Strawberry Garden Childcare

Education institution number:
47240
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
39
Telephone:
Address:

1 Onehunga Road, Bayview, Napier

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Strawberry Garden Childcare

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

At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

Strawberry Garden Childcare’s philosophy places emphasis on peaceful practices, respectful relationships, and nature-based learning. Children play and learn in two learning rooms. A small number of Māori children are currently enrolled. The service undertook a change of management in July 2021.

Summary of Review Findings

Children experience a curriculum that is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The programme is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation that reflects children’s interests and strengths.

Guidelines to support centre operations and practice in relation to health and safety, premises and facilities and governance and management criteria are in place.

The service is receiving ongoing external support to maintain a process of internal evaluation that helps improve the quality of its education and care.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

  • Continue to develop the local curriculum to reflect the things that are important to children, their families, teachers, and the wider community.

Next ERO Review

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

7 March 2023 

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Strawberry Garden Childcare

Profile Number 47240
Location Bayview, Napier

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

36 children, including up to 12 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

44

Review team on site

November 2022

Date of this report

7 March 2023

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, December 2018

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 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.

Strawberry Garden Childcare - 18/12/2018

1 Evaluation of Strawberry Garden Childcare

How well placed is Strawberry Garden Childcare to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

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

Background

Strawberry Garden Childcare opened in May 2017. It is located in the semi-rural, coastal area of Bay View, Napier. The centre is licensed for 36 children, including 12 under the age of two years. Daily opening hours are from 7:30am until 5:30pm.

The centre operates two learning rooms, Pepe and Koru. Children transition through these rooms based on age and learning readiness.

Strawberry Garden places peaceful practices and respectful relationships at the heart of its philosophy.

A new manager was appointed in May 2018.

This is the centre's first ERO review.

The Review Findings

The philosophy is highly evident in practice. Teachers maintain a calm, slow pace and children have space and time to lead their own learning.

Teachers successfully model respectful relationships to foster children's social competency. They support children's emerging leadership and effectively promote their independence.

Infants and toddlers have easy access to an environment that is well resourced and encourages exploration. Flexible learning spaces within the centre support younger children's smooth transitions to the koru room.

Teachers value the knowledge and aspirations that parents and whānau hold for their children. Together with regular assessment of what children are interested in and can do, this forms the basis for responsive programme planning to extend children's learning.

Teachers carefully link excursions to children's current interests and to seasonal and cultural celebrations. The Petane Park ritual is a feature of the service. Older children and teachers plan this weekly experience to explore and care for their natural surroundings.

Te reo me ngā tikanga Māori are evident in routines. Leaders recognise that a next step is to strengthen this approach centre-wide. Teachers are in the early stages of learning how to effectively support Māori children's learning.

Teachers frequently reflect on and inquire into their practice. They are beginning to look more deeply at the impact of their teaching on learning outcomes for children. Leaders recognise that continuing to maintain a clear focus on improving this approach to develop internal evaluation is a key next step.

Systems and processes to maintain the smooth and efficient running of the service are generally well developed. Leaders promote a collaborative team culture. Effective appraisal supports teachers' continuing professional growth.

Key Next Steps

Leaders and ERO agree that for ongoing and sustained improvement staff should continue to:

  • strengthen bicultural practice

  • improve teachers' knowledge and understanding of supporting Māori children's learning

  • strengthen approaches to internal evaluation.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Strawberry Garden Childcare 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.

To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in: record keeping, in relation to medication administered to children; the approach to hazard identification.

Since the on-site stage of the ERO review, the manager has taken action to address these issues.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Strawberry Garden Childcare will be in three years.

Phil Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services

Central Region

18 December 2018

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

Napier

Ministry of Education profile number

47240

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

36 children, including up to 12 aged under 2

Service roll

55

Gender composition

Girls 37, Boys 18

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Other ethnic groups

1
48
6

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

1:8

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

November 2018

Date of this report

18 December 2018

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 and Next Review

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:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

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.