5c Henry Street, Avondale, Auckland
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Amanda's Homebased ECE 2 is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Amanda's Homebased ECE is a long-established provider of early childhood care and education in home settings. The service's philosophy expresses a commitment to quality homebased early childhood education (ECE) underpinned by a culture of professionalism.
This is a Quality Funded network. It is jointly managed as one of two Amanda's networks currently operating in Auckland. It provides care and education for up to 60 children, including children under the age of two years, in the educators' homes. All educators in this network have a minimum of a Level 3 early childhood education qualification. They work under the guidance and supervision of qualified Education Team Leaders (ETLs). At the time of this review. 33 children are enrolled and eight active educators.
Since the 2015 ERO report, two new ETLs have been appointed to the team. There has also been a reduction in the number of children they can be responsible for supervising. Amanda's maintains better than minimum ratio requirements in this regard. All ETLs are registered early childhood teachers. The 2015 ERO report noted that the owner and ETLs work as a team and are committed to ongoing improvement. These strengths remain evident. The report also identified next steps for the service. These included better systems for supporting ETL practice, establishing strategic self-review, updating long-term planning, and strengthening the bicultural curriculum. While good progress has been made, continued work in these areas would further benefit the organisation.
The service has high regard for the health, safety and wellbeing of children in its care. ETLs and educators know children well and monitor their ongoing development and learning. They ensure that children have access to a range of activities in homes, as well as opportunities to socialise with others at regular playgroups.
Programmes for children are underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and promote a bicultural approach. ETLs acknowledge that building their own familiarity with the 2017 refresh of Te Whāriki, and strengthening their expertise in te reo and tikanga Māori, would assist them in supporting educators' practices.
ETLs emphasise the importance of children learning through play. They support educators to enrich children's exploration through their discussions and monthly observations of each child. They also provide additional resources to extend children's learning. Termly planning meetings are held at playgroups. At these meetings, educators share their understanding of children's interests and agree on a shared topic. They also discuss ideas for related community excursions and activities that they can provide in their homes.
Children aged over three years are able to participate in the Magic Caterpillar programme. This programme promotes early literacy and numeracy as children begin preparing for transition to school. Developmental milestones of younger children are recognised and celebrated.
Maintaining good relationships with children, parents and educators is a priority for the service. A focus on strengthening communication with educators and families has been reinforced through the use of an online portal. Parents and whānau can see the educators' learning stories and ETL monthly reports for their children, and can add their comments and stories. This portal also allows the organisation to keep families well informed about news and upcoming events.
A culture of collaboration and open discussion is a strength of the management team. Leadership is promoted throughout the organisation. Strategic planning provides a useful framework for guiding decisions and improving systems and processes. Leaders could build on these positive foundations to strengthen support for the different approaches, strengths and development areas of the two networks. This would also help the organisation to evaluate the extent to which each service delivers on the service's overarching vision.
The service owner and ETLs agree that the next steps for improving their service include:
reviewing the philosophy in order to strengthen the guidance it provides for planning for the network, and for the ETLs and educators to work towards achieving the organisation's vision
continuing to develop internal evaluation to promote greater depth of inquiry into practice and consideration of outcomes for children
implementing strategies that will further support and strengthen the educators' practices, including the implementation of Te Whāriki and regular written feedback about good practice and what could be improved
continuing to strengthen appraisal for ETLs.
Before the review, the staff and management of Amanda's Homebased ECE completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
17 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 |
Avondale, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
10103 |
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Institution type |
Homebased Network |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
60 children, including up to 60 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
33 |
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Standard or Quality Funded |
Quality |
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Gender composition |
Boys 17 Girls 16 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
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Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
3 |
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Required ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
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Over 2 |
1:4 |
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Review team on site |
January 2019 |
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Date of this report |
17 April 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2015 |
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Education Review |
June 2008 |
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Education Review |
October 2005 |
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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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Amanda’s Homebased ECE is a well established service with educators located across Auckland. The service includes three networks, each with different characteristics. This network is a Quality Funded service and features a team of experienced educators who operate their own playgroup in South Auckland. There are currently 27 children enrolled, including eight under two years of age. Approximately 20 percent of the children have Māori heritage. Another 20 percent are of Middle Eastern descent.
The service has three Educational Team Leaders (ETLs) who are registered teachers. They provide support and guidance for educators across the three networks. The owner has responsibility for the management of the service.
Since the 2008 ERO review Amanda’s Homebased ECE has undergone significant change. Its administration has relocated from central to west Auckland, two of the ETLs are new appointments and there have been changes in Ministry of Education funding. The service was relicensed in 2013 and has needed to meet new licensing requirements and expectations.
Children’s learning programmes are underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Their learning records show that they engage in varied programmes. Educators provide a range of opportunities for children in homes and in the community, including playgroup and group excursions. Their experiences include early literacy and opportunities to explore creative and manipulative materials. Children build relationships with others and participate in physical and musical activities.
Children are well supported to settle into educators’ homes and to transition to school. ETLs monitor how well infants and toddlers adapt and help educators to establish daily diaries that record children’s routines and play interests. ETLs write affirming reports about children’s holistic development that provide very good information to support their entry into school. They encourage educators to provide opportunities for all children to experience their language and culture.
Training opportunities have had a positive impact on educators’ practice. This professional development has helped them to change their learning environments and more confidently engage in discussions with parents. ETLs model effective teaching strategies at playgroups and encourage educators to experiment with new ideas. The playgroups also enable ETLs to work with children as a group and to enhance their relationships with educators and families who use the service.
The owner and ETLs work as a team and are committed to ongoing improvement. ETLs make regular home visits to the educators and have recently improved the quality of their monthly reports about children as a result of reflective self review. The recent introduction of an electronic systems management tool has enabled them to better support educators with assessing children’s learning. This tool has also increased parents’ involvement in their children’s learning.
A new appraisal system for ETLs has been implemented. The owner agrees this process could be developed further to ensure ETLs set measurable goals and regularly evaluate their own progress. ETLs also want to strengthen their bicultural practices.
The owner shares management responsibilities with the ETLs. They engage in ongoing discussions about priorities for the service and their vision to include new opportunities for diverse communities. This informal approach does not always support a clear direction for the service. The owner and ETLs recognise that they should now redefine the leadership structure and better document expectations. This should help them to sustain the service’s operations more effectively over time.
The service provider and ETLs agree that key next steps for improving the service include:
The owner and ETLs recognise they should urgently implement documented systems for the effective monitoring of health and safety regulatory requirements.
Before the review, the staff and management of Amanda's Homebased ECE 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:
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
In order to improve practices the service should:
The next ERO review of Amanda's Homebased ECE will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
8 May 2015
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 |
Auckland |
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|
Ministry of Education profile number |
10103 |
||
|
Licence type |
Home-based Network |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
27 |
||
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Standard or Quality Funded |
Quality Funded |
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Gender composition |
Boys 15 Girls 12 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Middle Eastern Other |
7 10 8 2 |
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Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
3 |
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Reported ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:4 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2015 |
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Date of this report |
8 May 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2008 |
|
|
Education Review |
October 2005 |
||
|
Accountability Review |
July 2001 |
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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
The overall judgement that ERO makes and the timing of the next review will depend on how well placed a service is to promote 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.