Young and Amazing Limited

Education institution number:
46256
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
79
Telephone:
Address:

84-86 Mays Road, Onehunga, Auckland

View on map

Young and Amazing Limited

ERO’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.

ERO’s Judgement

Regulatory standards

ERO’s judgement

Curriculum

Meeting

Premises and facilities

Meeting

Health and safety

Meeting

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.

Background

This is the first ERO review of Young and Amazing since a change of ownership in October 2022. Governance is provided by the owner and a qualified centre manager. The teaching team includes 10 qualified teachers and 13 staff. There are four rooms for different age groups of children. A small number of children enrolled are Māori or Pacific.

Summary of Review Findings

The service’s curriculum respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture, and encourages children to understand and respect other cultures.

Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to nurture reciprocal relationships. They provide a language-rich environment, and they support children’s developing social competence and understanding of appropriate behaviour.

A sufficient quantity and variety of furniture, equipment, and materials are provided that are appropriate for the learning and abilities of the children attending.

Service leaders need to ensure systems and practices are monitored to maintain regulatory standards.

Key Next Steps

Key next steps include:

  • increasing the opportunities children have to hear and speak te reo Māori in meaningful learning contexts

  • improving the extent to which assessment information shows children’s progress and learning over time.

Actions for Compliance

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence to show the following non-compliances have been addressed:  

  • Having evidence of parental permission and approval of adult:child ratios for regular excursions (HS17).

  • Ensuring a record of written authority from parents for the administration of medicine, in accordance with the requirement for the category of medicine outlined in Appendix 3 (HS28).

  • Completing an attendance record that meets the requirements outlined in the Early Childhood Education Funding Handbook (GMA11).

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

16 October 2023

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Young and Amazing Limited

Profile Number

46256

Location

Onehunga, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

95 children, including up to 35 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

92

Review team on site

August 2023

Date of this report

16 October 2023

Most recent ERO report(s)

Reviewed under previous ownership Young & Amazing:

Education Review, May 2019; Education Review, October 2015

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 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.

ERO undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based 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 Akanuku | 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 Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulatory 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; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)

  • relevant evacuation procedures and practices.

As part of an Akanuku | 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.

Young & Amazing - 09/10/2015

1 Evaluation of Young & Amazing

How well placed is Young & Amazing to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Young and Amazing is a privately owned early childhood centre, established in 2013. It is licensed for 95 children, including 35 children up to the age of two years. The centre director is an experienced early childhood teacher and leads a team of teachers who are committed and enthusiastic about children’s education and care. This is the centre’s first ERO review.

The centre is located in an industrial area in Onehunga, Auckland. The building, previously a church, has been renovated and extended to accommodate children in four separate rooms. Infants and toddlers have their own separate indoor and outdoor spaces. The three to four year olds and four to five year olds have a separate indoor learning space and share the large outdoor playground.

Staff comprise qualified and registered teachers. The senior leadership team includes the owner/manager, the assistant supervisor and an early childhood specialist who is contracted to provide support and guidance for teachers. A cook is also employed to provide nutritious meals for children.

The centre philosophy values the bicultural heritages of New Zealand. Te Whariki, the early childhood curriculum, is embedded in the programme.

The Review Findings

Children are provided with an environment that is welcoming, caring and accepting of their cultural differences. Effective and inclusive teaching practices affirm and build on the strengths children bring to their play. As a result children are confident and are well supported to be independent. They are keen learners and engage well in the range of activities teachers provide. Children are given the space to initiate their own play and conversations with each other. Teachers are unhurried and calm allowing time for children to explore their environment.

Infants have their own separate indoor and outdoor space. Teachers are welcoming and friendly. They promote a flexible and relaxed tone to the programme. Teachers’ responsive caregiving supports infants’ need for strong and secure attachments. They are committed to always strengthening their practice. Teachers support children’s learning and development by providing a curriculum that engages them in their play. They agree that continued professional learning for teachers of this younger age group would further strengthen their practice and the programme.

Children enjoy imaginative play and explore happily alongside each other. They confidently initiate conversations with their peers and adults. Teachers sometimes use children’s first languages to converse with them. New children settle quickly into the centre. Children experience a programme and routines that reflect their individual preferences and interests. They can sustain their play for long periods with their peers, adults or by themselves.

Children with special education needs have individual programmes and the support provided by teachers maximises their contribution and learning. Children’s portfolios show the progress and continuity of their learning over time. The programme intentionally promotes literacy, maths, science and technology concepts to extend children’s learning experiences. The centre provides an effective programme that supports children and their families to successfully transition to school.

The learning environment is attractive. It is maximised to enrich children’s learning, and to promote play that challenges children’s thinking. Teachers’ review of the learning environment has resulted in more provision of quality resources that provoke children’s thinking to enquire and explore. The well-defined areas of play have benefited children’s engagement in the programme. Children’s work is valued and displayed attractively on the walls. Routines provide a useful, but flexible framework for the day. Teachers could now review and reconsider the rationale for having three mat times a day. This aspect of the centre’s routine reduces opportunities for uninterrupted play for children.

