4 Ennismore Road, Mount Albert, Auckland
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 |
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Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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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.
Kidz Unlimited (Learning Centre) Ltd is owned by two qualified teachers who manage and govern the centre, supported by a team of one other qualified teacher, four unqualified teachers, and a cook. Children are cared for in a mixed-age setting, with separate indoor areas for different age groups. A small number of children enrolled identify as Māori.
Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. The centre curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua, and respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture.
Information and guidance are sought when necessary from agencies/services to enable adults to work with children and their parents. Owners need to consistently monitor that licensing requirements are being maintained.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
27 May 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Kidz Unlimited (Learning Centre) Ltd |
| Profile Number | 10382 |
| Location | Mount Albert, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
34 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
50-79% |
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Service roll |
28 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 4 |
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Review team on site |
April 2021 |
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Date of this report |
27 May 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, October 2016 |
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.
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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulated 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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
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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.
Kidz Unlimited Early Childhood Centre in Mt Albert provides education and care services for up to 34 children including 10 under two years of age. The younger children are catered for in a separate room and also spend time in the other room with older children. The management team includes the owner, centre manager and head teacher. Teachers are fully qualified or in training and they contribute to the centre's planning and policy development.
The centre welcomes a diverse range of families who live or work in the Mt Albert area. The philosophy promotes opportunities for children to explore and discover through positive interactions in a family oriented environment. It also underpins teachers’ efforts to create a homely environment and to build learning partnerships with children and their whānau.
The 2013 ERO report identified areas of good practice relating to the responsive and caring environment for children, and teachers' good use of the environment to promote children's learning. The service has responded well to the next steps identified in the 2013 report. These included strengthening assessment practices and developing useful strategic planning.
Children, and their parents and whānau are warmly welcomed into the centre. Children settle quickly and show a strong sense of belonging. They confidently approach adults, and play together for extended periods of time, making friends and choices about their learning. Children benefit from respectful teachers who listen and respond to their interests. The integration of children's home languages and the use of te reo Māori affirms children's cultural backgrounds.
Infants and toddlers benefit from calm and affirming teachers who ensure their individual needs are met with care and sensitivity. Good staff ratios provide opportunities for younger children to receive additional support, especially when they play alongside older children. During these occasions, tuakana care for their teina, and help them to freely explore the environment. Leaders continue to explore ways to support children's positive transition between the age-related rooms.
Children have access to a range of activities and experiences. The programme integrates literacy and numeracy learning in a variety of ways to encourage children's participation. Children are now given more opportunities to make decisions about their play, and are becoming involved in planning for their own learning.
Owners have made good improvements to the outdoor environment. Teachers should continue to develop strategies to challenge and nurture children's physical development and confidence.
Children's interests are reflected in individual records of learning and these portfolios are available for parents and children to access. Parents are invited to contribute to the programme, and provide knowledge and skills that enhance the curriculum for children.
Teachers work collaboratively together and are well supported by the leadership team. Professional development is planned in response to teachers' individual and centre-wide goals. This promotes a reflective teaching culture that aligns well with the centre's effective process for teacher appraisal.
Parents report high levels of satisfaction with the service. Regular discussions between teachers and parents support children’s learning and promotes respectful partnerships between home and the centre. A digital portal has increased opportunities for parents to share learning experiences with the wider whānau.
The centre manager and head teacher are reflective. They consult with staff, identify areas of good practice and prioritise areas for development and review. Well established internal evaluation practices are positively impacting on outcomes for children. Leaders are part of a cluster of centre owners and managers who meet regularly to share good management practice.
ERO affirms centre leaders' identified priorities for development that include:
increasing teachers' knowledge of te ao Māori and developing a bicultural curriculum
further including children's languages and cultures in their portfolios
Before the review, the staff and management of Kidz Unlimited (Learning Centre) 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.
The next ERO review of Kidz Unlimited (Learning Centre) Ltd will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
4 October 2016
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 |
Mt Albert, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
10382 |
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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 |
34 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
38 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 21 Boys 17 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Pacific other |
5 26 2 7 |
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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 |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
July 2016 |
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Date of this report |
4 October 2016 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2013 |
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Supplementary Review |
August 2010 |
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|
Education Review |
April 2009 |
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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.