Blossoms Educare Otara

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 

​​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.​ 

Background 

Blossoms Educare Otara is one of 12 services in the Blossoms organisation. A qualified centre manager leads a team of 16 staff that includes seven registered teachers. A third of children enrolled are Māori. Another 40 percent of children enrolled are from Pacific Island nations, including Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue and Fiji. Blossoms service leaders provide professional advice, guidance, and support for their services. This is the first ERO review of this service. 

Summary of Review Findings 

Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. The service curriculum is inclusive, and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning experiences. 

A sufficient quantity and variety of furniture, equipment, and materials are provided and are appropriate for the learning and abilities of the children attending. The design and layout of the premises supports the provision of different indoor and outdoor experiences.  

Service leaders must ensure systems and practices are monitored and implemented to maintain regulatory standards. 

Key Next Steps 

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

• Increase the formal opportunities parents and whānau have to discuss their child’s learning based on the individual needs of families and their preferred ways of communicating.  

Actions for Compliance  

​​The service has provided​ ERO with evidence that shows the following non-compliances have been addressed: 

• Having evidence that water stored in any hot water cylinder is kept at a temperature of at least 60°C (HS14). 

• Having evidence of parental permission and approval of the adult:child ratio for regular and special excursions (HS17). 

• Ensuring children are supervised and seated while eating (HS22). 

• Having written information letting parents know about the amount and details of any Ministry of Education funding received by the service (GMA3). 

• Having an annual plan that includes who is responsible for key tasks the service intends to undertake each year (GMA8). 

• Having an annual budget that includes staffing costs, including leave entitlement and professional development costs (GMA9). 

Next ERO Review  

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

Patricia Davey 
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE) 

​​15 August 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.