85 Barrington Drive, Rototuna, Hamilton
View on mapAkarangi | 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 Miro House Kindergarten are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) | Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains | |
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions | Whakaū Embedding Whakaū Embedding |
Miro House Kindergarten is a not-for-profit service governed by the Rudolf Steiner Early Childhood Trust. A teaching principal leads a small team of teachers. Serving a diverse community, a small number of children enrolled identify as Māori or of Pacific heritages. The service’s philosophy values consistent rhythms and natural open-ended materials.
Children engage in a calm and deliberate curriculum that effectively enhances their learning and development. Children’s oral literacies, social and emotional competencies, thinking and problem-solving skills are intentionally modelled and scaffolded by teachers. Tuakana-teina relationships (older children supporting younger learners) in shared spaces support children to take responsibility, contribute to caring for their environment, and extend their self-help skills. Through this self-directed play, children’s imagination, creativity and mana is enriched.
Children, whānau and their teachers benefit from learning-focused partnerships. Aspirations are continually gathered and used to inform assessment as well as individual, group and seasonal planning systems. Children and their whānau have a sense of belonging and they know they have a voice.
Some progress has been made since the October 2022 ERO review in building a curriculum that reflects the languages and cultures of those attending. Teachers promote aspects of tikanga Māori by using karakia, sharing myths and legends, as well as celebrating Matariki. Stories and home languages of Japanese, Chinese, Pacific and some te reo Māori are included during rituals. Teachers acknowledge that a place-based curriculum, underpinned by te ao Māori, requires development.
Organisational conditions are sound. The trust board is committed to small group sizing to support learning. Community connections enhance transition into the service and on to the onsite school. Relational trust between teachers, leaders, governance and external network agencies promotes improvement. Evaluation practice is informing positive changes. Monitoring the impacts and outcomes for children over time requires strengthening.
Miro House Kindergarten will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Miro House Kindergarten completed an ERO 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:
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
23 January 2024
| Early Childhood Service Name | Miro House Kindergarten |
| Profile Number | 45117 |
| Location | Rototuna, Hamilton |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 88 children, aged over 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 100% |
| Service roll | 55 |
| Review team on site | November 2023 |
| Date of this report | 23 January 2024 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Akanuku | Assurance Review, October 2022; Education Review, December 2017 |
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.
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 found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Miro House Kindergarten is a Steiner/Waldorf Early Learning Centre, governed by a charitable trust. Children from two years to school age learn and play in three age-based rooms. Of the 58 children enrolled in the service, 10 are Māori. The service has responded positively to the non-compliances identified in the previous ERO report.
A Waldorf/Steiner philosophy statement guides the service’s operation. The curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Adults providing education and care demonstrate an understanding of children’s learning and development. Children are responded to as competent and confident learners. The unique place of Māori as tangata whenua is acknowledged. An ongoing process of self-review helps the service maintain and improve the quality of education and care.
Positive steps are taken to respect and acknowledge parents’ aspirations. Information and guidance is sought, when necessary, from agencies to enable adults providing education and care to work effectively with children.
Next steps include:
continue to build teacher capability to increase the use of spoken and documented te reo Māori in meaningful ways
continue to strengthen the extent to which information documented about children’s learning reflects their identity, language and culture
continue to work alongside whānau to develop the local curriculum.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
5 October 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Miro House Kindergarten |
|
Profile Number |
45117 |
|
Location |
Rototuna, Hamilton |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
88 children aged over 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
|
Service roll |
56 |
|
Review team on site |
July 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
5 October 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akanuku | Assurance Review, October 2020; |
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.