7 Ballance Street, Whataupoko, Gisborne
View on mapAkarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama Indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Pohutukawa 1 - Quality are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) | Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains | |
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions | Whāngai Establishing Whāngai Establishing |
Pohutukawa 1 - Quality is one of two services owned and operated by NMN Ltd. A qualified visiting teacher provides professional guidance to seven in-home educators to deliver learning programmes. The Rewanui centre manager provides leadership and management support. Over half the children enrolled identify as Māori.
Children are well supported to engage in a range of experiences that are influenced by their interests and developing capabilities. Regular outings and playgroups extend the home-based curriculum and provide opportunities to connect to the wider community. Attentive educators demonstrate that care is an integral part of the curriculum. They maintain infant’ and toddlers’ routines to provide a sense of security. A range of useful communication strategies enables parents to be involved in their children’s learning.
Assessment practices show that visiting teachers provide effective support for educators to respond to children’s individual ways of learning. They work with external agencies to provide ongoing resources and support for children with additional learning needs. Their strengths and achievements are celebrated daily.
Māori whānau, children and their educators engage in respectful relationships. Educators and visiting teachers have engaged in professional learning resulting in an increase in confidence to use some te reo Māori, karakia and waiata. They integrate te reo Māori and values into everyday experiences. Visiting teachers and educators are beginning to draw on children’s first languages to support children’s learning.
An understanding of internal evaluation for improvement is still in the early stages of implementation. Leaders are developing the local curriculum to better reflect the service’s philosophy and inform strategic goals and actions for improvement. The key next step identified in ERO’s 2020 report in relation to strengthening the service’s assessment process, continues to be a priority. A focus on further unpacking the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, also remains.
Pohutukawa 1 - Quality will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Licensing Criteria for Home-based Education and Care Services 2008, HS6, PF21, HS34.
Before the review, the staff and management of Pohutukawa 1 - Quality completed an ERO 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.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
1 February 2024
| Early Childhood Service Name | Pohutukawa 1 - Quality |
| Profile Number | 30300 |
| Location | Whataupoko, Gisborne |
| Service type | Home-based service |
| Number licensed for | 80 children, including up to 40 aged under 2 |
| Service roll | 28 |
| Review team on site | November 2023 |
| Date of this report | 1 February 2024 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, May 2020; Education Review, May 2018 |
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Pohutukawa 1 - Quality is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Pohutukawa 1 - Quality is one of two home-based education and care networks in Gisborne owned and operated by NMN Ltd. The network is licensed to provide education and care for 80 children, including 40 aged up to two years. Of the 29 children enrolled, 14 are Māori.
The owner/director has oversight of the management of the two Pohutukawa home-based networks. Three trained and registered teachers (coordinators) support in-home educators to provide suitable care and learning programmes for children.
The Pohutukawa philosophy emphasises the importance of providing 'a home away from home for children, characterised by warmth, trust and aroha'. Forming connections with children, whānau educators, coordinators and the wider community are seen as central to learning.
The May 2018 ERO report identified a number of areas of non-compliance with the Licensing Criteria for Home-Based Education and Care Services and Early Childhood Education Curriculum Framework 2008. The service has worked with the Ministry of Education to meet all legislative requirements.
Significant progress has been made to develop suitable systems and processes to provide assurance at management and governance levels, so that the service is meeting legislative requirements, particularly those related to health and safety.
Children’s sense of belonging is well promoted in the service. Strong, trusting relationships with parents, whānau, educators and leaders are evident throughout the organisation. Parents and educators spoken with during the review feel well supported and they contributed to the recently reviewed philosophy.
Coordinators take a considered approach to enable parent choice of educator who is responsive to the needs and aspirations for their children. Young learners form secure attachments with an educator who know them and their whānau well.
Parents, educators and children network with each other through regular outings within the community. Children confidently participate in group activities and with resources that extend their interests. Attentive educators engage with the children in their care and work with other educators and parents to support children's needs during these excursions.
Infants and toddlers have space to participate in the programme at their own pace. Educators communicate with parents on a daily basis to support continuity of routines and rhythms between the home and service.
Ongoing access to external professional development has increased leaders', teachers' and educators' knowledge and understanding of te ao Māori and use of te reo Māori. The service has identified that further deepening adults' understanding of Māori concepts and how this can be meaningfully integrated within the home-based setting continues to be a next step.
Leaders continue to grow their understanding and use of strategies to promote educational success for Māori children. Learning-focused partnerships with whānau Māori should support further development of culturally responsive practices.
Children's learning journals record their participation and engagement in the programme. Coordinators and educators work collaboratively to provide resources and ideas to support children’s emerging interests and development. The service seeks advice and guidance from external agencies to support children and whānau as needed.
Educators are well supported through regular visits and communication with coordinators. This contact provides a balance between ensuring expectations and compliance requirements are met and ongoing guidance for education and care. Further monitoring is required to ensure educators are using updated documentation to meet compliance requirements.
Leaders have identified that the assessment, planning and evaluation process requires strengthening. As a part of this process, the service should identify their priorities for children's learning aligned to the learning outcomes of Te Whāriki (2017) and develop written guidelines to support educators' understanding of how to promote these.
An ongoing system of internal evaluation results in changes of practice. A next step is to refine the focus of evaluations aligned to indicators of high-quality practice that focus on learning outcomes for children. This should strengthen decision making for improvement and enable leaders to know how effectively they are achieving the expected outcomes for children.
Appraisal supports teachers and educators to grow their knowledge and capabilities. Strengthened monitoring of educators' progress to their goals and expectations of the service's operation and vision, is needed to promote continual improvement.
Priorities are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Pohutukawa 1 - Quality 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:
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
To improve compliance practice co-ordinators should work alongside educators to ensure they use updated documents aligned to the service's updated policies and procedures.
Darcy Te Hau
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
4 May 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 | Gisborne | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 30300 | ||
| Institution type | Homebased Network | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 80 children, including up to 40 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 29 | ||
| Standard or Quality Funded | Quality | ||
| Gender composition | Female 18, Male 11 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori NZ European/Pākehā Other ethnic groups | 14 13 2 | |
| 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 | 4 May 2020 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | May 2018 | |
| Education Review | May 2015 | ||
| Education Review | August 2013 | ||
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:
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.