3 Alpine Grove, Kelvin Grove, Palmerston North
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 |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Homes in this Tiny Nation service are located in Manawatū. The philosophy values strong relationships and well-resourced learning environments. Professional leaders and visiting teachers provide guidance and support to educators, children and families. At the time of the review, nearly a quarter of the children enrolled were identified as Māori.
Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, underpins the service’s philosophy and its implementation. The curriculum is informed by assessment and planning that demonstrate an understanding of children’s learning and interests.
Children are provided with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning. Their preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning experiences. Children are supported to be capable and competent learners. Regular opportunities are provided for parents to communicate with educators about their child’s learning.
Management systems and processes provide ongoing guidance for the implementation of the service’s operation.
Next steps include:
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
17 November 2023
| Early Childhood Service Name | Tiny Nation |
| Profile Number | 46595 |
| Location | Kelvin Grove, Palmerston North |
| Service type | Home-based service |
| Number licensed for | 80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2 |
| Service roll | 61 |
| Review team on site | September 2023 |
| Date of this report | 17 November 2023 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, March 2020; Education Review, March 2017 |
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.
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:
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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Peek-a-Boo In Home Childcare is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Peek-A-Boo In Home Childcare is a private, home-based education and care service operating in Palmerston North. It is licensed for 80 children, including 80 aged up to two years. At the time of this ERO review, 63 children were enrolled and 11 identify as Māori.
The service provider and two visiting teachers are responsible for the provision of care, implementation of an effective curriculum for children and professional support of home-based educators.
The service's philosophy has been reviewed and revised and has a priority to uphold the Treaty of Waitangi. It emphasises the importance of offering a nurturing home environment that supports children’s holistic development. Relationships and partnerships provide the cornerstone for developing confidence to investigate and explore.
The service has made some progress in relation to the key next steps identified in the March 2017 ERO report.
Children experience a programme that is responsive to their strengths and interests. They participate in real-life experiences in homes alongside educators and their peers. Educators make good use of local parks, places of interest and visiting with other educators to add to children's experiences. Children benefit from participating in a wide variety of programmes including gymnastics, music groups, sports and a weekly playgroup.
Children up to two years of age have ready access to materials and resources appropriate to their ages and stages of development. Parent aspirations for the care of their infants and toddlers are shared and respected and familiar routines are maintained. Educators are provided with useful guidelines and professional learning opportunities to support them in their roles.
Teachers and educators are building their knowledge about culturally responsive practices that assist Māori children to be confident in their culture. Educators and teachers continue to seek ways to promote the success and potential of Māori children.
Educators regularly notice and respond to children's interests. Consistently identifying children's individual learning and showing progress over time is an area that continues to require strengthening.
Transitions into educator homes and on to local schools are well managed.
Visiting teachers are qualified and experienced. They make frequent visits and provide supportive advice and guidance for educators. The visiting teachers have established a collegial and professional partnership and take shared responsibility for overseeing support and guidance for educators. The service provider acknowledges and values the strengths of teachers. She reflects on her practice as a leader and encourages collaborative ways of working. The service benefits from the combined knowledge and experience of the service provider and the teachers in the provision of home-based care.
The use of on-line platforms have improved the sharing of information. Leaders continue to explore strategies for building purposeful partnerships with parents and whānau.
The service provider has a good understanding of self review and is implementing systems and processes for the development and improvement of the service. The service leader and visiting teachers show a commitment to ongoing improvement. The appraisal process promotes leaders' and teachers' reflection on their professional requirements. Effective and targeted teacher development through appraisal are part of the process. Continuing to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of initiatives and strategies for children remains an ongoing focus for development.
A well-developed strategic plan guides the service. Policies are regularly reviewed. There has been a strategic and deliberate focus to strengthen documentation since the previous ERO review. There are appropriate policies, procedures, useful frameworks and documentation to guide service practices for education and care. Documentation seen by ERO indicates that appropriate health and safety procedures are followed in homes.
Service leaders and the visiting teachers recognise that to further improve practice they should:
consistently identify children's individual learning and show progress over time. In particular: deliberate planning for individuals; how parent aspirations inform planning; the intended learning outcomes; and how connections to children's culture, language and identity are made
continue to develop culturally responsive practices and operation that acknowledges the intent of the Treaty of Waitangi and supports implementation of a bicultural curriculum
increase their knowledge of te ao Māori to better support educators to respond to Māori learners.
ERO's evaluation confirms these next steps.
Before the review, the staff and management of Peek-a-Boo In Home Childcare completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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.
Darcy Te Hau
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
19 March 2020
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 |
Palmerston North |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
46595 |
||
|
Institution type |
Homebased Network |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
63 |
||
|
Standard or Quality Funded |
Standard |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 31, Boys 32 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
11 |
|
|
Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
3 |
||
|
Required ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
|
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
||
|
Review team on site |
February 2020 |
||
|
Date of this report |
19 March 2020 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2017 |
|
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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Peek-A-Boo In Home Childcare is a private, home-based education and care service operating in Palmerston North. It is licensed for 80 children, including 80 aged up to two years. At the time of this ERO review, 41 children were enrolled and two identify as Māori.
