71 Maybury Road, Point England, Auckland
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.
Akoteu Toonga Fungani is a Tongan service located in the premises of Taka He Monu Methodist Church. Most of the children enrolled are Tongan. A small number are Māori. A manager leads a team of three registered teachers.
Positive interactions between kau faiako (teachers) and fānau (children) enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal vā (relationships). The service curriculum respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in the Tongan language and culture.
Tongan values of faka’apa’apa (respect), fetokoni’aki (helping one another), and ngāue fakataha (working together collectively) are encouraged in children’s daily learning. Positive steps are taken to respect and acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau for their children’s learning.
An increased level of monitoring of health and safety practices is required to meet all aspects of regulatory compliance.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
The premises has a current fire evacuation scheme that is approved by the New Zealand Fire Service (HS4).
A procedure for monitoring children’s sleep is displayed, and a record of children’s sleep times is kept for children over two years of age (HS9).
The temperature of warm water delivered from taps that are accessible to children is no higher than 40 °C and comfortable for children at the centre to use (HS13).
The water stored in any hot water cylinder is kept at a temperature of at least 60°C (HS14).
When children leave the premises on an excursion, a record of excursions includes the time and date; the location and method of travel; assessment and management of risk; and evidence of parental permission for adult:child ratios (HS17).
If children travel in a motor vehicle while in the care of the service, the written permission of a parent of the child is obtained before the travel begins (unless the child is travelling with their parent) (HS18).
A record of the date and time medicine was administered to children and by whom, and evidence of parental acknowledgement that medicine was administered (HS28).
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
23 March 2022
| Early Childhood Service Name | Akoteu Toonga Fungani |
| Profile Number | 10130 |
| Location | Point England, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
21 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 2, NZ European/Pākehā 2, Tongan 17 |
|
Review team on site |
February 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
23 March 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, March 2019; Education Review, May 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.
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 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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Akoteu Toonga Fungani requires further development to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Akoteu Toonga Fungani is a Tongan language immersion service in Glen Innes, Auckland. The akoteu operates as a charitable trust under the Auckland-Manukau Tongan Parish and the neighbouring Taka He Monu Methodist Church. It is licensed to provide education and care for 30 children, including up to five children under two years. Most of the children attending have Tongan heritage and speak Tongan as their second language.
The akoteu philosophy reflects the values of the teachers, kainga and community. The programme provides children with total immersion in the Tongan language within a strong Christian ethos. A separate room is provided for infants and toddlers to play and sleep. All children share an outdoor space that has been recently updated by a local community group.
ERO's 2015 review identified that the akoteu was well placed to continue supporting positive learning outcomes for children. Many good practices are still evident in teaching, learning and curriculum. However, positive aspects of governance and management that were acknowledged in 2015, have not been sustained. In addition, there has been insufficient progress made in the areas identified for development in the 2015 ERO report.
Children experience a programme that affirms and values their identity, language and culture. They are settled in their play and know akoteu routines well. Respectful and caring relationships between children and adults foster children's wellbeing and their sense of belonging. Early literacy, mathematics and science feature in the programme.
Children up to the age of two years receive nurturing and caring support. They benefit from opportunities to interact with older children for parts of the day. Teachers use the limited space available to encourage infants' and toddlers' exploration.
The manager and teachers should improve the use of akoteu spaces to better support children's individual rhythms and routines. A separate area should be provided for infants and toddlers to have undisturbed rest and sleep. Targeted and equity funding has been accessed to support a building extension, which has reached the planning stage. The board now needs to urgently ensure this project is completed to improve the learning environment for children.
The board should improve its support for teachers' ongoing professional learning and development (PLD). Despite a lack of PLD for teachers over the last three years, staff are increasingly responsive to individual children's interests. They plan collaboratively, and regularly have professional discussions about children's learning and wellbeing.
Teachers are keen to have external PLD to update their knowledge and practice in relation to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and the Teaching Council's requirements. This would help teachers to strengthen their reflective practice, and better support and extend children's learning and development.
The board needs to strengthen governance and management practices. A first step would be to align the strategic plan, financial management and budget, with internal evaluation that includes staff and parents' views. Implementing systems and processes that support transparent decision-making should enhance communication, and help establish shared understandings about akoteu operations. These developments would improve the efficiency of akoteu operations and outcomes for children.
Human resource management is inefficient. The board should clarify the roles and responsibilities of the service provider, trustees, centre manager and staff, and update job descriptions. The teacher appraisal process requires improvement to ensure endorsements of teachers' practising certificates are better supported. Financial systems also need to be improved so that staff can receive their pay regularly and in a timely manner.
Changes to legal requirements, including those related to the Vulnerable Children Act 2014 and the Teaching Council, are not being incorporated into akoteu policy and practices in a timely fashion. The board should implement a regular cycle of policy review so that policies reflect good practice and that they are up-to-date. External professional support will be necessary to help the centre manager, board and staff to make the improvements outlined in this report.
The akoteu should work with external professional support to:
strengthen governance and management practices
ensure all statutory requirements are met
implement a full and compliant policy framework
implement robust teacher appraisal
continue developing a child-centred programme that reflects Te Whāriki, and ensure teachers develop shared understandings of relevant early childhood learning theories and effective teaching practice.
Before the review, the staff and management of Akoteu Toonga Fungani 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 identified areas of non-compliance relating to governance, management, human resource management and health and safety. To meet requirements the service must improve its performance by:
establishing a process for evaluating operations and strengthening records, systems and processes to provide evidence that criteria are met and regularly monitored
implementing child protection, safety checking and police vetting policies that align with the Vulnerable Children Act, 2014
implementing robust risk analysis management for excursions and regular visits to the church hall, and for hazards in the environment
implementing annual appraisals for all staff and ensuring that appraisal systems for qualified teachers meet the requirements of the Teaching Council.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA6,7,7A; HS12,17,31; Vulnerable Children Act 2014.
ERO recommends that the service, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, develops a plan to address the key next steps and actions outlined in this report.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
6 March 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.
|
Location |
Glen Innes, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
10130 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
28 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 15 Boys 13 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Tongan |
23 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
November 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
6 March 2019 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2012 |
||
|
Education Review |
February 2009 |
||
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:
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:
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.