Aurora Homebased Childcare Services 2

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

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

Aurora Homebased Childcare Services 2 is one of two home-based education and care networks owned and operated by Aurora Homebased Childcare Services Limited. This is the first ERO review of this service. The majority of the children attending are of Tongan heritage. There are a small number of children who have other Pacific heritages.

Summary of Review Finding

Educators providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. The service curriculum respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture and encourages children to understand and respect other cultures.

The service curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Children have opportunities to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Ongoing monitoring of health and safety, and governance, management and administration practices is required to ensure all aspects of regulatory standards are maintained.

Actions for Compliance

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

• Having a first aid kit that complies with the requirements of Appendix 1, is easily recognisable and readily accessible to adults and is inaccessible to children (PF15).

• Ensuring premises, furniture, furnishings, fittings, equipment, and materials for the use of children attending are kept safe, hygienic, and maintained in good condition (HS1).

• Maintaining a list of safety and emergency supplies and resources sufficient for the age and number of children and adults present in the home and details of how these will be accessed in an emergency (HS4).

• Having designated assembly areas for evacuation purposes outside the building to keep the children safe from further risk (HS5).

• Ensuring that children are checked for warmth, breathing, and general wellbeing at least every 10 to 15 minutes (during day-time sleep) or more frequently according to individual needs (HS8).

• Ensuring equipment, premises and facilities checked every day of operation for hazards to children, including identifying, eliminating, minimising, or isolating hazards,this includes securing heavy furniture or equipment that could topple and cause harm (HS11).

• Having records of all food served to children while they are participating in the service (other than that provided by parents for their own children); records show the type of food provided and are available for inspection for three months after the food is served (HS16).

• Having a written supervision plan that ensures the good health and safety of children enrolled in the service is maintained at all times; the plan must be specific to the premises and the number, age, abilities, and enrolled hours of the children attending and must show how the educator will actively supervise children attending the service (HS34).

• Ensuring all children’s workers who have access to children are safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014, including three yearly rechecks for existing employees (GMA6A).

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

27 January 2023 

Information About the Service

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.