138 Otonga Road, Springfield, Rotorua
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 Homebased Childcare Ltd 2 are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) | Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains | |
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions | Whāngai Establishing Whakaū Embedding |
This is a quality-funded homebase service and is one of two privately owned networks under Homebased Childcare Ltd. Children learn in educators’ homes. A third of the children enrolled are Māori, and a small number are of diverse ethnicities. The service changed ownership in February 2023. It was previously known as Rotorua Homebased Childcare.
Children experience a nurturing curriculum that reflects their interests. Visiting teachers support educators to respond effectively to children’s individual learning styles. Children transitioning into the home and on to school are supported well by educators.
Children with additional learning needs benefit through partnerships established with external agencies. Weekly playgroups offer group learning opportunities and experiences. Children’s oral language development, social competency and emotional wellbeing are fostered.
Children’s cultural identities are beginning to be responded to by educators. Home languages are used for greetings. Visiting teachers support educators to be deliberate in implementing strategies that are culturally responsive to tamariki Māori. Children increasingly hear basic te reo Māori, local legends, and experience some tikanga Māori. Regular excursions promote connections to places of cultural significance to mana whenua.
Educators and visiting teachers are developing learning-focused partnerships with parents and whānau. Families have regular opportunities to be involved in playgroups and events, and to share their aspirations, children’s interests, and family values. Educators’ response to these aspirations is yet to be visibly explicit in children’s assessment documentation. There is some evidence of links made in assessment and evaluation documentation between children’s learning and the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
The organisational conditions promote equity of access, experience, and inclusion for children. Service leaders use internal evaluation to identify areas for improvement. Changes are enabled through accessing relevant professional learning and development, and building relational trust between visiting teachers and educators. Visiting teachers’ professional learning has a focus on what matters most for children in this community.
Homebased Childcare Ltd 2 will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Homebased Childcare Ltd 2 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)
17 November 2023
| Early Childhood Service Name | Homebased Childcare Ltd 2 |
| Profile Number | 47303 |
| Location | Springfield, Rotorua |
| Service type | Home-based service |
| Number licensed for | 80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2 |
| Service roll | 70 |
| Review team on site | September 2023 |
| Date of this report | 17 November 2023 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, June 2020 |
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Rotorua HomeBased Childcare is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Rotorua HomeBased Childcare (47303) is a privately owned, home-based education and care network. At the time of this review, educators meet the qualification levels for quality funding. It is licensed for 60 children, including up to 30 aged under two years. Of the 47 children currently enrolled, 17 are Māori.
The network is one of two operated by Rotorua HomeBased Childcare Ltd. The owner has oversight of all network operations. Three qualified and registered visiting teachers support educators. Their role is to visit children in educators' homes and to assist in planning care and education programmes.
The service philosophy promotes relationships and place-based learning.
This is the first ERO evaluation of Rotorua HomeBased Childcare (47303).
The organisation's philosophy guides the service and is evident in practice across the network. Children have opportunities to participate in a curriculum based on their interests. They regularly socialise with other children while in their educator’s care. A wide range of learning experiences within the local community reflects the service commitment to place-based learning and real-life experiences.
Children of all ages benefit from positive and caring relationships with educators and visiting teachers. A varied range of communication tools promotes consistency of care between children's homes and their home-based service. An on-line communication platform keeps parents well informed of children's participation and engagement in their learning programme.
On-going observation of children in everyday activities builds a picture of what they are interested in and can do. Educators use this information to plan experiences to extend children's individual and group learning. Parents' aspirations and expectations for their children are integrated into the programme. Leaders continue to support educators to increase the use of children's cultural languages in their learning stories.
Children's transitions are well supported. The network's 'Flappy Birds School Readiness Programme' promotes the skills and dispositions to assist older children as they prepare for their move to school. New children and families are carefully matched with educators. They are encouraged to settle at a pace to suit their individual needs.
Leaders are continuing to strengthen Treaty of Waitangi-based practices. Te reo Māori is increasingly woven throughout service documentation. Learning stories show Māori children engage in culturally rich learning experiences that affirm their identity as Māori.
Educators have made good progress in achieving appropriate qualifications to promote children’s learning. They are assisted through a training programme that takes account of their individual circumstances and learning needs.
An efficient framework is in place to support visiting teachers and educators to grow their practice. Visiting teachers' appraisal processes are appropriately underpinned by individual inquiries, reflection and relevant research.
Recent developments supporting internal evaluation are contributing to improvements in outcomes for children and families. Policy review is ongoing and involves educators and parents. Improving review for accountability is an important key next step.
Leadership across the service promotes a positive organisational culture based on relational trust and respect. Annual planning suitably guides service operations. Strategic planning has recently been introduced to establish long term goals. Well-established practice guidelines for visiting teachers and educators are in place.
Network leaders and visiting teachers should:
continue to strengthen assessment of children's learning
improve review for compliance accountability.
Before the review, the staff and management of Rotorua HomeBased Childcare 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:
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.
In order to improve practice, staff must ensure familiarity with, application of and systematic monitoring of all licensing requirements to ensure these are consistently met. The service needs to strengthen its performance in the following area:
records of all medicine given to children attending the service should include evidence of parental acknowledgement.
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS25]
During the on-site phase of the review, the service took appropriate steps to address this and subsequently provided ERO with evidence of implementation.
Darcy Te Hau
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
22 June 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.
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Location |
Rotorua |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
47303 |
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Institution type |
Homebased Network |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
60 children, including up to 30 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
47 |
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Standard or Quality Funded |
Quality |
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Gender composition |
Female 25, Male 22 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
17 |
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Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
3 |
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Required ratios of educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
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Over 2 |
1:4 |
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Review team on site |
March 2020 |
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Date of this report |
22 June 2020 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
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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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2008
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.