The owner manages the service and also undertakes the role of visiting teacher, supporting in-home educators to provide care and learning programmes for children. One other part-time, visiting teacher is also employed.
The philosophy emphasises the importance of children learning through play in safe, inclusive and nurturing environments where risk taking, problem solving and exploration are encouraged. The development of trusting reciprocal relationships with caregivers is considered integral to learning.
This is the first ERO review for Peek-A-Boo In Home Childcare which began operation in 2014.
Children have opportunities to participate in a wide range of social learning experiences. Many attend playgroups and organised trips, gymnasium and music sessions, as well as benefitting from the experiences planned by their educators.
In-home programmes are suitably responsive to children's emerging interests, needs and ideas. The owner and visiting teacher work hard to remove barriers to children’s participation in the service. They are aware of local agencies and resources to assist those who need additional support. Commitment to a culturally responsive approach is evident. A recent review has supported the development of resources and practices to improve understanding of the range of cultures in the local community.
The teaching team expresses commitment to strengthening the bicultural perspective in the programme. Key operational documents that outline expectations for acknowledgement of te ao Māori in the service need further development. Connections with the local Māori community and access to relevant Ministry of Education resources should help with developing this approach.
Educators' understanding of high quality practice for infants and toddlers is enhanced through planned and ongoing development opportunities. Journal records show that the needs of these children are carefully identified and responded to. Communication with parents is purposeful and well developed.
Educators are well supported by visiting teachers to notice, recognise and respond to children's developing interests and dispositions. Significant happenings are regularly documented in learning journals for children to revisit and share with parents. A stronger focus on building educators' capability in assessment for learning should be put in place. The teaching team has identified that more work is needed to promote parents' partnership in planning for learning and also in responding to the aspirations they have for their children's participation in the service.
Suitable guidelines support consistent understanding of expectations for roles and responsibilities at visiting teacher and educator levels. A range of regular professional development is provided to support the planning of suitable play-based learning experiences. Documentation for educators includes good examples of ways to analyse and respond to children’s learning, and information about the values of play.
Children’s transitions into and out of the service are carefully considered. Care is taken to match families with educators when children enrol. A 2016 review of the service's approach to supporting transition to school, has resulted in improved understanding of best practice, the development of resources and useful, up-to-date information for parents and educators. The owner agrees that a next step should be to continue to build relationships with local schools, to facilitate enhanced sharing of information about individual children and school and early childhood programmes.
The development of responsive and reciprocal relationships with parents is considered a priority by the owner. Teachers' visit notes are shared with parents and regular contact is made about children's learning programmes. Families' views are always sought as part of practice and operational reviews. Regular newsletters provide a variety of information about learning and events. Computer technology is used well to support timely communication of news and views.
The owner has a highly organised and collaborative approach to managing day-to-day operation, and teaching and learning. Teamwork is well developed. A professional, improvement-focused culture characterised by support and care for others is evident.
Review and reflection is embedded in practice at all levels and used well to support decision making about improvement. A suitable process for self review linked to key aspects of practice, is in place. The inclusion of an evaluative question to support each review should better focus the process on internal evaluation. Measurement of the impact of changes made over time and alignment with strategic priorities should also become part of this approach.
A performance development process is in place for the visiting teachers. To improve the approach, goals should be better articulated and linked to outcomes for children, progress towards goals actively monitored and supported by a range of evidence. The visiting teachers should be able to show how the evidence they have collected meets requirements for renewal of their Practising Teacher Certificates. The appraisal process for the owner needs to include goals and actions linked to her development as leader of the service.
Governance and management roles and responsibilities need to be further clarified and documented to ensure key tasks are identified and operation remains sustainable. The development of a strategic plan outlining long-term priorities is a next step, to better define direction for this service. A systematic approach to monitoring progress should support decision making. While good documentation and checking systems have been developed to provide assurance of educators' compliance with legislative requirements in their homes, the owner agrees that a systematic process implemented at management level would add further rigour to quality assurance.
ERO, the owner and visiting teacher agree that next development steps are to continue to strengthen:
support for educators' approach to planning for learning
the appraisal process for visiting teachers
quality assurance at management level
the development of the leadership role at the service
systems to support a sustained approach to governance and management.
Before the review, the staff and management of Peek-A-Boo In Home Childcare completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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 Peek-A-Boo In Home Childcare will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
14 March 2017
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 |
Palmerston North |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
46595 |
||
|
Institution type |
Homebased Network |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
41 |
||
|
Standard or Quality Funded |
Standard |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 24, Boys 17 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā |
2 39 |
|
|
Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
Two |
||
|
Required ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
|
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
||
|
Review team on site |
January 2017 |
||
|
Date of this report |
14 March 2017 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
No previous ERO reports |
||
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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
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.