Nga Taonga Aroha Early Childhood Centre

Education institution number:
47168
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
32
Telephone:
Address:

183 Bairds Road, Otara, Auckland

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Nga Taonga Aroha Early Childhood Centre

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.

ERO’s Judgement

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.

Background

Nga Taonga Aroha Early Childhood Centre is one of seven centres administered by the Taonga Education Centre Charitable Trust. The June 2019 ERO report found that the service required further development to promote positive learning outcomes for children. Progress is evident in relation to key next steps identified in that report.

Summary of Review Findings

The service provides an environment where teachers engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships.

The unique place of Māori as tangata whenua is acknowledged and reflected in the service’s curriculum. Respect and support for each child to be confident in their own culture is evident. The inclusive and responsive curriculum shows that children are viewed as confident and competent learners.

The design and layout of the premises support the provision of different types of indoor and outdoor experiences. There are intended and repurposed furniture, resources and equipment that are suitable for children’s use.

Compliance

Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:

  • Evidence of how evaluation of emergency drills carried out has informed the annual review of the service’s emergency plan (HS8).

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

29 March 2022 

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Nga Taonga Aroha Early Childhood Centre

Profile Number

47168

Location

Otara, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

60 children, including up to 15 aged under 2.

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

41

Ethnic composition

Māori 22, Samoan 12, other Pacific 6, other ethnic groups 1

Review team on site

February 2022

Date of this report

29 March 2022

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, June 2019

General Information about Assurance Reviews

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.

ERO undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

  • 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.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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 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:

  • 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 certification; ratios)
  • evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

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.

Nga Taonga Aroha Early Childhood Centre

1 Evaluation of Nga Taonga Aroha Early Childhood Centre

How well placed is Nga Taonga Aroha Early Childhood Centre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Nga Taonga Aroha Early Childhood Centre requires further development to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Nga Taonga Aroha is a newly opened Early Childhood Centre in Otara licensed for 60 children, including up to 15 under two years of age. It is one of six early childhood services governed by the Taonga Education Trust. The trust's chief executive and the operations manager provide governance and management support for the centre supervisor, and maintain a strong focus on promoting positive outcomes for children and whānau.

The centre philosophy promotes the natural environment to stimulate children's learning. Teachers aim to provide a learning environment that supports children to develop tolerance, confidence and a sense of community. The philosophy emphasises the importance of the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the role of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, to help teachers plan learning that encourages children to self-manage.

Half of the teaching team are registered teachers. Many have recently been appointed. This is the first ERO report for this centre.

The Review Findings

Positive relationships between teachers, children and their families underpin a sense of belonging in the centre. Children and their whānau are warmly welcomed and most children quickly settle to an activity of interest. Older children play well together in cooperative groups and enjoy exploring creative materials.

Infants are nurtured and encouraged to independently investigate their environment. They benefit from caring teachers who promote a calm and peaceful environment. Care routines are appropriately individualised. Younger children have easy access to the mixed-age play area for their own exploration, and to play with older children.

Teaching practices are inclusive and children with additional learning needs are well cared for. Teachers and children value the opportunity to help each other learn and face challenges. Parents appreciate the commitment to this holistic approach to education and care.

Children hear te reo Māori and other home languages spoken by teachers. Teachers celebrate cultural events with families, and the environment shows some influence of children's cultures. Regular gatherings provide opportunities for children to sing, dance and celebrate together in different languages and cultures.

A strategic plan and policy framework have been adapted for the centre, to guide practices. The centre supervisor meets regularly with the trust CEO and supervisors from the other five centres. These meetings provide opportunities to develop internal evaluation capability and to improve the effectiveness of governance and management.

Key Next Steps

Key priorities for centre development include:

  • clarifying expectations for the assessment of children's learning in their portfolios and improving teachers' assessment, planning and evaluation capability
  • building teachers' professional capability through critical reflection and ongoing internal evaluation, and developing a set of indicators identifying quality teaching practices
  • increasing children's access to more challenging resources for creative play and exploration and extending learning challenges for older children
  • reviewing the centre philosophy and the role of teachers in promoting and extending children's learning, and improving alignment between the philosophy and strategic plan.

Trust representatives agree that key next steps also include:

  • strengthening the appraisal policy and procedures to help the centre manager to undertake robust staff appraisals
  • regularly reviewing policies, procedures and practices to ensure they align with the centre's philosophy and legal requirements.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Nga Taonga Aroha Early Childhood Centre 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

Actions for compliance

ERO identified an area of non-compliance. To meet requirements and improve its performance, the centre management and governance needs to develop and document an ongoing process of internal evaluation to help the service maintain and improve the quality of its education and care.

Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA6.

Development Plan Recommendation

ERO recommends that the service, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, develops a plan to address the key next steps and actions outlined in this report.

Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern

Northern Region

13 June 2019

The Purpose of ERO Reports

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.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

 

Location

Otara, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

47168

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

60 children, including up to 15 aged under 2

Service roll

29

Gender composition

Boys      17
Girls       12

Ethnic composition

Māori
Tongan
Samoan
other Pacific groups
other ethnic groups

  9
  7
  6
  4
  3

Percentage of qualified teachers

50-79%

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:3

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:7

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

March 2019

Date of this report

13 June 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

No previous ERO reports

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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:

Pou Whakahaere – how the service determines its vision, philosophy and direction to ensure positive outcomes for children

Pou Ārahi – how leadership is enacted to enhance positive outcomes for children

Mātauranga – whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to achieve positive outcomes for children

Tikanga whakaako – how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity and support positive outcomes for children.

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement

The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:

  • Very well placed
  • Well placed
  • Requires further development
  • Not well placed

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

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.