Marshwood Montessori Preschool

Education institution number:
20581
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
23
Telephone:
Address:

20 Mt Taylor Drive, Glendowie, Auckland

View on map

Marshwood Montessori Preschool

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

The service provided ERO with evidence to show it had addressed non-compliances and is now taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

Marshwood Montessori Preschool is a privately owned education and care service. The service has been re-licensed and under new ownership since July 2022. There have been staffing changes, and there is a new leadership team. The community is ethnically diverse, with many children attending from the local area.

Summary of Review Findings

The service curriculum is inclusive, and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships.

Children are provided with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development indoors and outdoors. The service provides a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning. The premises and facilities provide for the learning and abilities of the children attending.

Health and safety procedures are monitored. Governance and management systems have been established to support improvement. A policy framework and annual plan guide centre operations.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

  • the service curriculum acknowledging and reflecting the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua, and children having opportunities to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

  • integrating children’s identity, languages and cultures through documented information.

Actions for Compliance

The service provided ERO with evidence to show the following non-compliances had been addressed:

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

  • Having an annual budget that guides financial expenditure (GMA9).

Next ERO Review

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

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

13 September 2023 

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name:

Marshwood Montessori Preschool

Profile Number:

20581

Location:

Glendowie, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

38 children aged over 2 years

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

29

Review team on site

July 2023

Date of this report

13 September 2023

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, May 2019, Education Review, September 2015

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 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.

Marshwood Montessori Preschool - 30/05/2019

1 Evaluation of Marshwood Montessori Preschool

How well placed is Marshwood Montessori Preschool to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Marshwood Montessori Preschool is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Marshwood Montessori Preschool in Glendowie, Auckland, provides early childhood education and care for up to 40 children from two to six years of age. Children and families have the option of sessional or full-day participation. Most children are Pākehā with smaller numbers of children from a range of other ethnicities.

The preschool is made up of two mixed-age rooms and a shared outdoor space. It is staffed by a stable teaching team of five qualified and registered early childhood teachers and a qualified Montessori teacher. The preschool owner/director shares the leadership role with two head teachers.

The centre's programme aims to combine the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and the Montessori philosophy.

The 2015 ERO report noted the trusting relationships children have with adults, and teachers respectfully supporting children in their play. These aspects have been maintained. Since the 2015 review, teachers have continued to enhance good practices by further refining their appraisal process and supporting children to develop confidence in themselves as independent learners.

The Review Findings

Children are confident to make their own choices and establish friendships with teachers and peers. Children contribute to the learning programme and lead their own learning. They have the freedom and opportunity to develop thinking and problem solving skills.

Interactions between teachers and children are positive and contribute to children's learning. Teachers support children to become competent, independent learners. They interact respectfully with children and engage them in meaningful conversations. Teachers are sensitive and responsive to children’s individual development, and programmes are very inclusive of children with additional needs.

Teachers set up well-considered learning environments that support children learning through play. Natural science has a special emphasis. They offer experiences and a variety of learning opportunities for children's exploration and play. Teachers cater well for the mixed age group.

The environment and teachers' practice strongly reflect the principles and practices of the Montessori curriculum. Teachers encourage children to develop their competencies in this programme and they document their individual progress and assessment.

Children also have some opportunities to follow and develop their emerging interests and strengths. Teachers are responsive to the rich diversity of cultures in the preschool, and include the aspirations of parents in the programme. They continue to strengthen relationships with the local community.

Teachers observe children at play to inform the planning of programmes for groups of children. They build on children's literacy, numeracy and social skills in their play. Teachers collect information about children's learning and participation in preschool activities and events in individual portfolios.

The preschool promotes bicultural practice well. The bicultural heritage of Aotearoa is celebrated throughout the preschool environment.

Parents express a very high level of satisfaction with the education and care provided for their children. They appreciate the personalised relationships and the opportunities to discuss their child’s learning, through children's reports, learning portfolios and in parent teacher meetings. The preschool has developed close relationships and positive transition processes with the local school. This helps familiarise children and parents with the next steps in their educational journey.

Managers support teachers' professional development. This helps them to prioritise for the preschool and contributes to ongoing improvement in teaching practice.

Key Next Steps

ERO, teachers and managers have identified that key next steps for the preschool's development should include continuing to:

  • develop teachers' appraisal systems by focusing on teacher inquiry into aspects of practice

  • deepen teachers' knowledge and implementation of Te Whāriki 2017 with a focus on children's individual learning dispositions and interests over time

  • strengthen the recording of planning, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of teaching practice in promoting positive outcomes for children.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Marshwood Montessori 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.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services Northern

Northern Region

30 May 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

Location

Glendowie, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

20581

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

40 children aged over 2 years

Service roll

40

Gender composition

Girls 21 Boys 19

Ethnic composition

Māori
NZ European/Pākehā
Chinese
Indian
other ethnic groups

1
10
8
4
17

Percentage of qualified teachers

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Over 2

1:7

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

April 2019

Date of this report

30 May 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

 

Education Review

September 2015

Education Review

August 2011

Education Review

April 2008

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

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.

