85 MacArthur Street, Levin
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 |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
The service philosophy incorporates Montessori – style learning for children, and is underpinned by the values of aroha, kaitiakitanga and whanaungatanga. A quarter of children enrolled identify as Māori and a small number are of Pacific heritage. In January 2022, the service changed ownership and is under new management.
The curriculum acknowledges Māori as tangata whenua. Children have opportunities to develop knowledge and understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. They are encouraged to understand and respect other cultures.
A range of experiences is provided to enhance and extend children’s learning and development. Parents have regular opportunities to be involved in decision-making concerning their child’s learning. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful positive interactions to nurture reciprocal relationships.
The design and layout of the premises supports the provision of different types of indoor and outdoor experiences. The philosophy guides operations.
Next steps include:
continuing to develop the local curriculum and identify priorities for learning that reflect the things that are important to children and their families, teachers and the wider community.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
8 December 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Fairfield Educare Ltd |
|
Profile Number |
40209 |
|
Location |
Levin |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
40 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
55 |
|
Review team on site |
October 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
8 December 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, November 2018; Education Review, December 2014 |
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 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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Fairfield Educare Ltd is a privately owned early childhood centre located in Levin. The centre is licensed to provide full day care for 40 children, including 15 up to two years of age. Of the total roll of 41 children, 13 are Māori and seven are of Pacific heritage. The centre serves a culturally diverse community.
The centre manager is the owner operator. She has day-to-day responsibility for the centre in consultation with the head teacher. A well-established teaching team is in place that includes some recent new appointments. All teachers are qualified.
The philosophy emphasises a sustained commitment to the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand.
The December 2014 ERO report identified key next steps for this service. These included providing more leadership opportunities for children, and better reflection of children’s language, culture and identity in their portfolios. Some progress has been made in these areas.
Children actively participate in a range of opportunities and experiences to extend their learning. Teachers work alongside them following their interests. Leaders should ensure greater consistency of teacher practice to promote positive learning outcomes for children. Children know the routines and expectations. They are respectful of their peers and teachers. Literacy and numeracy is valued and highly promoted. Partnerships with parents are evident. Teachers understand the child in the context of the family and feedback from parents is regularly sought.
Infants and toddlers experience a calm, unhurried environment in which they have time to explore. Teachers are responsive to their needs.
Children benefit from regular opportunities to see, hear and experience aspects of te ao Māori through waiata, karakia, praise and basic commands. Teachers are supported and demonstrate commitment, to growing their cultural competence. This provides a strong foundation for teachers to understand and promote educational success for Māori children. The centre should continue to develop a place-based curriculum that promotes and celebrates places of significance to mana whenua that are unique to their community.
Many of the components of assessment are in place. ERO and leaders agree that practice needs strengthening. It should include:
The centre responds well to children with additional learning needs. Teachers liaise appropriately with whānau and external agencies.
Well-considered transitions are supported by purposeful, reciprocal learning relationships with whānau, children and a local school.
The appraisal process has recently been strengthened to provide better support for teachers to inquire into and reflect on their practice. This should support greater consistency of teachers' practice to more effectively reflect the philosophy and priorities for children's learning.
Leaders and teachers are improvement focused and have a strong commitment to teaching and learning that contributes to positive outcomes for all children. Regular self review that leads to some change is established. ERO and leaders agree that a key next step is to develop their understanding and use of internal evaluation.
The 2018 - 2020 strategic plan has a clear focus on improving the provision of high quality education and care for children. An agreed next step is developing annual actions to show how the service intends to meet its strategic goals. This includes developing processes to show ongoing progress and how well goals are met in relation to valued outcomes for children. This should support a shared understanding by all about the direction of the service.
ERO, and professional leaders agree the key next steps are to:
deepen assessment, planning and evaluation processes, including celebrating children’s culture, language and identity
refine the strategic plan to strengthen the quality and sustainability of the centre
develop and embed internal evaluation.
