57 Hodgsons Road, Loburn
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 |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Meeting |
|
Governance, management, and administration |
Meeting |
During 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.
Little Ones Preschool is a privately owned early childhood education service located next to one of the schools in Loburn. The new owner is actively involved in the daily running of the programme. Approximately a quarter of the children attending are Māori.
The curriculum aligns to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Children experience a range of learning activities aligned to the service’s play-based philosophy. They can make choices about their learning experiences in the indoor and outdoor environments. Whānau aspirations inform planning for their child’s learning. Children have opportunities to learn about the dual heritages of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
The premises and facilities are adequately resourced and maintained. Health and safety processes are regularly monitored and reviewed to meet regulatory requirements. There are systems in place to support the governance, management, and administrative procedures.
Next steps include:
teachers to deepen their understanding of the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki, to support effective planning and to evaluate children’s progress in relation to these.
During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
heavy furniture was secured while ERO was onsite [HS6].
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
5 October 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Little Ones Preschool |
|
Profile Number |
45356 |
|
Location |
Loburn, North Canterbury |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
62 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
78 |
|
Review team on site |
13 September 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
5 October 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, December 2018; |
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 license 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. 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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Little Ones Preschool is now well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Little Ones Preschool is a privately owned service licensed for 62 children, with provision for eight children under two. The centre’s philosophy reflects its Christian beliefs, values and use of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, to underpin children's learning programmes. The majority of staff are fully qualified and registered early childhood teachers.
The centre caters for children from birth to school age in two purpose-built facilities. Each area has its own outdoor play space. The outdoor learning environment for children in the preschool is extensive. Most children attending live in the local, rural community.
Since the 2016 ERO report, the centre has received extensive Ministry of Education support. Good progress has been made in addressing the considerable number of areas ERO identified for improvement. These include governance, management and curriculum responsibilities. A new centre manager was appointed in 2018. While some staff have taken on new roles there has been little change in personnel.
Leaders and teachers foster positive and respectful relationships with children, parents and whānau. Children in the nursery, and across the centre, are well supported by teachers who nurture their learning and well-being. Responsive interactions actively engage children in learning.
Children learn in calm, well-paced learning programmes. There is a focus on building children's confidence, competence and communication skills. Children are supported to gain independence and confidence within the routines of the centre.
Teachers provide a child-centred curriculum. They are responsive to children's views, opinions and choices. Social skills and oral language development are features of the curriculum. Children have extensive opportunities to make discoveries and explore the natural world. Outside learning environments, particularly for children in the preschool, invite creative and imaginative play and enable children to test their physical skills.
Teachers are responsive to children's individual interests, strengths and capabilities. A systematic approach is used for assessment, planning and evaluation for individual children's learning. There is an increasing focus on recording and monitoring children's learning progress over time. This is particularly evident in the preschool. Parent and child voice is valued and influences the curriculum and other centre-based decisions.
Leaders and teachers are building a reflective and collaborative culture. Teachers’ strengths are recognised and used to improve outcomes for children. Improvements to the curriculum are being well led. Strategies to support professional conversations and extend teachers' knowledge are increasing shared understandings about teaching practice and children’s learning.
A number of useful systems and processes are in place to support the effective management of the service. Leaders and teachers have made appropriate use of extensive external support. There is a strategic approach to addressing the centre's priorities. Professional networks have been extended. The development of a structured approach to internal evaluation is beginning to influence changes in practice.
There is a need for leaders and teachers to build on and sustain recent developments. This includes:
Before the review, the staff and management of Little Ones Preschool 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 Little Ones Preschool will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review & Improvement Services
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region
13 December 2018
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.
|
Location |
Loburn, North Canterbury |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45356 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
62 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
57 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 33 ; Girls 24 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
4 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
October 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
13 December 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
June 2016 |
|
|
Supplementary Review |
March 2013 |
||
|
Education Review |
November 2011 |
||
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
A supplementary ERO review in 2013, stated it was critical the improvements identified be developed further. This review has found that while self-review practices are stronger, most areas identified in two earlier ERO reports still require significant levels of improvement.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
The centre is a privately owned, Christian-based service. The owners are currently managing the centre after several changes in management. The majority of staff are fully qualified and registered early childhood teachers. Several have recently upgraded their qualifications.
The centre operates from two purpose-built facilities. The newest opened in November 2015 for children under three years of age. Each area has its own outdoor play space. There is a head teacher in each area. Most children attend part time and live in the local rural community.
There are positive relationships between children and teachers. They have respectful interactions with each other. Children play well together. They benefit from periods of uninterrupted time to build friendships and learn together.
Teachers listen carefully to infants, toddlers and young children's ideas and cues. They respond by:
Teachers welcome children and their families. There is an increased level of involvement by parents and families in the centre and programme. Online communication is supporting information sharing between teachers and parents. Teachers take notice of parents' aspirations for their children.
Children are provided with a good range of learning experiences. The spacious outdoor area for older children enables them to run, explore and challenge themselves.
Teachers are supporting transition to school through weekly visits to the local school. Children make use of the school's library and physical education opportunities.
Professional development has supported the centre to adopt a useful framework for self review. A recent review has led to increased use of te reo and tikanga Māori in the programme and environment. Teachers are using spontaneous self reviews to highlight areas for investigation and improvement.
ERO is not confident that suitable systems are in place to support improvements in the performance of the service. There is a lack of coherence across key aspects of the centre. Significant areas of governance and management need to be urgently addressed. These include the need to:
In addition, there is a need to establish consistent assessment and planning guidelines and practices for teaching and learning. This would assist teachers to better meet needs of individuals and further promote child-led learning.
Toddlers in the nursery have inadequate opportunities within the outdoor area to extend their learning and development through building, climbing, exploring. This area opened in November 2015 and needs to be appropriately resourced.
Before the review, the staff and management of Little Ones Preschool 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
ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to governance and management. To meet requirements, the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas:
develop effective governance and management practices
ensure a robust performance management process is in place and that all staff are regularly appraised.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, Regulations 47, 1a and GMA7
ERO recommends that the service consult with the Ministry of Education and plan to address the key next steps and actions outlined in this report.
The next ERO review of Little Ones Preschool will be within two years.
Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)
14 June 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.
|
Location |
Loburn, North Canterbury |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45356 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
62 children, including up to 8 aged under two |
||
|
Service roll |
43 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 27; Girls 16 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other ethnicities |
3 30 1 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:6 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
April 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
14 June 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Supplementary Review |
March 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
November 2011 |
||
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.