14 Tocker Street, Taita, 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.
BestStart Taita is owned and operated by Best Start Educare Limited a national organisation which owns a number of early childhood services across New Zealand. The day-to-day operation of this service is the responsibility of the centre manager. A professional practice leader and an area manager oversee and support the teaching team. The March 2020 ERO Akanuku | Assurance Review report identified non-compliances with the regulatory standards. These have been addressed.
Kaiako use positive interactions to establish warm and reciprocal relationships with children. The design and layout of the service supports the different types of indoor and outdoor experiences. It includes quiet spaces, areas for physically active play, and space for a range of individual and group learning experiences. Parents and families contribute to the development of the service’s operational documents such as philosophy, policies, procedures and curriculum.
Next steps include:
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
20 May 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | BestStart Taita |
| Profile Number | 47526 |
| Location | Lower Hutt |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
87 children, including up to 25 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
101 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 19, NZ European/Pākehā 24, Pacific 23, Asian 24, Other ethnicities 11. |
|
Review team on site |
March 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
20 May 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akanuku | Assurance Review, March 2020 |
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 |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Not meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Not 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.
BestStart Taita is part of BestStart Educare in the lower North Island. The purpose built facility opened in August 2018 and this is the first ERO review of the service. A business manager and professional support manager provide support and guidance to centre leaders and teaching team. The community is ethnically diverse. Three age-based learning areas cater for children from infants to school age.
Infants, toddlers and older children experience positive, respectful interactions with teachers. The service curriculum provides them with opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development. Play spaces are well resourced to provide for the learning and abilities of the children attending.
Strategies are in place to involve parents and whānau in their children’s learning. A stronger emphasis is needed on ensuring the cultures, languages and identities of all children are visible, particularly for Māori learners and children of Pacific heritages.
A policy framework and an annual plan guide centre operations. Teacher appraisal and internal evaluation processes are established.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centre 2008, PF5, PF16, C5, HS12
Since the onsite stage of the review, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
secured the two items that could slide or topple and cause harm.
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 BestStart Taita will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
9 March 2020
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
BestStart Taita |
|
Profile Number |
47526 |
|
Location |
Hutt Valley |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
87 children, including up to 25 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Reported ratio of adults to children under 2 |
1:4 - Better than regulatory standards. |
|
Reported ratio of adults to children over 2 |
1:8 - Better than regulatory standards. |
|
Service roll |
115 |
|
Gender composition |
Female 63, Male 52 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 21 |
|
Review team on site |
28 January 2020 |
|
Date of this report |
9 March 2020 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
First ERO review of the service. |
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 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 Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through: