1 Rosewood Drive, Amberley
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 |
Since 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.
Oakfields – Little Oaks Preschool is one of four privately owned early childhood services. A small number of Māori children attend the service. Most staff are qualified and certificated early childhood teachers. A centre manager, alongside the owner, oversees the day-to day operation of the service.
The centre environment supports children to develop their independence and confidence. Teachers engage respectfully with children particularly, when carrying out care routines. The curriculum is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning and their interests. This approach aligns to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
The purpose-built facility supports the provision for indoor and outdoor experiences within a semi-structured learning programme. Consistent implementation of health and safety, and governance, and management practices are required to meet all aspects of the regulatory standards.
The next step is to:
continue to build teachers’ collective use of internal evaluation for aspects of teaching and learning and the curriculum to identify more clearly what is going well, what could be improved and planned actions to address the findings.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
consistent records that show children are checked for warmth, breathing, and general well-being at least every 5-10 minutes
evaluation of emergency procedures to inform the review of the emergency management plan
a record of the time medicine is to be administered and has been administered to children.
completing the four-point safety check every three years in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS8, HS9, HS28, GM7a.
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
24 January 2023
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Oakfields – Little Oaks Preschool Ltd |
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Profile Number |
47318 |
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Location |
Amberley, Canterbury region |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
65 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
65 |
|
Review team on site |
October 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
24 January 2023 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 2019 |
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 |
Oakfield's-Little Oaks Preschool Ltd is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Oakfields - Little Oaks Preschool Ltd is a newly-established preschool that was purpose-built two years ago. The centre is one of three privately-owned early learning services and is located in a new subdivision in Amberley, north of Christchurch. Oakfield's Little Oaks is licensed for 65 children, including 20 under two years of age.
The three centres are led by a management team consisting of two centre managers and the owner who has oversight of the services. A head teacher has overall responsibility for the day-to-day learning programme. This review was one of three centres reviewed at this time under the same ownership.
The preschool's vision and philosophy are currently being reviewed. The current philosophy supports the service's aspirations for children within the concept of an acorn to an oak tree, meaning children are supported as young people to grow into strong competent learners with an emphasis on respect for oneself, others and the environment.
This is Oakfields - Little Oaks Preschool Ltd first ERO evaluation report.
Children are happy and engaged in the programme. They are involved in sustained periods of uninterrupted play individually, in small groups, and with teachers. Teachers work alongside children, inviting their participation and extending their interests.
Children benefit from an environment that is well resourced. There is a good range of learning opportunities available to children. They are able to self-select from and have easy access to a wide range of resources and activities that have a clear learning purpose.
Teachers have respectful and supportive relationships with children and their whānau. They provide children with a settled and well-managed environment. The philosophy of respect for oneself, each other and the environment is evident in practice. This contributes to children's sense of wellbeing.
Children demonstrate independence and self-management skills. Teachers are reflective practitioners who know children and their preferences well. They connect centre and home experiences, and work collaboratively to support children’s learning. This is helping children to build a sense of belonging at the preschool.
Children up to the age of two years benefit from caring teachers who promote a calm and peaceful environment. Children are well supported in their care routines. The environment is spacious, inviting, and inclusive, helping each child to develop a sense of curiosity and exploration. Teachers work respectfully and flexibly, following children's emerging interests and supporting their individual stages of development.
Transitions into and within the centre are well managed to meet the needs of children and their families. The head teacher is establishing connections with the local schools in order to support children and their families as they transition to school.
The service values New Zealand's bicultural heritage. Inclusion of aspects of te ao Māori is evident in the centre environment and in teaching practice. Teachers are working to improve their knowledge and skills in te reo and tikanga Māori. Centre leaders acknowledge the need to continue strengthening bicultural practices and ensure that this commitment is included in the service's philosophy which is currently under review.
Teachers are assessing the usefulness of their current assessment and planning processes, and are looking at ways to improve intentional teaching and learning records. Children with particular learning or wellbeing needs are identified and teachers' planning is focused on meeting these needs.
Teachers need to make visible how they gather and use parents' aspirations for children’s learning, and show how learning intentions are shared with the teaching team. They need to continue to develop ways to ensure children's ethnicity and culture are visible in learning stories.
Internal evaluation processes need to be more useful and effective. It would be helpful to have indicators of quality to measure performance against. The review schedule should identify the impact that centre practices and teaching are having on children's learning, and key next steps for improvement. Leaders and teachers should evaluate how well the service's priorities and goals are contributing to positive outcomes for all children.
The service is governed and managed by a team of leaders with high expectations for teaching practice and children's learning. The owner provides high quality resources and equipment that invite children's participation and are relevant to children’s interests and learning. The managers and owner work collaboratively with the aim of establishing consistency across the service and to ensure best practice is identified and shared.
Leaders are improvement focussed and have developed a range of systems and processes to support practices. A new appraisal process has recently been introduced and leaders are supporting teachers to become familiar with it.
The leaders and ERO agree that a key next step for the service is to clarify the service's vision, philosophy and key priorities for children's learning. This improvement should then be reflected across the service's strategic goals, programme planning and other relevant operations.
The service's focus on improvement would benefit from strengthened internal evaluation practices. This should help when addressing the next steps for improvement, which include:
assessment, programme planning and evaluation
the integration of Māori perspectives and bicultural practices into programmes and practices
continuing to embed and ensure that the new appraisal process is robust for all staff.
Before the review, the staff and management of Oakfields - Little Oaks Preschool Ltd 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.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services
Southern Region
31 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 |
Amberley |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
47318 |
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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 |
65 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
64 |
||
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Gender composition |
Boys 34, Girls 30 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
4 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
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 |
31 May 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
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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.