Galaxy Childcare - Pasifika Bilingual

ERO’s Judgement

At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

Pasifika Early Learning - Papakura was relicensed under new ownership in April 2019. The manager and head teacher lead a team of two qualified teachers and two support staff. The centre is a bilingual Samoan centre, licensed for 30 children, including up to five children under the age of 2 years.

Summary of Review Findings

The service curriculum supports each child to be confident in their own culture and encourages children to respect other cultures. It reflects the unique place of Māori as Tangata Whenua.

Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful and positive interactions to enhance children’s learning. The curriculum provides a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend children’s learning and development, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups.

Suitable human resource management processes are implemented with the appointment of teachers and a system of regular appraisal.

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

• carrying out emergency drills with children on at least a three-monthly basis.

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Education Review.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)

Northern Region - Te Tai Raki

22 June 2020

Information About 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 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 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 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 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.