93b Poplar Street, Gleniti, Timaru
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 Learning Barn is a semi-rural early childhood service with access to farm paddocks and animals. Opened in December 2019, it is managed by the owner, who works alongside mostly qualified teachers. Infants, toddlers, and young children play and learn in three defined areas. The roll includes a small number of children from diverse cultural heritages, including Māori and Pacific.
The philosophy and vision express the service’s beliefs, values, and attitudes about the provision of early childhood education. The curriculum gives emphasis to sustainable practices, farm-based experiences, creativity, care, and relationships.
Children have access to a wide range of resources to extend their learning and development within the indoor and outdoor environments. Teachers engage in positive and responsive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships.
Health and safety procedures are monitored, and adjustments made, to support the service operation. An ongoing process of internal evaluation helps the service maintain and improve the quality of education and care.
Next steps include strengthening assessment planning and evaluation practices to consistently reflect:
children’s languages, cultures, and identities and te āo Māori practices
involvement of parents and whānau in curriculum decisions
learning outcomes and intentional teaching strategies.
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
14 September 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
The Learning Barn |
|
Profile Number |
47769 |
|
Location |
Timaru |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
70 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
60 |
|
Review team on site |
July 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
14 September 2022 |
|
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.
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.
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.