Plum Tree Preschool Millwater

Education institution number:
46012
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
34
Telephone:
Address:

14 Botanical Avenue, Silverdale

View on map

Plum Tree Preschool Millwater

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.

ERO’s Judgement

Regulatory standards

ERO’s judgement

Curriculum

Meeting

Premises and facilities

Not meeting

Health and safety

Meeting

Governance, management and administration

Meeting

At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.

Background

Plum Tree Preschool Millwater provides education and care for infants, toddlers and older children. A qualified service owner has oversight of governance and curriculum. The service’s philosophy is influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach that prioritises the environment as the third teacher, and the RIE philosophy which emphasises exploration and uninterrupted play. A small number of children enrolled are Māori or have Pacific heritage.

Summary of Review Findings

The curriculum is inclusive, and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning experiences. They are provided with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups.

Teachers engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. The curriculum provides a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning. It supports children’s developing social competence and understanding of appropriate behaviour.

Consistent implementation and monitoring of practice is required to maintain regulatory compliance.

Actions for Compliance

ERO found an area of non-compliance in the service relating to:

  • the outdoor activity space is enclosed by structures and/or fences and gates designed to ensure that children are not able to leave the premises without the knowledge of adults providing education and care.

[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, PF13.]

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

  • Any windows or other areas of glass accessible to children are either made of safety glass; or covered by an adhesive film designed to hold the glass in place in the event of it being broken; or effectively guarded by barriers which prevent a child striking or falling against the glass (PF7).

  • A means of keeping perishable food at a temperature at or below 4° Celsius (PF16).

  • A tempering valve or other accurate means of limiting hot water is installed for the requirements of criterion HS13 to be met (PF24).

  • Heavy furniture, fixtures, and equipment that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage are secured (HS6).

  • Adults providing education and care are familiar with relevant emergency drills and carry out each type of drill with children (as appropriate) on at least a three-monthly basis (HS8).

  • Rooms used by children are kept at a comfortable temperature no lower than 18° Celsius (at 500 mm above the floor) while children are attending (HS24).

  • Every children’s worker must be safety checked every three years; safety checks may be carried out by the employer or another person or organisation acting on their behalf (GMA7A).

  • An annual budget guides financial expenditure that includes professional development (GMA9).

Recommendation to Ministry of Education

ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

13 December 2022 

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Plum Tree Preschool Millwater
Profile Number 46012
Location Silverdale, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

30 children, including up to 10 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

36

Review team on site

October 2022

Date of this report

13 December 2022

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, March 2019; Education Review, June 2015

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 Akanuku | 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 Akanuku | 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 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.

Plum Tree Preschool Millwater - 08/03/2019

1 Evaluation of Plum Tree Preschool Millwater

How well placed is Plum Tree Preschool Millwater to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Plum Tree Preschool Millwater is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Plum Tree Preschool Millwater provides education and care for up to 30 children, including 10 children aged under two years. The centre operates in a renovated, modern home in a quiet residential area of Millwater on Auckland's North Shore. Children are based in the Kiwi, Fantail or Tui rooms. All ages combine for outside play in a newly renovated space.

The service's philosophy promotes sustainable practices and respect for the environment. Regular walks in the local bush feature in the programme. The neighbouring park is also used to extend opportunities for children's physical activity. Teachers have established relationships with local schools to support transitions for older children.

This service has been fully licensed since 2013 and was last reviewed by ERO in 2015. The current owner purchased the centre in October 2016, and has established a new teaching team with a fresh philosophy, vision, policies and practices. Most staff are qualified. They work collaboratively to support positive outcomes for children's learning and wellbeing, and have a strong bicultural commitment. This is the first ERO evaluation of the centre under its new ownership.

The Review Findings

In Tui Room, children aged over three years confidently explore their environment. They participate with enthusiasm and engagement in free play as well as in more structured mat times. They demonstrate good relationships with their peers and teachers, negotiating their ideas and needs for play and exploration. Children engage in their chosen pursuits for sustained periods of time, with a particular focus on imaginative play and exploring nature. Teachers provide well-considered resources, and pose questions that support children's individual interests and group projects.

Infants and toddlers in the Kiwi and Fantail rooms are well supported in their care routines. They enjoy exploring these peaceful, inviting and uncluttered spaces. Teachers know children well and connect centre and home experiences, fostering each child's developing sense of belonging and wellbeing. Teachers work respectfully and flexibly, following children's emerging interests and supporting their individual stages of development.

Parents are valued by the teaching team. Their opinions and aspirations help teachers to shape the environment and programme, and to be responsive to children's needs and interests. Newsletters and wall displays share information with parents about significant aspects of the centre's philosophy and programme. This promotes positive outcomes for children's learning and wellbeing, including social competence. Policy review is consultative and the team is quick to respond to parents' suggestions.

Children enjoy reflecting on their prior experiences through portfolios. Teachers identify their individual and group interests, strengths and challenges in these learning stories. They purposefully record ideas for how they might enrich and extend children's play and exploration. Children's voices are evident in the learning stories, and parents are also invited to contribute, creating connections with family life. The centre plans to introduce a digital platform for sharing learning stories in 2019 that should enhance communication about children's learning and development.

