2 Connolly Street, Lower Hutt Central, Lower Hutt
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 |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
The centre is owned and operated by BestStart Educare Ltd (the organisation). This is the second assurance review of the service. The May 2019 ERO review identified some health and safety non-compliances. These have been addressed. A recently appointed centre manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the service. Organisation managers oversee and support the service.
Children engage in a play-based learning programme. They experience positive, respectful interactions with their teachers and peers. The centre’s curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. The design and layout of the premises support the provision of different types of indoor and outdoor experiences. Parents and whānau are provided opportunities to collaborate with leaders and teachers about their child’s learning.
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
30 October 2020
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Beststart Melling |
|
Profile Number |
47418 |
|
Location |
Lower Hutt |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
98 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
105 |
|
Gender composition |
Male 44, Female 61 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 9, NZ European/Pākehā 53, Asian 32, Other ethnic groups 11 |
|
Review team on site |
September 2020 |
|
Date of this report |
30 October 2020 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akanuku | Assurance Review, May 2019 |
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:
|
Regulatory standards |
|
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Not meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
This is the first review of Beststart Melling, which opened in February 2018. The centre is owned and operated by BestStart Educare Ltd. BestStart is a large national organisation which owns a number of early childhood services across New Zealand.
Most teachers are qualified and the day-to-day operation is the responsibility of the centre manager. A professional service manager and business manager oversee and support the teaching team.
Teachers respond to the learning, interests, strengths and capabilities of the children. The design and layout of the premises support the provision of different types of indoor and outdoor experiences.
The service provides opportunities to collaborate with parents and whānau about the service operations and their child’s learning. An increased level of monitoring of health and safety practices is required.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
furniture intended for children to sleep on is arranged and spaced when in use so that adults have clear access to at least one side and the area surrounding each child allows sufficient air movement to minimise the risk of spreading illness
supporting staff to build their knowledge of checking the premises more widely on every day of operation for hazards
teachers taking all practicable steps to monitor the noise level to ensure that it does not unduly interfere with normal speech and/or communication
monitoring health and safety practices for laundering linen, checking sleeping children and parents signing accident records.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS10, HS12, HS15, HS2, HS9, HS27.
Since the onsite visit the non-compliance relating to the children’s sleeping arrangements has been satisfactorily addressed (HS10).
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.
The next ERO review of will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services Southern
Southern Region
22 May 2019
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Beststart Melling |
|
|
Profile Number |
47418 |
|
|
Location |
Lower Hutt |
|
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
|
Number licensed for |
98 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
Better than regulatory standards |
|
Over 2 |
Better than regulatory standards |
|
|
Service roll |
103 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Girls 55, Boys 48 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 9 NZ European/Pākehā 45 Indian 15 Chinese 13 Samoan 3 Other ethnic groups 18 |
|
|
Review team on site |
April 2019 |
|
|
Date of this report |
22 May 2019 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
|
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 Home-based Education and Care Services 2008
the Licensing Criteria for Hospital-based 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 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 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 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.