168 Lincoln Road, Henderson, Auckland
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 |
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Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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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.
This is the first ERO review under new management. The service caters for infants to school age children in four age related rooms. The owner and centre manager lead a team of 15 staff, which includes eight qualified teachers.
Adults who provide education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning experiences.
The service curriculum is inclusive, and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. It supports children’s developing social competence and understanding of appropriate behaviour.
The curriculum provides children with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
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
21 March 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Rising Stars Early Childhood Centre |
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Profile Number |
10157 |
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Location |
Henderson, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
87 children, including up to 24 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
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Service roll |
76 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 11, NZ European/Pākehā 9, Indian 12, Cook Island Māori 8, Chinese 6, Samoan 6, other Pacific 12, other Asian 8, other ethnic groups 4 |
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Review team on site |
February 2022 |
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Date of this report |
21 March 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
First ERO review of the service |
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 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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Rising Stars Henderson Early Childhood Centre is privately owned and provides education and care for up to 84 children from three months to school age. The centre caters for different age groups in three separate rooms. Children and teachers reflect the multicultural community where the centre is located.
The centre is led by a recently appointed centre manager and employs 12 teachers and a cook. The centre manager works closely with the owner to lead and manage daily operations. She also collaborates with an external consultant to mentor and guide teachers' practice. Each room is led by a room leader who manages the programme and models professional practice for her team.
The centre’s philosophy is underpinned by the belief that early childhood education lays the foundation for future learning and development. Teachers provide stimulating environments that support children’s holistic learning. The programme and strategies are guided by the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
The 2013 ERO report acknowledged respectful and caring relationships and improvements that had been made to the quality of the programme. ERO also highlighted the centre's commitment to biculturalism and high expectations for children's behaviour. Several areas were identified for further improvement, including appraisal systems, self-review processes and the quality of planning, evaluation and assessment. The manager and room leaders have worked collaboratively with an external consultant to improve these areas and they have made good progress.
The centre's philosophy is evident throughout the programme and environment. The programme promotes children's sense of belonging, wellbeing and cultural identity. Children are encouraged to develop self-help skills. Tuakana/teina relationships are evident and children engage in lively conversation with each other and with adults.
Infants and toddlers receive nurturing individualised care, and are capable and confident to explore their environment. They make choices about their play and initiate activities. Respectful teaching practices and sensitively timed interactions help children to settle, engage in conversations and share their ideas. Teachers have focused on incorporating more natural materials to invite children's exploration.
Particular support is given to children and whānau who are new to the centre. Children are supported to settle in well. New parents are cared for and welcomed. Parents and whānau acknowledge the value that staff place on whanaungatanga. Many have expressed their appreciation of how their aspirations and opinions are valued and responded to by teachers.
Leaders model language well and engage children in conversations that support them to make good choices. Older children are confident to lead their learning. They are curious, show interest in the various activities and make choices about their play and learning.
Teachers have significantly improved the quality of planning for children's interests. This is evident in the way that teachers plan deliberately to meet the specific needs of the children in their care. They evaluate the usefulness of programme planning to make learning meaningful for children.
Teachers work well together and appreciate the many professional learning opportunities available. Managers mentor and support teachers effectively. This helps teachers to take on responsibilities in the centre and to monitor progress with their individual goals for building professional practice. Teachers are enthusiastic about the new planning assessment and evaluation systems. There are formal and informal opportunities for parents to learn about how they can support their children's learning at home and prepare them for transitioning to school.
Leaders have identified the need to improve bicultural practice and responsiveness to children's cultural identity and diverse backgrounds. Some teachers confidently integrate te reo Māori using basic commands, greetings, songs and stories. They could now incorporate te reo and te ao Māori in the programme to deepen the bicultural practices at the centre. Future professional development could support this development.
A newly developed staff performance management system strengthens teachers' ongoing professional learning. An external consultant has provided support to identify development goals from teachers' appraisals. Leaders have incorporated the cultural competencies of the Ministry of Education's Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners, to support teachers' development of culturally responsive practice.
Leaders have developed a robust internal evaluation process that challenges thinking and results in improvement. Good practice indicators are used well to support improvement and achieve better outcomes for children.
The centre's owner and manager have worked collaboratively to develop strategic directions for the centre. Plans incorporate the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and some indicators of good practice documented in He Pou Tātaki. A consultative and inclusive process has been used to design and monitor strategic and annual plans.
To support ongoing development, leaders and teachers could continue to:
refine and embed planning, assessment and evaluation processes
further develop the learning environment to promote children's learning
embed the appraisal system and internal evaluation process
extend bicultural practices to promote the dual cultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Before the review, the staff and management of Rising Stars Henderson Early Childhood Centre 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:
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 Rising Stars Henderson Early Childhood Centre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
21 October 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.
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Location |
Henderson, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
10157 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
84 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
49 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 29 Boys 34 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Samoan Chinese Filipino Tuvaluan Cook Island Māori |
9 15 8 8 4 4 1 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
August 2016 |
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Date of this report |
21 October 2016 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
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Education Review |
July 2013 |
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Previously reviewed as: Rising Stars Henderson Early Childhood Centre 1 Rising Stars Henderson Early Childhood Centre 2 |
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Education Review |
January 2009 |
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Education Review |
February 2009 |
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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.