Kiwi Educare Ltd

ERO’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.

ERO’s Judgement

At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

Kiwi Educare Ltd is a mixed-age, privately owned service located in Owhata. Since March 2020, there has been a change of ownership and significant staff changes. The owner/manager leads a team of qualified and unqualified teachers. This is the service’s first ERO review under new ownership.

Summary of Review Findings

Children learn through an inclusive, language-rich curriculum. A range of experiences and opportunities provides children with opportunities to enhance and extend their learning – both individually and in groups. Adults providing education and care, engage in meaningful and positive interactions to nurture reciprocal relationships with children. The curriculum supports children’s developing social competence.  Assessment and planning of learning responds to children as confident and competent learners. Children’s preferences are respected. Parents are involved in decision making and the aspirations for their child are sought, respected, and acknowledged.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

• strengthen the extent to which assessment and planning documentation reflects children’s culture, language, and identity.

Actions for Compliance

During the onsite visit the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:

• heavy furniture, fixtures and equipment that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage is secured (HS6).

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Shelley Booysen
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

15 February 2022 

Information About the Service

General Information about Assurance Reviews

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.

ERO undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

• 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.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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 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:

• 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 certification; ratios)
• evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

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.

1 Evaluation of Kiwi Educare Ltd

How well placed is Kiwi Educare Ltd to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Kiwi Educare Ltd is not well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Kiwi Educare Ltd is a privately owned early childhood centre located in the eastern suburbs of Rotorua. The centre provides full day education and care for children from birth to school age in a mixed-age setting. It is licensed for 36 children, including ten up to the age of two years. At the time of ERO’s review, 22 children were enrolled, including 12 who identify as Māori.

The centre’s philosophy makes a commitment to working in partnership with whānau to provide a loving and caring environment. Teachers aim to promote strong tuakana teina relationships among children.

There have been some changes to the teaching team since ERO’s 2016 evaluation. The centre manager is the only fully registered, qualified early childhood education (ECE) trained teacher. One teacher is secondary trained and provisionally registered and two are in their first year of ECE training. The remaining staff are unqualified.

The centre is yet to address areas identified for improvement in the March 2016 ERO report. These relate to leadership, management and programme implementation.

The Review Findings

ERO is concerned about the quality of care and education provided, and the capability and capacity in the centre to implement and sustain necessary change. Urgent attention must now be given to improving the quality and implementation of the curriculum; teaching practice; health and safety systems; resource provision and human resource practices.

While responsive tuakana teina relationships are evident between children, teachers, and parents, children are yet to experience a curriculum that suitably responds to their abilities, interests, and needs. The curriculum needs strengthening to ensure that:

Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum is consistently reflected and implemented by all teachers

• teachers have knowledge and understanding of children's learning and development, and early childhood education theories and practice

• there are opportunities for exploration, inquiry and physical challenge, particularly for older children

• there is provision of sufficient resources, opportunities and teaching interactions that enhance and extend the learning, development and creativity of all children

• assessment, planning and evaluation reflects the interests, strengths, language, culture and identify of individual children

• learning partnership with parents and whānau are developed.

Whilst the centre manager has focused on building a cooperative team culture, centre leadership requires improvement to effectively guide professional practice to promote high quality education. In addition, leaders must implement:

• an annual cycle of appraisal, that sufficiently and consistently meets the requirements of the Teaching Council for the issue and renewal of practising certificates

• health and safety policies and procedures that are sufficiently robust to ensure they consistently meet all regulatory requirements.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kiwi 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:

• curriculum
• premises and facilities
• health and safety practices
• governance, management and administration.

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.

To improve current practise, the early childhood service management should:

• ensure procedures related to administering of medication, monitoring and recording of sleeping children, emergency plans and drills, monitoring of the temperature in the sleep room and outdoor safety surfaces, nappy changing procedures and safe food handling are consistently implemented.

Actions for compliance

ERO found significant areas of non-compliance related to curriculum, premises and facilities, health and safety and governance, management and administration. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas:

• teachers and leaders planning, implementing and evaluating a curriculum that is consistent with Te Whāriki, and is informed by relevant theories and best practice which responds to children's learning interests, strengths, and capabilities of enrolled children

• effective governance and management in accordance with good management practices, including meeting its obligations in relation to the Vulnerable Children Act 2014 and Health and Safety at Work Act 2015; ensuring there are suitable human resource practices related to police vetting, selection and appointments, appraisal and professional learning and development

• sufficient quantity and variety of equipment and materials indoors and outdoors for the learning and abilities of the children attending

• nappy changing facilities that suitably foster children’s independence

• ready access to facilities for washing sick or soiled children

• documentation related to relevant regulatory and licensing requirements, complaints procedure and building codes and by-laws is prominently displayed

• there is adequate provision of up-to-date first aid supplies

• heavy furniture, fixtures and equipment are secure in case of an earthquake

• when children leave the premises on an outing or an excursion, assessment and management of risks is undertaken specific to the location and that parents/caregivers have given prior written approval for the child's participation, and the proposed ratio for special excursions is shared

• the service develops and implements a procedure for the management of serious injury, illness or incident

• a sufficient number of teachers hold a current first aid qualification

• the service develops and implements an annual management plan.

[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, C1, C4, C9, PF3, PF4, PF13, PF25, PF26, PF28, HS3, HS6, HS7, HS8, HS9, HS12, HS17, HS19, HS20, HS24, HS25, HS27, HS28, GMA1, GMA7, GMA7A, GMA8; Vulnerable Children’s Act 2014 and Health and Safety at Work Act 2015].

Recommendation to Ministry of Education

ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence of Kiwi Educare Ltd. ERO will not undertake a further education review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets licensing requirements.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Kiwi Educare Ltd will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.

Phil Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services Central

Central Region

28 February 2019

The Purpose of ERO Reports

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.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

• Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
• Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
• Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
• Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

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.