210 White Swan Road, Lynfield, 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 of Rising Stars Lynfield Early Childhood Centre since it changed ownership in October 2019. The service provider employs a centre manager who is responsible for daily operations. Three age-based rooms provide for children from infants to school age. The teaching team reflects the cultural backgrounds of children.
The service curriculum is informed by assessment planning and evaluation that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning, interests, whānau and life contexts. The curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
An annual plan guides the service’s operations and direction.
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.
Phil Cowie
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
23 September 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Rising Stars Lynfield Early Childhood Centre |
| Profile Number | 10164 |
| Location | Lynfield, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
54 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
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Service roll |
48 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 1, NZ European/Pākehā 3, Indian 26, Sri Lankan 5, Chinese 4, other Asian 7, other ethnic groups 2 |
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Review team on site |
July 2021 |
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Date of this report |
23 September 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s |
Education Review, August 2019; Education Review, February 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 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 |
Rising Stars Lynfield Early Childhood Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Rising Stars Lynfield Early Childhood Centre in West Auckland is licensed for 54 children, including up to 12 children under two years of age. Children are grouped into three main learning areas according to their age and stages of development. All three groups have access to an outdoor area, the two older groups spending much of the day together.
While about half of the children enrolled are Indian, there are many cultures within the centre. The staff are also multicultural and have a good knowledge of the children's cultures and languages.
The centre is one of two centres owned by the same company. The managers of the two centres provide professional support and guidance for each other with some common policies and procedures.
The centre's philosophy is closely aligned with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It recognises the importance of positive, supportive relationships and an environment that supports children to lead their own learning.
The 2016 ERO report commented positively on the care and education that children receive, and the positive relationships between staff and children, and staff and parents. It identified some next steps related to management and the bicultural aspects of the programme. Progress has been made in these areas.
Children at the centre are very settled and seem happy. They are well cared for and have many opportunities to learn in a respectful environment. They experience positive interactions with teachers that support their wellbeing and learning.
The teachers know the children and their families well. They are exploring a new approach where a key teacher is assigned to a small group of children. This approach promotes greater engagement with parents with a focus on children's wellbeing and learning.
Learning environments support children’s learning. They are well resourced and well organised, so children can access appropriate resources. Teachers could now consider how they can reduce the impact of centre routines such as packing up before meals, on children’s play.
Tikanga and te reo Māori are well integrated into the programme and there is a commitment to strengthen these aspects of the centre's curriculum. Aspects of Pacific cultures are also included in the programme.
Teachers are familiar with many aspects of the children's cultures, including their home languages. This enables them to communicate with the children and families that speak languages other than English at home. The learning environment and aspects of the programme reflect the children's cultures.
The centre caters effectively for diverse groups of learners. Children under the age of two are well cared for. Teachers access support for children with additional learning needs. They have developed strategies for supporting children from homes where English is an additional language.
Assessment of children’s learning and programme planning are being strengthened. Centre managers are developing guidelines to encourage teachers to reflect on children’s learning over time and to identify how they are supporting children's learning. The guidelines will also indicate how teachers can best respond to parents’ aspirations for their children.
The centre is well governed and managed. An up-to-date policy framework guides centre operations. The strategic plan, developed from reflection and self review, communicates the areas identified for improvement. The teacher appraisal system has been updated to meet the requirements of the Teaching Council. Teachers have access to good quality and relevant professional learning and development.
The centre manager could now strengthen both internal evaluation and teachers’ inquiry into their practice by ensuring that these processes are guided by clearly stated evaluative questions. Strategic planning and teachers' development plans would be strengthened by ensuring that goals in both are explicit.
Key next steps for the centre include:
strengthening assessment processes to better inform programme planning
strengthening internal evaluation to inform strategic planning
continuing to explore ways to build partnerships with parents/whānau that contribute to children's learning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Rising Stars Lynfield 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
30 August 2019
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 |
Lynfield, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
10164 |
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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 |
54 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
51 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 28 Girls 23 |
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Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā |
7 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
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 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
July 2019 |
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Date of this report |
30 August 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
February 2016 |
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Supplementary Review |
November 2012 |
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Education Review |
June 2011 |
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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 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.