The Toy Maker's Cottage Preschool

Education institution number:
47171
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
48
Telephone:
Address:

1 Partridge Street, Grey Lynn, Auckland

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The Toy Maker's Cottage Preschool

1 ERO’s Judgements

Akarangi | 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 The Toy Maker’s Cottage Preschool are as follows:

Outcome Indicators

(What the service knows about outcomes for learners)

Whāngai Establishing

Ngā Akatoro Domains

 

Learning Conditions
Organisational Conditions

Whāngai Establishing

Whāngai Establishing

2 Context of the Service

The Toy Maker’s Cottage Preschool provides for children between two and five years of age. The owner oversees daily operations supported by a qualified head teacher. They lead a team of seven qualified teachers and one staff member. A small number of Māori children are enrolled.

3 Summary of findings

Children’s emotional wellbeing is supported through caring and responsive relationships with teachers and other children. Children make independent play choices within opportunities provided by teachers and as part of daily routines and rituals. They hear and use basic words in te reo Māori, when prompted by teachers, and say karakia (prayer).

The centre environment reflects aspects of te ao Māori and includes a variety of bicultural resources. Children learn about different languages and cultures through participating in language weeks and centre events.

Teachers know families and children well and this is evident in children's assessment records and displays within the learning environment. They follow an established assessment framework to record children’s learning and teachers’ curriculum planning intentions.

Parent participation is encouraged through teachers building meaningful relationships with parents/whānau. Teachers could now develop partnerships with parents that focus on working together to extend children’s learning. Leaders could continue to support teachers with implementing a responsive curriculum for all children.

An improvement-focused evaluation process is in place. Evidence shows the involvement of leaders, teachers, whānau and children in this work. Evaluations are descriptive, and yet to show the impact and effectiveness of improved practices, in relation to learning outcomes for all children.

Leaders and teachers enact the service’s philosophy well. They implement policies, procedures and practices that aim to have a positive impact on learning outcomes for children. A focus on implementing and monitoring ongoing compliance with regulatory standards is required.

4 Improvement actions

The Toy Maker’s Cottage Preschool will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

  • Increase the visibility of teachers’ responses to children’s interests and dispositions in assessment, planning and evaluation, in alignment with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.

  • Improve the extent to which the curriculum reflects individual children’s identity, languages and cultures.

  • Build teachers’ and leaders’ evaluation capability by focusing internal evaluation on identifying the impact of improvements made on learning outcomes for children.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of The Toy Maker’s Cottage Preschool 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:

  • 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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)

  • relevant evacuation procedures and practices.

All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.

6 Actions for Compliance

During and since the onsite review, the service provided ERO with evidence to show the following
non-compliances have been addressed:

  • Identifying, eliminating, minimising or isolating hazards, including dangerous objects, and foreign       materials, medicines, poisons, and other hazardous materials and hazards present in the kitchen (HS12).

  • Completing documentation required for regular excursions, including an assessment and management of risk (HS17).

  • Ensuring before a person is employed or engaged as a children’s worker, as defined in the Children’s Act 2014, a safety check as required by that Act must be completed. A detailed record of each component of the safety check must be kept, and the date on which each step was taken must be recorded, including the date of the risk assessment required to be completed after all relevant information is obtained (GMA7A).

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

9 August 2023

7 About the Early Childhood Service

Early Childhood Service Name

The Toy Maker’s Cottage Preschool

Profile Number

47171

Location

Grey Lynn, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

35 children aged over 2 years

Percentage of qualified teachers

100%

Service roll

48

Review team on site

June 2023

Date of this report

9 August 2023

Most recent ERO report(s)

Akanuku | Assurance Review, April 2019

The Toy Maker’s Cottage Preschool - 18/04/2019

ERO’s judgement

Regulatory standards

Curriculum

Meeting

Premises and facilities

Meeting

Health and safety

Meeting

Governance, management and administration

Meeting

At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

The Toy Maker’s Cottage Preschool operates in a heritage villa and was licensed in May 2018. This is its first ERO review. The owner of the centre is responsible for day-to-day management. The head teacher works with four qualified teachers and two unqualified staff members. A mentor provides induction and mentoring for teachers with provisional teaching certificates.

Summary of review findings

The service’s philosophy views children as competent, confident learners and communicators and guides operations. The curriculum is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation. Adults interact in positive ways with children, and show an understanding of relevant theories and practice. Children have opportunities to develop an understanding of the cultural heritages of both partners to the Treaty of Waitangi.

The design and layout of the premises support different types of indoor and outdoor experiences. There is sufficient quantity and variety of equipment, materials and resources.

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Education Review.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services Northern

Northern Region

18 April 2019

Information about the service

Early Childhood Service Name

The Toy Maker’s Cottage Preschool

Profile Number

47171

Location

Grey Lynn, Auckland 

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

31 children aged over 2 years

Percentage of qualified teachers

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Over 2

1:7 - Better than regulatory standards

Service roll

52

Gender composition

Girls 28 Boys 24

Ethnic composition

Māori 5

Pākehā 40

other ethnic groups 7

Review team on site

March 2019

Date of this report

18 April 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

First ERO review of the service

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:

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 Assurance Review process in any 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 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 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:

  • 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 certification; ratios)

  • evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

As part of an 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.