The owner has worked with commitment to establish a new team and relevant documents that guide systems, processes and routines. This has fostered the smooth running of the service during a time of transition. Regular team meetings support teachers to collaborate and to share information in a timely way. Appraisal has been initiated with a focus on inquiry into the effectiveness of teachers' practice. Change has been guided by self review and research into best practice in early childhood education.

The service's strategic goals are clearly articulated and align with the philosophy and vision. It is now timely to strengthen annual planning and actions to focus more deliberately on meeting these goals. This focus should also be prioritised in teachers' inquiry, team meetings, professional development and evaluation. A streamlined approach would support the team to work more cohesively to achieve future goals within relevant timeframes.

Key Next Steps

Key next steps include:

  • aligning strategic goals with annual action plans, professional development, inquiry and evaluation

  • formalising systems for teachers' appraisal.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Plum Tree Preschool Millwater 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.

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.

To improve practice the owner plans to:

  • review routines in Kiwi and Fantail to maintain supervision ratios as children move around the centre

  • make changes to the outdoor environment to reduce the drop height from the deck to the garden

  • strengthen the process for the identification and management of hazards and risk when planning excursions out of the centre.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services Northern

Northern Region

8 March 2019

The Purpose of ERO Reports

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.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

Location

Millwater, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

46012

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

30 children, including up to 10 aged under 2

Service roll

43

Gender composition

Boys 23 Girls 20

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
other European
other ethnic groups

1
31
5
6

Percentage of qualified teachers

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:4

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:8

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

January 2019

Date of this report

8 March 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

June 2015

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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.

Review Coverage

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.

Plum Tree Preschool Millwater - 15/06/2015

1 Evaluation of Plum Tree Preschool Millwater

How well placed is Plum Tree Preschool Millwater to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Plum Tree Preschool Millwater is a new centre that is privately owned and operated. The centre offers sessional and full-day care and education, and is licensed for 20 children including five children up to two years of age. The centre is located in a newly developed subdivision, in a renovated home next to a public playground. The centre manager/owner is committed to ensuring that there is a high adult-to-child ratio.

Most staff are qualified and experienced. The centre manager has established appropriate management practices, including self review procedures, to support all aspects of centre operations.

The centre philosophy values child-initiated learning and respects the bicultural commitment of the Treaty of Waitangi. These aspects are acknowledged and celebrated in the programme.

This is the centre’s first ERO review.

The Review Findings

Children are supported to be independent learners and to make choices in the programme. They are encouraged to be confident and articulate. Older children make decisions with adults regarding their play. Some children engage well in sustained, independent play.

Friendships between children are evident. Relationships between teachers and children are positive and parents appreciate the care teachers provide for their children. The head teacher and teachers are working well together to build a cohesive team.

The mixed-aged grouping allows infants and toddlers to explore the environment with older children. Teachers provide programmes that offer challenges for these younger children that are physically and developmentally appropriate.

The physical environment is stimulating, welcoming and supports children’s learning. A variety of suitable resources and equipment is available for children to explore. Children’s work is attractively displayed. The deck area is well used with set activities to encourage children’s use of this space. The outdoor climbing structures provide children with challenges and opportunities for appropriate risk taking. The neighbouring public playground is used to offer children further physical opportunities.

The programme is child-focused within planned themes and celebrations of cultural events in the community. Literacy and numeracy is encouraged and visible in the environment. Teachers are making progress in improving the quality of the programme. They could consider further ways to meaningfully build literacy and numeracy into the programme.

Teachers have established positive relationships and communication and consultation processes with parents. They are developing strategies to strengthen their partnership with parents and the local community. Teachers maintain attractive and informative portfolios that record children’s learning experiences in the centre. Parents have regular opportunities to contribute to their child’s portfolio.

Managers plan to continue to strengthen staff understanding of bicultural practices and use of te reo Māori in the centre. Some teachers use te reo Māori in the programme and are beginning to teach children about tikanga Māori practices. This good practice should now be extended.

Key Next Steps

ERO endorses centre leaders’ plans to further support teachers to develop greater consistency and improved practices in programme planning and implementation. To support this development teachers could:

  • interact with children more purposefully to extend children’s thinking
  • continue to strengthen teaching practices and build their professional knowledge
  • show ongoing progress and continuity of each child’s learning in portfolios
  • strengthen their evaluation of the programme and teaching practices.

Implementation of the newly developed appraisal process is likely to encourage teachers to promote better learning outcomes for children.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Plum Tree Preschool Millwater 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.

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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Plum Tree Preschool Millwater will be in three years.

Dale Bailey

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

15 June 2015

The Purpose of ERO Reports

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.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

Location

Silverdale, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

46012

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

20 children, including up to 5 aged up to 2 years

Service roll

26

Gender composition

Boys 15

Girls 11

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

South African

2

22

2

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%

Based on funding rates

80%

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:3

Better than minimum requirements

 

Over 2

1:7

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

March 2015

Date of this report

15 June 2015

Most recent ERO report(s)

No previous ERO reports

 

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

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.