25 Kenningston Street, Waiouru
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 |
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Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Waiouru Kindergarten and Care is located within the community of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) in Waiouru. He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Kindergarten Association is the governing organisation.
There are two daily sessions available for children and whānau. The philosophy statement is grounded in te ao Māori concepts.
The service’s curriculum is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation, aligned to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
Children engage in meaningful interactions to enhance their learning and promote positive reciprocal relationships.
Aspirations held by parents and whānau are respected. Parents are involved in regular opportunities to share decision making concerning their child’s learning.
Indoor and outdoor spaces include areas for physically active play and quiet spaces. They cater for a range of individual and group learning experiences, appropriate for the ages and abilities of children attending.
Next steps include continuing to:
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
23 June 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Waiouru Kindergarten and Care |
| Profile Number | 5258 |
| Location | Waiouru |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
65 children, including up to 15 aged under 2. |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
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Service roll |
42 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 17, NZ European/Pākehā 23, Other ethnic groups 2. |
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Review team on site |
March 2021 |
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Date of this report |
23 June 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, April 2019 Education Review, December 2015 |
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 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:
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Waiouru Kindergarten and Care is not well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Waiouru Kindergarten and Care is located within the housing area of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) in Waiouru. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 7:30am until 5:00pm, all year round. Full day places are available for children aged from birth to six years. A separate building and outdoor space is provided for children up to the age of two.
The philosophy statement emphasises that relationships are everything. This is currently under review.
The kindergarten serves an isolated, transient community, based on NZDF posting cycles. This impacts significantly on teachers and families. Substantial staff changes and reorganisation have occurred since the December 2015 ERO report.
That report identified teachers’ understanding and use of internal evaluation required improvement. This remains an area for further development.
Waiouru Kindergarten and Care is one of 15 kindergartens governed and managed by the Whanganui Kindergarten Association Incorporated (the association). The governing board is responsible for setting the overall strategic direction for the organisation. The day-to-day running of the association is the role of the general manager, who is responsible to the board.
Since April 2018, the association's programme of professional learning and development and curriculum implementation has been managed by He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Free Kindergarten Association Incorporated. An association senior teacher and two senior teachers from Whānau Manaaki provide regular support for teachers.
This review was part of a cluster of 15 reviews in the Whanganui Kindergarten Association Incorporated.
Children move freely around the kindergarten and access a wide range of resources within their play. Priorities for children's learning have been developed in consultation with the community, however identified teaching strategies to promote these are yet to be consistently implemented. Strengthening of intentional teaching practices are required to fully engage children in their learning.
Teachers and leaders recognise that the bicultural curriculum requires further strengthening. ERO's external evaluation affirms this. The association is currently working with teachers to develop their knowledge and understanding of how to promote educational success for Māori children.
Infants and toddlers experience an unhurried and peaceful environment. Building consistency of teacher practices that contribute to positive learning outcomes for these children is an important next step.
Newly introduced planning is in the early stages. Individual plans, implemented for some children, use knowledge of their interests and whānau aspirations. Group planning provides a focus for learning across the kindergarten. Teachers are still evolving this process.
Children's profile books identify their participation in activities, interests over time and learning dispositions. Leaders acknowledge that improving teachers' knowledge and understanding of assessment for learning is an important next step. This should include how assessment:
connects to children's culture, language and identity
shows learning becoming deeper and more complex over time.
Teachers are working appropriately with external agencies and parents to support children with additional learning needs. Ongoing observations show these children's progress against identified goals.
Effective internal evaluation is not yet in place. Ongoing professional development is required to grow teachers' understanding and use of internal evaluation as a process to improve outcomes for children.
The association should provide further support to develop leadership. Increasing collaboration and growing teacher practice to promote positive outcomes for children is required.
Clearer expectations, processes and guidance for teaching practice are required to promote consistency across the kindergarten. This should include strengthening the induction process and introducing robust practices that are monitored over time.
The governing board is future-focused and has taken appropriate steps to strengthen opportunities for teachers’ professional learning and development. An association-wide appraisal process is in place to support teacher practice in promoting positive learning outcomes for children. Consistency of its implementation across all kindergartens requires strengthening.
Before the review, the staff and management of Waiouru Kindergarten and Care 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:
During the review, ERO looked at the 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 registration; ratios)
evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
ERO found significant areas of non-compliance in the service related to:
In order to improve practice:
teachers should strengthen documentation in relation to excursions
the association should ensure that at least one of the toilets for use by children is designed to provide them with some sense of privacy.
Since the on-site stage of the review, association leaders have provided ERO with steps taken to address this area.
ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence of Waiouru Kindergarten and Care. ERO will not undertake a further education review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets licensing requirements.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services Central Region
29 April 2019
The Education Review Office (ERO) is the government department that, as part of its work, reviews early childhood services throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. ERO’s reports provide information for parents and communities about each service’s strengths and next steps for development. ERO’s bicultural evaluation framework Ngā Pou Here is described in SECTION 3 of this report. Early childhood services are partners in the review process and are expected to make use of the review findings to enhance children's wellbeing and learning.
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Location |
Waiouru |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5258 |
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Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
65 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
52 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 26, Boys 26 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
14 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
March 2019 |
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Date of this report |
29 April 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
December 2015 |
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Education Review |
October 2012 |
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Supplementary Review |
October 2009 |
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ERO’s overarching question for an early childhood education review is ‘How well placed is this service to promote positive learning outcomes for children?’ ERO focuses on the following factors as described in the bicultural framework Ngā Pou Here:
Pou Whakahaere – how the service determines its vision, philosophy and direction to ensure positive outcomes for children
Pou Ārahi – how leadership is enacted to enhance positive outcomes for children
Mātauranga – whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to achieve positive outcomes for children
Tikanga whakaako – how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity and support positive outcomes for children.
Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness of arotake – self review and of whanaungatanga – partnerships with parents and whānau.
ERO evaluates how well placed a service is to sustain good practice and make ongoing improvements for the benefit of all children at the service.
A focus for the government is that all children, especially priority learners, have an opportunity to benefit from quality early childhood education. ERO will report on how well each service promotes positive outcomes for all children, with a focus on children who are Māori, Pacific, have diverse needs, and are up to the age of two.
For more information about the framework and Ngā Pou Here refer to ERO’s Approach to Review in Early Childhood Services.
The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
Very well placed
Well placed
Requires further development
Not well placed
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
ERO reviews are tailored to each service’s context and performance, within the overarching review framework. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to the service.