6 Glasgow Street, Phillipstown, Christchurch
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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.
Au Pair Link Christchurch 2 is one of two networks in Christchurch, operated by the national early childhood organisation Au Pair Link. There are 14 licensed networks across New Zealand. The organisation recruits au pairs (educators) from overseas to work with young children in their home, usually for a maximum term of one year. Through the recruitment process, families choose an educator who they think will meet the needs of their children. Building strong, secure relationships between families and educators is a high priority for the organisation.
This network is licensed for 80 children, including 80 aged up to two years. The roll at the time of the review was 47.
Family and programme managers are all fully qualified and registered teachers. They support educators to provide high quality education and care for children.
This is ERO's first review of this network.
This review was part of a cluster of two reviews in the Au Pair Link organisation.
Au Pair Link provides high quality education and care for children. Well aligned, robust systems and processes, for quality assurance, monitoring of practice, effective leadership and systematic internal evaluation are in place. These contribute to improvement, sustainability and positive outcomes for all children.
There is a strong commitment to the service philosophy at all levels of the organisation. A focus on high quality care and education in children's homes and positive learning outcomes is clearly evident. Strong, responsive and respectful partnerships supports a sense of belonging and wellbeing for children, whānau and educators.
The importance of children learning through play is valued. Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, strongly underpins the service's curriculum. Children engage in a wide range of learning experiences within and outside the home. Well-considered, high quality resources, regular excursions and special events further enhance learning.
Educators participate in a comprehensive orientation process. This includes support to develop an understanding of Te Whāriki, children's learning dispositions and bicultural practices.
The programme managers provide comprehensive support for educators in homes and at regular service playgroups. This includes coaching and guidance to effectively model ways to plan for and extend children's learning. Parents' contribution to the programme is highly valued. Children's progress is captured and celebrated by educators in photos and stories Assessment practices successfully support continuity in learning and demonstrate children's progress in a range of contexts.
The placement of educators is well considered and responsive to the needs of individual children and their families. Many children in the service are infants and toddlers. The programme managers work positively alongside educators to provide a curriculum that effectively supports these youngest children.
Provision for children with additional learning needs is carefully considered. The programme managers effectively work alongside educators, families and external agencies to promote the participation and engagement of these children in the learning programme.
A review of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori practices has strengthened programme managers' and educators' knowledge and understanding of te ao Māori. A wide range of resources has been developed to support educators' implementation of a bicultural curriculum. Managers and leaders have identified that it is timely to evaluate the effectiveness of this initiative on positive outcomes for children.
Collaborative ways of working are fostered at all levels of the organisation. Emergent leadership is actively promoted.
The strategic plan effectively guides direction for the service. Goals are clearly linked to outcomes for children. Internal evaluation is embedded across all levels of the organisation and effectively informs change and improvement. Managers and leaders have acknowledged the need to continue to refine the use of internal evaluation for improvement.
Au Pair Link has identified that increasing the participation of Māori and Pacific families is a priority.
Management and leaders should continue to refine their use of internal evaluation to maintain ongoing improvement and positive outcomes for children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Au Pair Link Christchurch 2 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.
The next ERO review of Au Pair Link Christchurch 2 will be in three years.
Patricia Davey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
2 June 2017
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 |
Christchurch |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46066 |
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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 |
80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
47 |
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Standard or Quality funded |
Standard |
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Gender composition |
Girls 25, Boys 22 |
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Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
47 |
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Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
3 |
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Required ratios of educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
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Over 2 |
1:4 |
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Review team on site |
May 2017 |
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Date of this report |
2 June 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
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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:
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.