008, HS22, HS23, C4].
During and after the onsite visit the service provided ERO with evidence that showed it addressed the following non-compliances:
ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence issued to this service provider. ERO will not undertake a further review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets regulatory standards.
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
15 June 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Fountain City Montessori |
| Profile Number | 46977 |
| Location | Claudelands, Hamilton |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
95 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
56 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 11, NZ European/Pākehā 13, Indian 11, Chinese 9, Other ethnic groups 12 |
|
Review team on site |
May 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
15 June 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, March 2018 |
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.
Fountain City Montessori is located in Hamilton and provides education and care for children from infancy to school age. The centre is privately owned and was established in May 2016. The managing director provides overall governance to the centre and the directress provides professional leadership and guidance to staff.
The centre is licensed for 95 children, including 20 up to the age of two years. It operates a full-day programme in three age-based rooms. At the time of this review, the roll of 62 included 13 Māori, 16 Pākehā, 11 Indian and a number of other children from a range of different nationalities.
The centre follows a Montessori philosophy and promotes independence and the love of learning. Children engage in developmentally appropriate tasks and the classroom environment is carefully prepared to encourage children's curiosity, participation and learning.
This is the first ERO review of the centre.
The curriculum strongly nurtures children’s independence in learning. There is a wide range of meaningful and structured play activities for children. Routines are consistently implemented. Children with additional learning needs are well included and catered for. Children are very settled and confident in their learning.
There are positive and respectful relationships between teachers, children and parents. Teachers support children's exploration and encourage problem-solving. There is a personalised approach to communication with parents to meet the ongoing needs of children. Teachers use te reo, tikanga Māori and other languages to promote children's appreciation and understanding of the diverse cultures represented in the service. Māori and other children’s identities and sense of belonging are acknowledged and affirmed.
Children up to the age of two benefit from caring, sensitive one-on-one relationships with a primary caregiver. Respectful interactions between teachers and children and routines that respond each child's needs and rhythms promotes a calm and settled learning environment. There are appropriate indoor and outdoor learning opportunities for infants. Young children’s individual and care needs are well met.
Leadership is highly collaborative and focused on building teacher capability. The directress clearly articulates and enhances the centre’s vision and philosophy. Teachers are encouraged and supported to further develop their teaching capabilities through professional learning and development, Montessori training to gain further qualifications and ongoing coaching and mentoring. Children's learning is being enhanced by teachers who are committed to growing their professional practice.
The managing director provides effective governance to the centre. There is a clear, shared vision for learning, which is underpinned by the Montessori philosophy. Strong systems and processes guide centre operations. Ongoing self review is leading to improved outcomes for children. There is a commitment to developing positive partnerships with parents and whānau. Strong governance is contributing to positive outcomes for children and their families.
Leadership needs to review and strengthen the appraisal system to:
Governance acknowledges the need to review the current leadership structure and establish new leadership roles and responsibilities as a result of rapid roll growth and staffing. This should support sustainable practices in the centre.
Leaders and teachers need to consider ways to strengthen parents’ understanding of children’s current learning, progress and development.
Before the review, the staff and management of Fountain City Montessori 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.
The next ERO review of Fountain City Montessori will be in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
2 March 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.
|
Location |
Hamilton |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
46977 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
95 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
62 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 28 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
13 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
January 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
2 March 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
|
|
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.