73 Vogel Street, Roslyn, Palmerston North
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 |
The service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed non-compliances and is now taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Lalanga Moui Tongan Early Childhood Centre is governed by Talakaepau ‘O e Meliniume. The management committee Lalanga Moui oversee the service’s operations and administration. There are three qualified teachers and a centre manager. Most of the children enrolled are of Tongan heritage. A small number of Māori and children from other Pacific nations are also enrolled.
A language-rich environment is provided that supports children’s learning. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships.
The curriculum respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture. Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Consistent monitoring of systems and practices is required to maintain regulatory standards.
Next steps include:
kaiako having a more intentional approach to extending children’s interests and documenting how they do this in assessment, planning and evaluation records
deepening the understanding of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, by kaiako, through more targeted professional learning and development opportunities.
The service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Ensuring windows or other areas of glass accessible to children are either made of safety glass or covered by an adhesive film designed to hold the glass in place in the event of it being broken (PF7).
Ensuring the outdoor activity space is enclosed by structures and/or fences and gates and designed so that children are not able to leave the premises without the knowledge of adults providing education and care (PF13).
Monitoring that nappy changing facilities are kept hygienically clean (PF25).
Having designated assembly areas for evacuation purposes outside the building to keep children safe from further risk (HS5).
Ensuring heavy furniture, that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage is secured (HS6).
Having evidence of how evaluation of the drills has informed the annual review of the service’s emergency plan (HS8).
Including cleaning agents, medicines, vandalism, dangerous objects in daily hazard checklists, and checking these lists on every day of operation (HS12).
Monitoring that the temperature of warm water delivered from taps that are accessible to children is no higher than 40°C, and comfortable for children at the centre to use (HS13).
Monitoring that water stored in any hot water cylinder is kept at a temperature of at least 60°C (HS14).
Having evidence of parental permission and approval of adult: child ratios for regular excursions (HS17).
Having evidence that if children travel in a motor vehicle while in the care of the service that written permission from a parent is obtained before the travel begins. This information should include the mode of transport and approval of the adult: child ratio (HS18).
Maintaining a record of all incidents that occur at the service to include date and a procedure outlining the service’s response to injury, illness, and incident, including the review and implementation of practices as required (HS27).
Ensuring written information is provided to parents about any planned reviews and consultation (GMA3).
Providing parents of children attending the service and adults providing education and care with opportunities to contribute to the development and review of the service’s operational documents (such as philosophy, policies, and procedures and any other documents that set out how day-to-day operations will be conducted (GMA4).
Recording outcomes from the review and evaluation process, that show how the service has regard for the Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) in its operation (GMA6).
Ensuring suitable human resource management practices are implemented, including processes for the selection and appointment of staff (GMA7).
Ensuring every children’s worker is safety checked every three years (GMA7A).
Having an annual plan that shows how key tasks will have regard to the NELP (GMA8).
Maintaining an attendance record that meets the requirements outlined in the Early Childhood Education Funding Handbook for children currently attending, and children who have attended in the previous 7 years (GMA11).
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
11 October 2023
| Early Childhood Service Name | Lalanga Moui Tongan Early Childhood Centre |
| Profile Number | 50029 |
| Location | Palmerston North |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
45 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
50-79% |
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Service roll |
25 |
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Review team on site |
August 2023 |
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Date of this report |
11 October 2023 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 2019; 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.
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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Lalanga Moui Tongan Early Childhood Centre requires further development to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
The service needs support to further develop the quality of the programme, teaching and learning, and in the areas of governance, management and administration.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Lalanga Mou'i childcare centre in Palmerston North operates as a not-for-profit charitable trust. It provides education and care for children from babies and up to five years of age. The programme is based on a total immersion Tongan language model within a Christian ethos. The centre is governed by the Talakaepau 'O e Meliniume Society Incorporated and a management committee of Lalanga Mou'i, which includes the centre manager and all the staff.
