- ERO evaluates and reports on the education and care of children and young people in early childhood services and schools.
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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.
Bright Beginnings Early Learning Centre is an early childhood education and care centre located in Panmure, East Auckland. The service is licensed for 70 children, with a maximum of 15 children under two years of age. It is a purpose-built service that opened in March 2016. This is the first ERO report for this centre.
The centre is owned, along with two other services, by a family-based company. The owners are the centre directors and are involved in the day-to-day organisation of the centre. One director, a qualified early childhood teacher, leads the development of teaching and learning. The other director manages administration and property, health and safety, and policy review.
Children play in three age-related learning environments. The Manuka Room is for children aged under two years, the Kowhai Room for those who are two to three-and-a-half years old, and the Pohutukawa Room is for older children up to the age of five years. Each room has an experienced team leader and good ratios of qualified staff. The supervisor has oversight of the three teaching teams.
The centre's vision merges Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, with the Reggio Emilia philosophy. The resulting programmes encourage children's involvement in creative play and meaningful learning. Parents, whānau and the community have opportunities to engage in their children's learning and in the centre's development.
This review was part of a cluster of two reviews for the Bright Beginnings Early Learning Centres organisation.
This review finds that the centre has effectively developed their systems and operations to establish good practice in early childhood education and care. This is resulting in positive learning outcomes for children.
Children benefit from supportive relationships between child, teacher and family that foster children's wellbeing and sense of belonging. Centre staff are working to develop effective partnerships with families that promote and develop individualised learning.
The centre's curriculum and learning environment encourage children to learn collaboratively through exploration and investigation. The range of learning experiences available effectively promotes children's social development and proficiency with language. Early literacy and numeracy skills are skilfully integrated into the context of play by capable teachers.
Teachers have a high level of respect for children as competent learners. They listen carefully to children, value their ideas, and support them to decide on the direction of their play. They extend children's thinking and enable them to access and select play resources. Children spend time each week with an art specialist employed to promote their learning and creativity in the arts.
Children under two years of age receive good quality care and learning opportunities. Teachers are respectful of babies and toddlers and encourage strong, affirming attachments among children, teachers and parents. The home-like ambience of the Reggio-inspired environment supports children's sense of belonging. Teachers work with families to ensure home routines are followed by teachers.
Teachers use assessment and planning practices that respond effectively to what they notice about each child. Teachers document and extend children's individual and group interests by supporting their projects and inquiries. Teachers also plan for dispositions development within the programme to enable children to develop and grow positively. They share this information with families through learning stories, conversations and conferencing to encourage parents to participate in their children's learning progress.
The centre has developed a professional learning culture for staff. Frequent evaluation of teaching practice informs professional development planning. All teachers have in-depth, externally facilitated professional learning. This process ensures that teachers are well supported to keep their practice current. Teacher appraisal and registration systems meet the current requirements of the Education Council. The supervisor supports staff in many ways to continue developing their leadership skills.
The centre directors are committed to supporting the intentions of The Treaty of Waitangi and all staff and children engage with te ao Māori. Another Bright Beginnings centre supervisor has been identified to lead the inclusion of te reo me ōna tikanga Māori in the organisation's learning programmes. Centre investigations and wall learning displays reflect the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand and the other cultures of children who attend the service.
The centre's philosophy is regularly reviewed to reflect centre practices. Effective internal evaluation processes inform the strategic direction of the centre. The goals of the strategic plan are prioritised, clear and relevant.
ERO and centre leaders agree that the centre should continue to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Bright Beginnings Early Learning Centre - Panmure 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.
The next ERO review of Bright Beginnings Early Learning Centre - Panmure will be in three years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
31 May 2018
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 |
Panmure, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46879 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
70 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
78 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 46 Girls 32 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
10 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
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 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
April 2018 |
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Date of this report |
31 May 2018 |
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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 ERO’s Approach to Review in Early Childhood Services.
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.