Little Hands Childcare & Early Learning Centre

Education institution number:
46984
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
31
Telephone:
Address:

20 Middlemore Crescent, Papatoetoe, Auckland

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Little Hands Childcare & Early Learning Centre

ERO Early Childhood Service Akarangi | Quality Evaluation Report

ERO’s Judgements

Akarangi | 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 are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.

ERO’s judgements for Little Hands Childcare and Early Learning Centre are as follows:

Outcome Indicators

(What the service knows about outcomes for learners)

Whakaū Embedding

Ngā Akatoro Domains

 

Learning Conditions
Organisational Conditions

Whakaū Embedding

Whakaū Embedding

Context of the Service

Little Hands Childcare and Early Learning Centre is privately owned and one of two services under the same ownership. The owner and centre manager are responsible for daily operations and lead a team of five qualified early childhood teachers and two support staff. The service roll reflects the ethnic diversity of the community.

Summary of findings

Children are settled, and confident in an environment that affirms them as individuals and embraces and celebrates their culture, language and identity. Younger children have formed secure attachments with teachers in a calm, unhurried, purposeful environment. Consistent caregiving ensures individual needs are responded to, with sensitivity and respect. Children use oral language confidently, and this supports them in establishing friendships, expressing their feelings and thinking openly.

Teachers know the children well and support their development accordingly. Children with additional learning needs receive equitable care and learning opportunities. Some teachers are able to converse with children in their home languages, which helps build relationships and supports home-centre communications.

Te reo me ngā tikanga Māori are embedded in the service’s curriculum. All children have regular opportunities to hear, speak and use te reo me ngā tikanga Māori in meaningful learning situations. The service’s curriculum values cultural diversity.

Children’s learning is well documented, and learning stories identify children’s strengths and interests. Assessment is increasingly focused on showing children’s learning in relation to the learning outcomes in
Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
Leaders and teachers have developed learning-focused partnerships with parents and whānau to strengthen children’s progress and learning. Teachers seek and respond to parents’ aspirations for their children’s learning. Leaders and teachers are continuing to improve assessment practices, in particular responding to the different languages, cultures and identities.

Leaders and teachers collaborate to support continuous improvement and have a genuine interest to serve children well. They:

  • participate in a range of professional learning opportunities
  • actively engage in critical reflection and problem solving to promote positive outcomes for children
  • focus on building collective capability and capacity within the team.

Quality improvement systems, processes and practices are regularly monitored and reviewed. Internal evaluation supports leaders and teachers to reflect on and improve teaching and the curriculum. Using evaluation to drive improvements across the curriculum, and to achieve the service’s strategic goals and learning priorities, is required to continuously generate improvements to practice overtime.

Improvement actions

Little Hands Childcare and Early Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

  • Increase parent participation in assessment and daily operations of the centre through a lens on language, culture and identity
  • Evaluate all aspects of service operations overtime. Monitor and evaluate how improvement actions help achieve the service’s vision, strategic direction, and priorities for learning.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Little Hands Childcare and Early 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:

  • 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.

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

21 July 2022 

About the Early Childhood Service

Early Childhood Service Name:

Little Hands Childcare and Early Learning Centre

Profile Number:

46984

Location:

Papatoetoe, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

38 children, including up to 10 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

38

Ethnic composition

Māori 3, Indian 20, Samoan 10, other ethnic groups 5

Review team on site

May 2022

Date of this report

21 July 2022

Most recent ERO report(s)

 

Akanuku | Assurance Review, November 2020

Education Review, October 2018

Little Hands Childcare & Early Learning Centre - 18/11/2020

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

Regulatory standards
ERO’s judgement

Curriculum

Meeting

Premises and facilities

Meeting

Health and safety

Meeting

Governance, management and administration

Meeting

At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.

Background

Little Hands Childcare and Early Learning Centre is a multicultural service with ethnically diverse staff and children. The teaching team comprises six qualified teachers with two support staff. Children are grouped according to age and cared for in two separate spaces.

Summary of Review Findings

The service curriculum is inclusive and responsive to children as competent and confident learners. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful interactions to support children’s learning. A language-rich environment and a range of experiences and opportunities enhance and extend children’s learning opportunities. The curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua.

An ongoing process of self review helps the service maintain and improve the quality of education and care.

Actions for Compliance

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

  • evidence of parental permission for children to travel in a motor vehicle on excursions while in the care of the service (HS18)
  • the name and product of nappy rash cream is provided to parents in accordance with authority required - category (i) medicines (HS28).

Next ERO Review

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

18 November 2020

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Little Hands Childcare and Early Learning Centre

Profile Number

46984

Location

Papatoetoe, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

38 children, including up to 10 aged under 2.

Percentage of qualified teachers

80%+

Service roll

39

Gender composition

Female 25

Male 14

Ethnic composition

Māori 7 Indian 16 Samoan 11 other ethnic groups 5

Review team on site

September 2020

Date of this report

13 November 2020

Most recent ERO report(s)

First ERO review of 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.