38 Smithfield Road, Tawhero, Whanganui
View on mapAkarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama- indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most (PDF 3.01MB) are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric (PDF 91.30KB) derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for First Years Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
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What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
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He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
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Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whakaū Embedding |
First Years Learning Centre is privately owned. The owner/manager is responsible for governance and day-to-day operation of the service. She is assisted by two recently appointed leaders. The service is licensed for children aged over two years. A second, newly opened centre caters for infants and toddlers.
Children have equitable opportunities to learn through a responsive curriculum, designed with parents and whānau. Learning-focused partnerships include opportunities for adults to share information about children’s interests and progress. Children thrive in an environment that increasingly recognises and supports their language, culture and identity.
Teachers and leaders show commitment to practices that promote success for Māori children. They have built and sustained strong partnerships with iwi Māori who are providing guidance and support in te reo and ngā tikanga. Te ao Māori practices enhance children’s mana and identity as successful learners.
Teachers and leaders are beginning to learn what is making the biggest difference in supporting valued learning outcomes for all children. Evaluation and inquiry for improvement are ongoing and continue to strengthen. Systems to collate and analyse evaluation information are not sufficiently robust to consistently inform teachers of the impact of their actions. The use of quality indicators to evaluate teaching practice is not yet embedded.
Leaders and teachers work collegially to build their professional knowledge. Strengthened appraisal supports ongoing professional learning and effectively supports teachers’ capability. Collaboration with parents and whānau promotes ako and tuakana teina, as the centre community learns from one another. Children’s learning is enhanced through this shared approach which successfully contributes to sustained improvement.
Sound systems and processes guide and support strategic actions. Governance and management decisions are tracked and analysed for effectiveness. A revised senior leadership structure is in place and new leaders are in the early stages of learning their roles and responsibilities in promoting future sustainability and ongoing development.
Comprehensive policies and procedures effectively guide teacher practice. These are regularly reviewed in collaboration with parents and whānau. This promotes consistency across the teaching team and encourages continuity of care and education for children.
First Years Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of First Years Learning 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:
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.
ERO found an area of non-compliance in the service relating to:
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
27 May 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | First Years Learning Centre |
| Profile Number | 46755 |
| Location | Tawhero, Whanganui |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
30 children, aged over 2. |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
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Service roll |
43 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 9, NZ European/Pākehā 31, Other ethnic groups 3. |
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Review team on site |
March 2021 |
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Date of this report |
27 May 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, March 2017. |
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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.
First Years Learning Centre is a privately owned service in Tawhero, Whanganui, providing education and care for up to thirty children over two years of age.
Most of the teaching team are qualified or in training. The owner manages and provides professional leadership for the service. Teachers are involved in external professional learning and development with other local centres.
A feature of this centre is its spacious and stimulating outdoor learning environment.
The centre philosophy incorporates six interwoven concepts including the importance of play, respecting children's individuality and culture, education and empowerment, partnership and developing the foundations for lifelong learning.
This is the first review for First Years Learning Centre.
Children have good opportunities to lead their learning and sustain their play. They are confident to approach their peers and others. Literacy and numeracy are promoted. Purposeful and thoughtfully designed outside spaces encourage children's exploration, creativity and physical play.
Children's social learning is fostered. They demonstrate good levels of cooperative play with their peers. Relationships and interactions are respectful, unhurried and responsive. A calm tone prevails.
Teachers use a range of strategies that effectively build on children's learning. This includes making links to children's prior knowledge, using open-ended questions and promoting self-help skills. Diversity is celebrated. Those requiring additional support are well supported.
There is a sound framework for internal evaluation/self review in place. Teachers have made good use of this process to extend their strategies to encourage children's social skills. The current inquiry focusing on growing teachers' cultural competence should be useful in improving curriculum responsiveness for Māori learners. Strengthening the evaluative aspect to assist teachers to know about the impact of teaching on outcomes for learning is an agreed next step.
Well-developed processes help teachers to know about assessment and planning practices. These have been reviewed to further support individual children's interests and learning to be met.
The manager models and supports a highly reflective culture. Teachers are actively encouraged to inquire into their practice and share their strengths. Sound systems are in place for centre operations.
Aspects of the appraisal process need strengthening by: clearer links to the Practising Teacher Criteria and sufficient evidence for each criterion; and improvement in the quality of goal setting and feedback to teachers. Plans are in place to improve these aspects.
Strategic and annual planning needs further development to more clearly focus on how the centre aims to achieve its strategic intent.
The manager and ERO agree that the key next steps for First Years Learning Centre are to:
extend opportunities for Māori children and whānau to have success as Māori
develop evaluative capacity to more clearly know about the impact of teachers’ practices on children’s learning
further develop, then implement the revised appraisal process.
Before the review, the staff and management of First Years Learning 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:
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.
In order to improve practice the centre manager needs to ensure she is annually appraised to meet the requirements.
The next ERO review of First Years Learning Centre will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
21 March 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 |
Tawhero, Whanganui |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46755 |
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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 |
30 children, aged over 2 |
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Service roll |
40 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 20, Boys 20 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other ethnic groups |
11 25 4 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2017 |
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Date of this report |
21 March 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
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This is the first review of this service |
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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 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.