349 Halswell Road, Halswell, Christchurch
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 Halswell Learning Tree 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 |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
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Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Halswell Learning Tree is a family-owned centre which includes a nursery and a preschool room. The owners are certificated teachers and are both managing and teaching at the service. Most of the staff are qualified and certificated early childhood teachers. The centre supports teachers in training.
Children are well supported to become competent and confident learners through a play-based learning curriculum where they are encouraged to make independent choices. Teachers and leaders provide a family-friendly curriculum and partnerships with parents are valued and intentionally fostered. Primary caregiving relationships provide infants and toddlers opportunities to build secure attachments which fosters a strong sense of belonging. Teachers know children well and focus on developing respectful relationships. They role-model positive social competence skills. Daily routines provide meaningful opportunities for older children to care for younger children and younger children learn from their older more experienced peers.
Teachers provide a rich curriculum for children informed by parent aspirations and teacher’s shared understandings of the valued learning at the service. Assessment and planning is based on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Teachers deliberately extend children’s individual interests and strengths while facilitating opportunities for meaningful cooperative learning. Assessment, planning, and evaluation practices are not yet consistent amongst all teachers to determine how well children are progressing in terms of the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki.
Children are increasingly experiencing a curriculum that provides them with opportunities to develop knowledge and understandings of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Effective leadership is supporting teachers to build their capability to speak te reo Māori and to naturally integrate tikanga Māori. Children’s diverse cultural backgrounds are valued through celebrations and wall displays and children’s first languages are supported. Children’s cultures, languages and identities is not yet visible in children’s learning documentation.
Self-review is well established. Leaders and teachers reflect on their practice and draw on relevant research to make ongoing improvements. A useful internal evaluation framework is in place. This framework is not yet used to make evidence-based judgements about the effectiveness of teacher practice on children’s outcomes.
The centre owners collaborate well to provide effective professional practice leadership to the teaching team and to promote positive outcomes for all children. Leaders create a culture of trust to support robust professional conversations and continuous improvement.
Halswell Learning Tree will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning. These are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Halswell Learning Tree 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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
21 March 2022
| Early Childhood Service Name | Halswell Learning Tree |
| Profile Number | 46387 |
| Location | Christchurch |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 16 aged under 2. |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
54 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 7, NZ European/Pākehā 35, Other ethnic groups 12 |
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Review team on site |
November 2021 |
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Date of this report |
21 March 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, January 2019; Education Review, October 2015. |
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Halswell Learning Tree is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Halswell Learning Tree is a family owned centre which provides full-day education and care for 50 children, including up to 20 children under two years.
The management team consists of the two owners and the centre manager. Most of the staff are qualified and registered early childhood teachers. The centre supports teachers in training.
The centre's philosophy emphasises the importance of collaborative relationships between the child, parents/whānau and teachers, and encouraging children's learning, confidence and creativity.
Centre leaders have addressed some of the areas for improvement identified in the 2015 ERO review, particularly the strengthening of systems and procedures to guide practices. Areas identified in this review that still require some strengthening include internal evaluation, appraisal, assessment and planning.
Since the last review, an area for infants and toddlers has been established and the Ministry of Education has re-licensed the centre.
Children learn in calm, well-organised environments. They benefit from the teachers' focused planning. The learning priorities of respect, reciprocal relationships and social competencies are clearly evident.
Infants and toddlers benefit from responsive interactions and secure attachments with a small number of adults. They are well supported to actively explore a range of appropriately challenging play spaces and learning activities. Teachers adjust routines to meet children's individual needs.
Learning portfolios explain and celebrate a child's participation in the programme. Teachers have implemented a new approach to their assessment and planning for individuals. The stories show how teachers' strategies are supporting children's learning. Parents and whānau are invited to contribute to the portfolios.
Children are well supported as they transition into and through the centre. Decisions are made in consultation with parents and whānau. Leaders and teachers have connections with local schools to support transitions for children and their families. They also make good use of their local community to extend the learning experiences for children.
Leaders value their relationships with families to support children's learning. They use a range of strategies to communicate and regularly seek information through newsletters, informal conversations, surveys and a daily diary. Leaders are aware of the need to strengthen the use of parent feedback in assessment, planning and evaluation.
Leaders model clear expectations and encourage a collaborative team approach. Teachers are well supported through targeted professional development to keep up-to-date with current education and teaching practices. Teachers are encouraged to take on leadership roles and to share their interests and expertise.
There have been some positive changes as a result of internal evaluation and policy reviews. Leaders agree that they need to build a shared understanding of how internal evaluation could show the difference they are making to children's learning.
ERO has identified, and the centre leaders agree, that the next steps for the centre are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Halswell Learning Tree 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 Halswell Learning Tree will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review & Improvement Services
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region
22 January 2019
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 |
46387 |
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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 |
50 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
55 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 26 ; Girls 29 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
50-79% |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
October 2018 |
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Date of this report |
22 January 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report |
Education Review |
October 2015 |
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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.