Before the review, the staff and management of Fairfield Educare Ltd 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's evaluation identified an area of non-compliance. The organisation and teachers must ensure that Fairfield Educare policies, as well as legislative requirements, are well understood and consistently enacted. In particular, teachers must:
document the assessment and management of risk when children leave the premises on an excursion.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008, HS17]
The next ERO review of Fairfield Educare Ltd will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review & Improvement Services Central
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
29 November 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.
|
Location |
Levin |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
40209 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
41 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 24, Boys 17 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
13 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
September 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
29 November 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
December 2014 |
|
|
Education Review |
December 2011 |
||
|
Education Review |
June 2008 |
||
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Fairfield Educare Ltd is a privately owned early childhood centre located in Levin. The centre provides full day care. It is licensed for 40 children, including 15 up to two years of age. Toddlers and young children have access to all areas in the centre. Of the 42 children attending the centre, 14 identify as Māori.
The owner and head teacher are experienced in leadership. Most teachers are qualified and have worked together for some time.
The philosophy reflects a sustained commitment to the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand.
The centre has a positive reporting history with ERO. Since the December 2011 ERO report, the centre has worked on developing their self review and strengthening performance management systems.
The centre philosophy is clearly evident in practice. Children learn in a welcoming and positive environment. They know the routines and expectations. They are purposefully and actively engaged and experience stimulating learning experiences. The physical environment offers challenge and interest and invites children to explore and become involved in a wide variety of activities.
Teachers have positive, sensitive relationships with children. They foster language development through open questions and responsive interactions. Teachers recognise they should provide more leadership opportunities for children within the curriculum.
Infants and toddlers experience a calm and unhurried programme. They have opportunities to lead their own learning. Consistent caregiving enables teachers to respond sensitively to each child’s changing needs and preferences.
Teachers reflect on values, beliefs and the philosophy when making curriculum decisions. They know children well. Teaching and learning responds to children’s diverse strengths, needs and interests. Problem-solving, communication and exploration skills are well supported. Many opportunities are provided for literacy and mathematical experiences. Programmes are designed to support children to become confident, capable mathematical learners.
Parents and whānau are warmly welcomed. Leaders and teachers promote a shared understanding of centre goals by creating opportunities for parents and whānau to share their views and aspirations. Parents' wishes for their children's care and education are acknowledged, displayed and kept to the forefront in curriculum planning.
A high level of commitment to bicultural practice is evident. Teachers’ professional development includes te reo Māori. The centre environment reflects the value teachers are giving to te reo me ngā tikanga Māori. Policies and procedures acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi and guide inclusive and effective practices. Teachers give consideration to the culture and language of each child and seek ways to maintain and build on children’s cultural identity.
High quality learning stories record teachers’ understanding and responses to children’s current interests. Portfolios regularly show their individual progress and learning in relation to the strands of Te Whāriki. They include a high level of parent feedback. Leaders recognise that they are at an early stage of reflecting children’s language, culture and identity in portfolios.
Leaders are clearly focused on continuous improvement in the quality of outcomes for children. Professional development provision is robust and builds teachers' capability. Current theories of learning, teaching and development are appropriately reflected in practice. Performance management is linked to centre goals and teachers’ personal development. Leaders and teachers reflect critically on their own practice. Teachers are encouraged to build on their interests and strengths. Good use is made of resources and research to support their development.
Centre practices are inclusive. Leaders and teachers work closely with parents and whānau to support children with specific educational needs.
Transitions to school are facilitated by effective partnerships between families, centre and school. Frequent visits between the school and centre contribute to the development of children's confidence and sense of belonging.
Self-review practices promote and sustain improvement. Self review is a collaborative process involving all staff, parents and whānau. It is ongoing and responsive to identified priorities and uses evidence for decision-making. Strategic planning identifies centre priorities. These are linked to positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO and the centre managers agree to that next steps are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Fairfield Educare Ltd 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.
The next ERO review of Fairfield Educare Ltd will be in four years.
Joyce Gebbie
National Manager Review Services Central Region
15 December 2014
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 |
Levin |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
40209 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education and Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children, including 15 aged up to 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
42 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 24, Boys 18 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Pacific Indian |
14 23 4 1 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
November 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
15 December 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
December 2011 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2008 |
||
|
Supplementary Review |
June 2005 |
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.