The long serving licensee/centre manager oversees the centre's daily operations. The curriculum is managed by the supervisor, who is supported by qualified and unqualified teachers. A cook, a maintenance man/van driver and two office administrators complete the team.
The 2016 ERO report, noted the richness of the use of Tongan language, and that children were deeply immersed in their culture. This continues to be a key feature. Staff have made some progress in addressing areas for improvement in the last report. However, there is still some work to be done to address the areas in operations and administration, the quality of programme planning and evaluation, and professional practice.
SELO support has been working with the service for two years and improvements have been made. Some areas of practice for the centre managers still require clarification regarding aspects of policy development, implementation and evaluation.
Children are friendly and welcoming. They have a strong sense of belonging. Older children accept responsibility for supporting and encouraging younger children. They are aware and respectful of some cultural behaviours. Children are familiar with routines and confidently ask for assistance from staff. They make choices for their play and are open to new experiences and challenges.
The three separate dwellings have an ease of indoor and outdoor flow. Some recently acquired resources have contributed to supporting children’s play and learning. Staff arrange and display photos and resources at children’s level. These promote and encourage conversations and language development. Children come together for lotu at morning mat-time. They enjoy this session and participate enthusiastically with the interactive music and movement.
Staff are caring, and some good teaching practices are being modelled. Staff have positive interactions with children. Records of children's learning have improved. These show children's development goals and progress of learning overtime. Staff are finding ways to further improve planning and assessments. Such developments should help to raise the quality of the programme.
The supervisor works with staff to develop the programme for children. Regular teacher meetings support a collaborative approach to designing a curriculum that promotes language development and Tongan language acquisition. Teachers and leaders have worked extensively with an external provider to translate into Tongan, Te Whāriki the early childhood curriculum. They have adopted the Kakala framework, a Tongan internal evaluation method, and Kaliloa Mafana to evaluate the quality of learning and development for children. These frameworks have yet to be embedded.
Some good management systems have been established. The centre leaders and staff have developed operational plans that provide information of the centre’s current and future direction. They now need to develop an annual plan that explicitly details priorities and identifies people responsible to action priorities. Professional development focused on management, and teaching and learning is currently delivered by an external provider. The management committee will require ongoing support to make the improvements required at all levels of operations.
Key next steps for the management committee is to work with professional external support to:
ensure that there are sufficient registered teachers to meet licensing requirements
develop clear systems for governance, management and administration to meet minimum requirements
prioritise the review of personnel management policies and procedures, and develop systems that provide clear guidelines for staff that meet New Zealand Labour Department requirements
develop a robust process for managing staff performance aligned to Teaching Council requirements
develop an annual plan that guides development, and provide a basis for regular and systematic self review for ongoing improvements.
Key next steps for teachers are to:
use internal evaluation more effectively for improving the learning environment, learning programmes and quality of teaching practices,
continue to strengthen the documentation of assessment, planning and evaluation of children's learning and development
build on their pedagogical content knowledge in working with children up to two years
Before the review, the staff and management of Lalanga Moui Tongan Early Childhood 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.
ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to governance, management and administration. To meet requirements, the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas:
practices of adults providing education and care demonstrate an understanding of children's learning and development, and knowledge of relevant theories and practices in early childhood education
developing and implementing an effective staff appraisal process
adequately staffing the centre with sufficient qualified and registered staff
ensuring effective management systems, policies and procedures clearly guide operational practices, and teaching and learning.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, C4, GMA7, The Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. Regulations 47 (1), (2).
ERO recommends that the service, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, develops a plan to address the key next steps and actions outlined in this report.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
24 May 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 |
Palmerston North |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
50029 |
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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 |
45 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
29 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 15 Girls 14 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
1 |
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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 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
March 2019 |
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Date of this report |
24 May 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2016 |
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Education Review |
May 2013 |
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Education Review |
March 2010 |
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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 will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
Very well placed
Well placed
Requires further development
Not well placed
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.