683 Dalefiled Road, RD1, Carterton
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 |
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.
He Pounamu Early Learning is located in a rural setting and has a kaupapa Māori philosophy. Opened in June 2020, it has a mixture of established and recently appointed staff. The owner and a newly appointed centre manager oversee the day-to-day teaching and operations. Half the tamariki attending are Māori.
The service’s nature-based curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. The curriculum provides language-rich environments that support children’s learning and develop their social competence and understanding of appropriate behaviour.
The curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Children are provided with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups. Some aspects of governance, management and administration practices require improvement to maintain regulatory standards.
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.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
7 December 2023
| Early Childhood Service Name | He Pounamu Early Nurture |
| Profile Number | 47848 |
| Location | Carterton |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 30 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80-99% |
| Service roll | 42 |
| Review team on site | October 2023 |
| Date of this report | 7 December 2023 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Akanuku | Assurance Review, July 2022 |
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 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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
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.
Regulatory standards | ERO’s judgement |
| Curriculum | Meeting |
| Premises and facilities | Meeting |
| Health and safety | Not meeting |
| Governance, management, and administration | Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified areas of non-compliance with regulatory standards that are an unacceptable risk to children.
He Pounamu Early Nurture opened in June 2020 on a family farm. The owner manages the centre with a teaching team which reflects the cultural diversity of the learning community. Staff are a mix of qualified and unqualified kaiako. This is the service’s first review.
The curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Systems, processes, and practices align to kaupapa Māori values. Adults engage in interactions to enhance and extend tamariki learning. The service collaborates with parents and whānau about centre operations and their tamaiti learning.
The environment supports the provision of different kinds of indoor and outdoor play, and a range of nature-based learning experiences. Internal evaluation is established. An increased level of monitoring and reporting of health and safety practices is required.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services, 2008, HS9, HS17, HS28.
During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence issued to this service provider. ERO will not undertake a further review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets regulatory standards.
The next ERO review will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
18 July 2022
| Early Childhood Service Name | He Pounamu Early Nurture |
| Profile Number | 47848 |
| Location | Carterton |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 30 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 50-79% |
| Service roll | 52 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 14, NZ European/Pākehā 26, Other ethnic groups 12 |
| Review team on site | May 2022 |
| Date of this report | 18 July 2022 |
| Most recent ERO report | 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. https://www.ero.govt.nz/assets/Centre-Assurance-Statement-Master-January-2017.pdf. 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: