375 Tweed Street, Georgetown, Invercargill
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.
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Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
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Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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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.
Montessori Invercargill is a privately-owned, stand-alone service. The owner manages the centre with the support of a centre manager and two head teachers. Children play and learn in three aged-based classrooms. They are from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
The curriculum is informed by parents’ aspirations and children’s interests and is aligned with Te Whāriki , the early childhood curriculum. Teachers providing education and care engage in positive interactions which are responsive to children.
Premises and facilities are resourced to reflect the service’s Montessori philosophy and support different kinds of indoor and outdoor play and a range of learning experiences.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
securing heavy furniture in the children’s bathroom that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage
children’s bedding is hygienically stored when not in use
documentation ensures evidence of parental acknowledgement when medicine has been given.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education & Care Services 2008, HS6, HS11, HS28.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
24 March 2022
| Early Childhood Service Name | Montessori Invercargill |
| Profile Number | 47225 |
| Location | Invercargill |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
70 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
94 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 20, NZ European/Pākehā 68, Pacific 6 |
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Review team on site |
February 2022 |
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Date of this report |
24 March 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, December 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 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.
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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.
Montessori Invercargill is a new, privately owned, stand-alone centre. It is open five days a week from 8.00am until 5.30pm for children from birth-to-six years of age. A centre manager runs the day-to-day operations. Healthy food is prepared on site and provided for all children.
The centre roll has grown rapidly over the 16 months of its operation. Children and teachers come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. The owner has ensured that there is a high ratio of teachers to children.
A special programme for four-year-old children is provided to support their transitions to school. The centre has separate areas for different ages, with a shared outdoor garden and play area.
The philosophy and approach to teaching and learning is inspired by Montessori. The valued outcomes stated within the philosophy are for children to:
become independent and self managing
be empowered to take responsibility for their learning
develop social competencies
support sustainability and care for the environment.
Positive interactions between teachers and children effectively support children to develop social competence, wellbeing, and a sense of belonging. Children experience warm, respectful, caring relationships with their teachers. Teachers follow and support child-led play and learning. Every child is planned for collaboratively by teachers. Children's interests, abilities and needs are identified and responded to.
The owner, manager and teachers value their relationships with parents/whānau so that positive outcomes for children, particularly those with additional needs are well supported. Additional resourcing is provided to meet the needs of some children and their families and to provide equitable opportunities for success. The high number of teachers to children allows for individual attention and support. Children under 2 years old have a calm, safe environment that is set up to encourage exploration. They experience nurturing relationships with a primary carer.
Homelike indoor and outdoor environments are thoughtfully resourced and set up with well-defined spaces for children to enjoy quiet or active play. The environment is seen as a third teacher and is used well to promote children's curiosity, exploration and to provide challenge. Resources and practices effectively foster early literacy and numeracy learning. Aspects of teaching, resources and routines are building children's awareness of New Zealand's bicultural heritage.
The vision and values within the centre's philosophy and strategic plan provide teachers with a clear purpose and underpin the desired learning outcomes and priorities. The rapid growth of the roll and consequential changes have been effectively managed by the owner and manager through effective communication. Useful, practical systems to ensure the smooth running of the centre have been implemented.
Leaders have high expectations for teaching practice and model these for their staff. They challenge teachers' thinking and intentionally support them to grow as professionals and to lead aspects of practice. Leaders and teachers are reflective about their practice and focus on improvement. They investigate and make changes to the environment and routines to better meet the needs of children.
After being in operation for 16 months it is now time for aspects of the centre's practice to become more formalised. This includes developing written expectations for effective teaching and learning and how teachers are to enact the centre's learning priorities. These guidelines will also support curriculum planning and internal-evaluation processes.
Teachers need to continue to develop shared understandings about how to implement internal evaluation and ensure this is focused on what is important for children. It is also timely to build consistency across the teaching team in assessment and planning. In particular, teachers need to better show how they:
will extend children's learning
respond to parents' wishes for their child's learning
recognise and support children's cultural identity.
Before the review, the staff and management of Montessori Invercargill 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 following items of compliance need to be addressed:
the development of an appointments policy with the Vulnerable Children's Act requirements included
making reference in the appraisal policy to the Teaching Standards
ensuring all high items on shelves are secured.
The next ERO review of Montessori Invercargill will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review & Improvement Services
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region
5 December 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 |
Invercargill |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
47225 |
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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 |
70 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
91 |
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Gender composition |
Boys: 57 Girls: 36 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
21 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
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 2018 |
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Date of this report |
5 December 2018 |
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Most recent ERO reports |
No previous ERO reviews |
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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.