Born & Raised Pasifika Early Childhood Centre

Education institution number:
50053
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Pacific Is. EC Service
Total roll:
28
Telephone:
Address:

2 Mitchell Street, Aramoho, Whanganui

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Born & Raised Pasifika Early Childhood Centre

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

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.

Background

Born and Raised Pasifika Early Childhood Centre supports the languages and cultures of Fiji, the Cook Islands and Samoa. Nearly half of the children enrolled are identified as Māori. The philosophy is based on the values of respect, integrity, and service. A centre manager leads a team of six qualified teachers and support staff.

Summary of Review Findings

The curriculum respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in their culture, and encourages children to understand and respect other cultures. Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua.

Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. The service curriculum provides a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning.

Consistent implementation and monitoring of governance, management and health and safety practices is required to maintain regulatory standards.

Actions for Compliance

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:

  • Heavy furniture, fixtures, and equipment that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage are secured (HS6).

  • A written emergency plan that includes evidence of review of the plan on at least an annual basis and implementation of improved practices as required (HS7).

  • A record of emergency drills carried out, and evidence of how evaluation of the drills has informed the annual review of the service’s emergency plan (HS8).

  • A procedure for monitoring children’s sleep is displayed and implemented which ensures that children are checked for warmth, breathing, and general wellbeing at least every 5 to 10 minutes, or more frequently according to individual needs, and a record of the time each child attending the service sleeps, and checks made by adults during that time (HS9).

  • A record of all medicine (prescription and non-prescription) given to children attending the service that includes the name and amount of medicine given and evidence of parental acknowledgement (HS28).

  • A documented risk management system that shows identified hazards are being eliminated, isolated or minimised (HS12).

  • A record of excursions that includes assessment and management of risk and evidence of parental permission and approval of adult:child ratios for regular excursions (HS17).

  • Food provided by the service is served and prepared in accordance with Ministry of Health: Reducing food-related choking for babies and young children (HS22).

  • A procedure outlining the service’s response to injury, illness, and incident, including the review and implementation of practices (HS27).

  • All children’s workers who have access to children are safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014 and every children’s worker must be safety checked every three years (GMA7A).

  • An attendance record that meets the requirements outlined in the Early Childhood Education Funding Handbook (GMA11).

Next ERO Review

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

18 November 2022 

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Born & Raised Pasifika Early Childhood Centre

Profile Number 

50053

Location

Aramoho, Whanganui

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

40 children, including up to 10 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

38

Review team on site

September 2022

Date of this report

18 November 2022

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review June 2017; Education Review, March 2013

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.

Born & Raised Pasifika Early Childhood Centre - 29/06/2017

1 Evaluation of Born & Raised Pasifika Early Childhood Centre

How well placed is Born & Raised Pasifika Early Childhood Centre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Born and Raised Pasifika Early Childhood Centre is a well established community-based service. The centre is owned and governed by the Pasifika Vision Forum Charitable Trust and is made up of members of Pacific communities. The centre manager is a founding member of the Trust. The centre is licensed for 40 children including 10 children up to the age of two years. The children enrolled are from Wanganui's surrounding areas and are mostly Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Fijian or Samoan.

The centre manager oversees daily centre operations. The two supervisors mentor staff and manage programmes for children over two years, and for infants and toddlers. Teachers are qualified and most are long serving. Staff reflect the diverse cultures of the community, which helps them to support parents and children.

The centre’s philosophy is aligned with the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. An emphasis on partnership with parents is key to advancing a focus on children’s interests and learning.

The 2013 ERO report highlighted the culturally relevant programme that was responsive to the needs and aspirations of the children and their families. This aspect continues to be a feature of the centre.

The Review Findings

Children are friendly and hospitable to adults and each other. They settle easily, happily engage in activities and converse enthusiastically with adults. Children are familiar with, and actively participate in centre routines.

Children are confident and independent, and trust that teachers will support their learning. Teachers are respectful of children and have a positive working relationship with parents, whānau and the wider early childhood and school communities.

Infants and toddlers have a separate play area, but play alongside older children most of the time. This mixed-age grouping benefits children in ways that can challenge their play, and enables them to be with family members. Teachers support and guide infants and toddlers as they confidently explore the environment. The programme is flexible and is based on children's interests and teachers' ideas. These approaches are woven together and promote parent contributions.

There is a focus on teachers providing language and cultural learning to affirm the identity of children with the same Pacific backgrounds. The environment promotes and celebrates Pacific cultures. Pacific symbols and visual art give children a strong sense of their identity and culture. As a result, children are confident in cultural contexts. They have a strong sense of belonging in the centre.

Skilful teachers model Pacific Island ways of being, thinking, and behaving. Most children confidently respond to teachers in their home language. Children also learn te reo Māori and can sing a variety of waiata. Children are guided appropriately by teachers to participate in formal mihi whakatau. Teachers value children's play as a way of learning about different cultures and establishing social cultural behaviours and concepts such as tuakana/teina and ako.

Teachers meet regularly to develop curriculum planning and assessment. They could improve programmes by focusing their planning more on children's individual interests and promoting opportunities for children to initiate their own play. Assessment records could help teachers to identify further learning opportunities. Teachers could extend their knowledge to gain deeper understanding around the theories of children’s learning and development.

The management committee has established policies and procedures to guide staff practices. The centre manager is committed to growing staff capability and leadership. She should now develop systems that will formally document and monitor the implementation of teachers' performance appraisal. Centre leaders and teachers acknowledge that self-review processes need improving. It would be worthwhile to access professional development to establish more robust internal evaluation.

Key Next Steps

In order to strengthen management, leadership and quality teaching practices in the service, the management committee and centre leaders should:

  • access external professional development to support leaders and senior teachers to strengthen their leadership and management capability

  • use meaningful self review to inform future planning

  • develop an annual plan that links to a strategic plan, and monitor how well annual and long term goals are met

  • review policies to ensure that they align with the Licensing Criteria 2008 and guide practice in the centre

  • align teachers' performance appraisal process with the Education Council requirements, job descriptions, and the centre's philosophy, and strategic plan. 

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Born & Raised Pasifika Early Childhood Centre 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.

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.

To improve hygiene, health and safety practices, centre leaders must ensure that:

  • infants and toddlers use the designated nappy changing area and keep this area hygienically clean

  • they develop a policy and procedure for transporting children to and from the centre

  • adults who come into contact with children during hours of operation have undergone a process of safety checks in accordance with Vulnerable Children Act 2014

  • fire evacuation and emergency drills are regularly documented and evaluated

  • a documented risk management system is in place for all excursions and the appropriate adult to child ratio has signed approval by the child's guardian.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Born & Raised Pasifika Early Childhood Centre will be in three years.

Violet Tu'uga Stevenson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)

29 June 2017

The Purpose of ERO Reports

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. 

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service 

Location

Aramoho, Whanganui

Ministry of Education profile number

50053

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

40 children, including up to 10 aged under 2

Service roll

44

Gender composition

Boys 24 Girls 20

Ethnic composition

Māori
Fijian
Cook Islands Māori
Samoan
other Pacific

18
16
5
3
2

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%+

Based on funding rates

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:3

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:6

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

March 2017

Date of this report

29 June 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

 

Education Review

March 2013

Education Review

February 2010

Education Review

November 2006

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

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.