2 North Piha Road, Piha
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 |
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.
Piha Community Preschool is governed by a Trust Board. The qualified centre manager is supported by an administrator and a teaching team made up of qualified and unqualified staff. About a quarter of the children attending are of Māori heritage. Other children attending are from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning. Positive steps are taken to acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau for their children.
The curriculum is informed by assessment, planning, and evaluation that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning, their interests, whānau, and life contexts. Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
An increased level of monitoring health and safety practices including effective governance and management systems is required for the successful implementation and maintenance of regulatory compliance.
Next steps include:
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence to show it has addressed the following non compliances:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008; HS4,HS8, HS9,HS12,HS27,HS28,HS31,GMA7a,GMA8.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
15 February 2024
| Early Childhood Service Name | Piha Community Preschool |
| Profile Number | 20337 |
| Location | Piha, Auckland |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 27 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80-99% |
| Service roll | 29 |
| Review team on site | November 2023 |
| Date of this report | 15 February 2024 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, April 2020; Education Review, November 2016 |
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 |
Piha Community Preschool is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
This community-based preschool provides full-day early learning services to families in Auckland's west coast suburb of Piha. The preschool operates four days of the week, sharing its premises each Monday with the local play group, an arrangement that has been in place for many years.
The preschool is licensed for 27 children, including five under two years of age. The centre is well attended most days. There are currently six Māori, together with 22 Pākehā children enrolled. Many children have had older siblings and whānau attending in previous years. Staff include a stable team of qualified teachers supported by an administrative manager.
A major upgrade and extension of the outdoor area was completed in 2019, in collaboration with the preschool trust board and the local council. The long-standing head teacher is the nominated service provider and reports regularly to parents and community members on the elected trust board.
ERO's 2016 report commented on children's authentic learning opportunities and noted areas for improvements. The staff have made some progress to address these next steps.
Children enjoy a mixed-age play-based learning programme. They make decisions about their play and select from a wide range of appropriate equipment that supports their learning progress.
Children are viewed as capable and enthusiastic learners. They engage positively with the teaching staff and each other, developing social competence and oral language skills. The calm and unhurried centre environment helps children to sustain their play and return to activities that interest them.
Teachers are observant of children's strengths and learning dispositions. They respond to children's interests and make suggestions about how these can be extended. Teachers share their assessments of children's individual learning progress with parents/whānau through the recently introduced digital and social media platform.
Parents/whānau are made very welcome in the centre. Many stay to settle their children and share information with teachers. Parents who spoke with ERO express appreciation for the many ways teachers communicate about their children's progress and centre events. They are supportive of the preschool's community focus, including the creative arts and outdoor excursions.
Teachers have reviewed the preschool philosophy and the desired learning outcomes for children. They have also consulted meaningfully about the aspirations of local whānau Māori. As a result, the programme is now more strongly focused on aspects of biculturalism and environmental sustainability, as well as local contexts.
Teachers work collaboratively and set long-term strategic goals to improve outcomes for children. They have also completed comprehensive internal evaluations that have provided opportunities for leadership and increasing evaluation capability. Newly developed annual planning could be better used to show the alignment of goals, evaluation and systematic reporting.
The learning programme for children reflects several key principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. There is a strong sense of belonging, family and community. However, there is little documented evidence of teachers' programme planning. It would be useful to account to parents and to the trust board, for how the national curriculum is implemented.
Key next steps include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Piha Community 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:
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.
In order to improve practice, the service should:
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region - Te Tai Raki
3 April 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 | Piha, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 20337 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 27 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 years | ||
| Service roll | 30 | ||
| Gender composition | Girls 16 Boys 14 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori NZ European/Pākehā other ethnic groups | 6 22 2 | |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:1 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:6 | Better than minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | February 2020 | ||
| Date of this report | 3 April 2020 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | November 2016 | |
| Education Review | September 2013 | ||
| Education Review | April 2010 | ||
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:
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.
Piha Community Preschool is a well established community-based centre. It is governed by a Trust Board that works with a parent committee and staff. The centre operates four days a week. The centre began as a local playgroup and the playgroup continues to operate in the premises on Mondays.
The head teacher oversees daily operations, mentors teachers and regularly reports to the Trust Board. The majority of teachers are fully qualified. The centre's philosophy is based on children having free choice in their play. Teachers work alongside children to encourage, challenge and stimulate learning using a wide range of resources.
The preschool has a positive ERO reporting history. ERO's 2013 report noted teachers' genuine interest in children, and their collaborative and inclusive approach to self review for improvement. These strengths continue to be features of the centre.
The preschool's philosophy is underpinned by trusting relationships that are highly evident throughout the centre. These relationships help promote an inclusive, positive tone that supports children's wellbeing.
Children are warmly welcomed into a well resourced, attractive environment and have a strong sense of belonging in the centre. They confidently engage in independent play and enjoy free access to the outdoor environment. They are caring towards each other, developing meaningful relationships as they play and learn in cooperative groups. Young children play well alongside older siblings or friends.
Skilful teachers engage children in authentic learning experiences. They are guided by children’s interests and celebrate children’s growing independence and exploration. Teachers listen well to children and are responsive to shifts in their interests and ideas. Teachers foster children's strengths and support their learning with open questions and prompts for further exploration. Early literacy, numeracy and science are purposefully integrated in project work and spontaneous play.
Teachers develop interesting programmes that include excursions in the community, specialist activities such as art and sports, and celebrations of cultural events. Children's artwork is displayed at the local art gallery. Teachers have extensive knowledge of children’s interests, needs and home experiences. Their next steps are to clarify their own role in extending children's learning and make this more visible in assessment and planning.
Significant steps have been taken to integrate te reo me ōna tikanga Māori into the programme. Centre leaders and teachers are seeking ways to strengthen their bicultural practices to better reflect the dual cultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand. They have made links with local iwi and whānau Māori. Teachers could use the Ministry of Education’s resource, Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners, as a tool to enhance their understanding of cultural competencies.
Parents who contributed to ERO's review emphasise the quality of the programme, their relationships with teachers and the opportunities for their children to become more independent. They also appreciate that their children are well prepared for school. Families are kept very well informed about centre events and their children's learning. Their contributions to the review of policies and practices is highly valued.
Self-review processes inform improvements in teaching practices and programmes for children. The supervisor promotes shared leadership practices and staff work collegially as a committed, well informed team. They are focused on professional improvement and build their knowledge through shared and individual development opportunities.
The service is very well managed. Staff work with the parent committee to plan the centre's future direction and implement complementary management plans. The new administrator is developing more formalised systems and structures to guide centre operations and improve outcomes for children.
Centre leaders agree that key next steps include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Piha Community 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:
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.
The next ERO review of Piha Community Preschool will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
21 November 2016
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 | Piha, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 20337 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 27 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 26 | ||
| Gender composition | Boys 16 Girls 10 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Samoan | 4 21 1 | |
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:1 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:3 | Better than minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | September 2016 | ||
| Date of this report | 21 November 2016 | ||
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review | September 2013 | |
| Education Review | April 2010 | ||
| Education Review | April 2007 | ||
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 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.