Little Geckos Childcare Centre

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

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

Background

Little Geckos Early Learning Centre was relicensed under new ownership in October 2019. A centre manager oversees the daily operations of the centre. An operations manager is responsible for four Geckos centres in Whangarei. A small number of Māori children attend the service.

Summary of Review Findings

Regular opportunities are provided for parents to communicate with adults providing education and care about their child and to share specific evidence of children’s learning. Adults engage in meaningful interactions and nurture reciprocal relationships that enhance children’s learning.

The service’s curriculum is informed by systems for assessment and planning that align with the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Teachers provide a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning and acknowledges the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa |New Zealand. There is sufficient quality and variety of indoor and outdoor equipment, and materials appropriate for the learning and abilities of the children attending.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

• making visible the extent to which information documented about children’s learning reflects their identity, languages and cultures

• developing a shared understanding of internal evaluation with a focus on outcomes for children.

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

20 September 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.