Tapawera Kindergarten

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

Tapawera Kindergarten opened in 2019 and is located on the grounds of the Tapawera Area School. It is operated and governed by the Nelson District Free Kindergarten Association. The kindergarten serves a rural community and has two qualified early childhood teachers. This is its first ERO review.

Summary of Review Findings

The curriculum is inclusive and responsive to children as confident and competent learners.

Children have opportunities to develop knowledge and understanding of te reo me ngā tikanga and te ao Māori. Teachers engage in meaningful, positive interactions to support children's learning and nurture reciprocal relationships.

The design and layout of the kindergarten supports the provision of different types of indoor and outdoor learning experiences. A variety of equipment and materials are provided that are appropriate for the learning and abilities of the children attending.

A philosophy guides the service’s curriculum and operation. An ongoing process of self-review helps the kindergarten continue to improve the quality of its systems and education and care.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

• reviewing the philosophy and learning priorities to ensure that these reflect the views of the present parent/whānau community
• embedding recent improvements in assessment, planning and evaluation and making explicit the teaching strategies used to support desired outcomes for children’s learning and showing progress against these
• continuing to build on existing practices in valuing te reo me ngā tikanga and te ao Māori, including exploring local cultural narratives.

Next ERO Review

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

26 March 2021 

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 (PDF 1MB). 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 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 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.