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.

Marshwood Montessori Preschool - 14/09/2015

1 Evaluation of Marshwood Montessori Preschool

How well placed is Marshwood Montessori Preschool to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

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

Background

Marshwood Montessori Pre-school in Glendowie, provides early childhood education and care for up to 40 children from two to six years of age. Children and families have the option of sessional or full day participation. The owner’s longstanding commitment to operating a learning programme that combines Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and the Montessori philosophy is still a strong feature of the centre.

The centre has a high adult-to-child ratio. Children are grouped into two mixed-age rooms, with a shared outdoor play area. The centre serves a culturally diverse community with the bigger groups being NZ European/Pākehā and Chinese. Teachers are well qualified and reflect the diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds of children and families.

The centre owner provides leadership for the centre, and has responsibility for management and administration systems, including a framework of policies and procedures. She works collaboratively with staff to review and refine governance, management and administration systems and processes.

The 2011 ERO report commented positively about the centre’s responsive and skilful teaching, and the encouragement given for children to be independent, confident and capable learners. It also affirmed the respectful and reciprocal relationships with parents, the collaborative team culture and the way that the curriculum was extending children’s learning in meaningful and stimulating ways. These positive features are still evident in the centre. Areas for development and review identified in the 2011 report included the use of group learning times and practices related to programme evaluation, self review and teacher appraisal. Good progress has been made in these areas.

The Review Findings

Children are happy and settled in the centre. They have warm and trusting relationships with adults and interact confidently with their friends. Children know about making choices, are able to lead their own learning and independently select resources. Of particular note are children’s independence and self management skills.

Teachers have a genuine respect for children. They know children well and model respect for children’s space, learning and choices of play. Early literacy, mathematics and science concepts are well integrated into children’s play. Teachers skilfully follow children’s lead and support them in their play. There is a good balance between teachers responding to and supporting children’s interests, and teachers guiding learning. Teachers have broad knowledge of children’s learning, and of their cognitive and developmental stages.

Teachers have reviewed and improved planning and assessment practices so that they focus more on children’s individual interests and learning. Good processes are in place for noticing, recognising and responding to children’s interests. Teachers observe and identify the emerging interests and themes evident in children's play. This enables them to plan activities and provide opportunities that are relevant for children. Clear links to Te Whāriki and childrens’ aptitudes for learning are evident in learning stories. Teachers are now evaluating programmes regularly.

Parents are encouraged to be partners in their children’s learning. Teachers provide many opportunities for families to participate in the programme, contribute to reviews and be aware of their children’s progress. Teachers have many formal and informal discussions with parents and whānau. Parents also discuss and have input into learning stories and portfolios. Parents report that they appreciate the quality of education and care that is provided for their children. They also appreciate that teachers listen to their aspirations and respond to their children’s strengths.

The learning environments are attractive, inviting and well resourced. There is a wide range of traditional early childhood play areas, as well as Montessori resources. Resources and play equipment are easily accessible for children, and curriculum areas are set up to support children’s independent and self managing skills. The owner and teachers have plans in place to review and improve the outdoor environment.

The owner has a collaborative leadership style and all staff members are encouraged to contribute to decision making about the centre, future planning and practices. Internal professional learning and development includes professional readings and discussion to build teacher capability. The owner would like to access external professional learning and development in leadership to build leadership capability within the centre. This worthwhile goal should promote centre sustainability over time.

The owner has a clear vision for the centre. Strategic and annual plans are well developed, well aligned and identify key priorities for future development. The measurable outcomes and indicators of success for strategic and annual goals help increase the clarity and rigour of self-review processes. In 2014, staff undertook professional learning and development in self review. They are now using self review well to promote positive outcomes for children, and have established good systems for documenting self review.

Key Next Steps

The owner agrees that key next steps for centre development include:

  • increasing the use of open-ended questions to further challenge children’s thinking and develop their problem solving skills
  • specifying children’s learning outcomes in programme planning, together with the teaching strategies that will be used to help children achieve these outcomes
  • strengthening programme evaluation by reviewing the effectiveness of teaching practice in helping children achieve learning outcomes
  • using observational evidence aligned with the practising teacher criteria in the teacher appraisal process to promote consistent understanding about and expectations for teaching.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Marshwood Montessori 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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Marshwood Montessori Preschool will be in three years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)

14 September 2015

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

Location

Glendowie, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

20581

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

40 children, including up to 0 aged under 2

Service roll

48

Gender composition

Boys 26 Girls 22

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Chinese

African

British/Irish

Japanese

Latin American

other

2

15

10

4

3

2

2

10

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%

Based on funding rates

80%

Reported ratios of staff to children

Over 2

1:6

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

July 2015

Date of this report

14 September 2015

Most recent ERO report(s)

 

Education Review

August 2011

 

Education Review

April 2008

 

Education Review

June 2005

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.