208 A Preston Road, East Tamaki, Auckland
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Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Not meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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Governance, management and administration |
Not meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
Tiny Stars is a privately owned punanga reo that promotes akano’anga Kuki Airani and Christian values. It has experienced significant change since 2016. The service provider is new. Staff comprise five qualified teachers and five support staff. The manager, two team leaders and two support staff are long serving. The property has been recently renovated and furnished.
The punanga curriculum is inclusive and aligns with the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Akano’anga Kuki Airani and children’s cultures are respected. The premises and facilities are resourced to provide for the learning and abilities of the children attending. Health and safety procedures are monitored, and changes made when required.
Aspects of effective governance and management practice have not yet been established. Human resource management and financial reporting require improvement. An increased level of monitoring of governance, management and administration is required.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA3,7,9; PF3.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, PF30.
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.
The next ERO review of Tiny Stars will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
4 June 2020
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Tiny Stars |
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Profile Number |
10260 |
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Location |
East Tamaki, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 22 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
50-79% |
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Reported ratio of staff to children under 2 |
1:4 - Better than regulatory standards |
|
Reported ratio of staff |
1:5 - Better than regulatory standards |
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Service roll |
50 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 21 Girls 29 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 17 |
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Review team on site |
January 2020 |
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Date of this report |
4 June 2020 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Previously licensed as Te Reo Rarotonga Bi-Lingual E C Centre Education Review June 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 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 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.
Te Reo Rarotonga Bilingual Early Childhood Centre is a Cook Island Māori community-based punanga reo in East Tamaki, Auckland. It provides education and care for children from birth to five years of age. The punanga is licensed for 30 children, including up to five children under the age of two years. The centre is located on the grounds of the Kuki Airani Angaanga Tupuna (KAAT) Trust. There is a low turnover of staff. Well coordinated professional support for staff to undertake training has resulted in more staff with qualifications.
The centre has a strong philosophy of providing children with a culturally appropriate learning environment that incorporates Kuki Airani values in practice. Cook Island Māori language, culture and identity are valued through the importance placed on tangata (people), punanga (language) and pirianga (relationships).
The centre is governed by a board of governors of the KAAT Trust, and is managed by a team led by an early childhood services manager. A services supervisor oversees the daily operations of the centre, and works closely with the early childhood services manager who provides leadership and guidance on the strategic direction of the centre and the quality of the curriculum.
ERO's 2013 review findings identified several areas for centre improvement. These included the quality of self-review, and leadership and management systems and processes. Since the 2013 review, the board and staff have made significant progress in addressing these and other recommendations. There is now a formal internal review process that is linked to strategic outcomes, and a process to build leadership capacity in the centre. Leaders have also implemented an improved administration system to support leaders identify areas of progress and areas for further improvement.
The significant changes that are noted in this report have provided teachers with clearer direction and opportunity to improve the programme to bring about increasingly positive outcomes for children.
Children enjoy a sense of belonging to the punanga. They are happy, settled and engaged in learning through play. They demonstrate respect for each other and for the environment as they make choices about their learning.
Children enjoy the freedom of choosing their play activities and some play independently. Children under two enjoy mixing with older children and respond positively to the nurturing that comes from these tuakana/teina relationships.
Children understand centre routines well and learn independence by using their self-help skills. They enjoy the many opportunities for physical exercise and excursions. Children demonstrate good understanding of heathy eating practices.
The environment strongly promotes the Cook Island Māori language, culture and identity with a focus on bicultural partnership with Māori. Teachers who are fluent in Cook Island Māori language actively support colleagues to use the language incidentally in their interactions with children.
The environment also encourages children to have fun learning through play. A new purpose-built facility is due to open during 2016. This will replace the present environment, which is in a poor state.
Teachers interact warmly with children to support their play. They relate to families and know the children well. Teachers plan collaboratively to extend children's group experiences. They work well together as a team to promote the values of the punanga. The programme promotes the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It is based on children's interests and strengths and promotes exploration and creativity. Excursions highlight events and the cultural curriculum. Teachers consistently record children's learning and experiences in children's portfolios.
Many of the staff are long serving and have built good relationships with parents and families. There are good leadership opportunities for staff. They are involved in regular professional conversations and are well supported to implement the centre philosophy. Teachers’ appraisal processes provide opportunities for staff to identify meaningful goals. Leaders encourage teachers to attend professional development and consolidate their skills and expertise.
A rigorous self-review process helps managers and teachers to make improvements to the programme and their practice. Leaders encourage teachers to become more evaluative and conduct meaningful reviews. A good induction process helps staff to develop expertise at their pace and build their capacity as teachers. They work collaboratively to make decisions and evaluate the programme for children.
Parents have opportunities to contribute to the programme and to help staff review systems and practices. Their views and ideas are valued and they are encouraged to contribute to the life and operations of the centre in several ways. Many parents utilise their skills and expertise to help with the operational running of the centre.
The board and management team have identified the following appropriate next steps. These include:
strengthening and embedding effective practices to ensure positive outcomes for children
continuing to support staff to be more evaluative and continuing to embed the existing selfreview process.
The KAAT Trust members could also review how effective their collaborative processes are for working with the Early Childhood Services department.
Before the review, the staff and management of Te Reo Rarotonga Bi-Lingual E C 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 Te Reo Rarotonga Bi-Lingual E C Centre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
17 June 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 |
East Tamaki, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
10260 |
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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 |
30 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
30 |
||
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Gender composition |
Girls 15 Boys 15 |
||
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Ethnic composition |
Cook Island Māori Samoan other |
19 3 8 |
|
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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 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
February 2016 |
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Date of this report |
17 June 2016 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2013 |
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Education Review |
February 2010 |
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Supplementary Review |
April 2007 |
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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.