Teachers provide a programme that celebrates children’s identity and New Zealand’s bicultural heritage and shows respect for Māori as tangata whenua. The programme promotes literacy, mathematics, technology and science and children explore these curriculum areas through the activities teachers provide.

Teachers’ respectful relationships with children and their whānau is a strength of the centre. They are developing ways to encourage parent/whānau contributions to the centre’s programme. Leadership is a collaborative process in the centre. Teachers support parents/whānau and children to take on leadership roles and responsibilities in the programme.

The centre manager provides very good governance. She is well supported by the leadership team who provide mentoring and leadership support for teachers. They are active and committed to their role and have developed robust systems to guide practice and centre operations.

Centre leaders value and use self review to build on their own and teachers' knowledge, measure their progress, and make strategic decisions about the centre’s future direction. They could further strengthen this process by aligning their strategic plan to an annual plan that measures their progress against strategic goals.

Key Next Steps

Leaders at Young and Amazing have identified some priority areas to guide further improvements to centre management, operation and administration. ERO agrees with these next steps that include leaders continuing to strengthen:

  • formal documentation of processes for assessment, planning and evaluation
  • the self review process so that it includes oral and written consultation with families
  • the current bicultural dimension of the curriculum
  • teachers’ appraisal goals that reflect the centre’s strategic vision, and to improve on and extend teachers’ professional practice and knowledge.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Young & Amazing 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.

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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Young & Amazing will be in three years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

9 October 2015

The Purpose of ERO Reports

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.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

Location

Onehunga, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

46256

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

95 children, including up to 35 aged under 2

Service roll

105

Gender composition

Girls 51%

Boys 49%

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Chinese

Cook Island Māori

Fijian

Niue

Tongan

other European

other Asian

other

6%

61%

11%

1%

1%

1%

1%

10%

4%

4%

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%+

Based on funding rates

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:4

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:8

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

August 2015

Date of this report

9 October 2015

Most recent ERO report(s)

No previous ERO reports

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

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.

Young & Amazing - 09/05/2019

1 Evaluation of Young & Amazing

How well placed is Young & Amazing to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Young & Amazing is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Young & Amazing is licensed to provide full-day education and care for up to 95 children, including 35 aged under two years. Infants and toddlers have separate indoor and outdoor play spaces. Older children are grouped according to age, in two separate rooms with access to a shared outdoor play space. The roll includes small numbers of Māori children, and children from a wide range of diverse cultures.

The centre is owned by an experienced early childhood teacher. She leads a team of nine qualified teachers, including a head teacher in each room. A consistent group of teachers, some in training and some unqualified, are employed in each room as full-time teachers or relievers, and to cover teachers' breaks. An externally appointed curriculum mentor and leader works alongside the teaching team.

The philosophy of the centre is strongly focused on providing enriching environments to support children's learning. The bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand is valued. Teachers commit to working together with families to support children to be confident in their culture, language and identity. Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, is acknowledged as a guiding document.

The 2015 ERO report acknowledged teachers' respectful and caring interactions with children. It also noted the well-presented learning environments, and the way the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand and children's cultural identities were celebrated. These positive aspects of practice have been maintained. Areas for development included assessment, planning and evaluation, self review and the alignment of teachers' appraisal goals with the centre's strategic vision. There have been improvements in these areas.

The Review Findings

Children enjoy positive and respectful relationships with adults. Children settle to play quickly and appear relaxed in the centre environment. Their easy access to learning resources encourages them to investigate and explore their surroundings.

Consistent staffing supports the wellbeing of all children. Children confidently approach teachers to share their ideas and discoveries, or for comfort. Teachers know the communication styles of infants and toddlers very well. They work at the level of these younger children and follow their home routines. Effective teaching strategies support children to develop social competence. Older children play well together, sustain their play and demonstrate they can manage social situations.

Children's cultures are acknowledged and celebrated. Teachers proactively and regularly integrate te reo Māori into centre routines. Leaders and teachers show a commitment to strengthening their bicultural practices through ongoing professional development.

Teachers work collaboratively to ensure positive outcomes for children. They make considered decisions about the layout and content of the learning environments. Many become partners in children's play and provide resources that encourage children's more complex thinking. Teachers model creative language and new vocabulary well.

Programme planning documents individual children's interests. Teachers deliberately plan experiences to support children's learning. They could now focus on recording each child's individual learning more clearly in assessment portfolios.

Parents and whānau share information about their cultures and their aspirations for their children's learning. This information could be used to support the continued development of partnerships with whānau that focus on children's learning.

The service is well managed with a strong focus on the wellbeing of children and their whānau. A consultant has worked with the centre owner and teachers for a sustained period of time, carefully guiding teacher practice. It is timely now to consider further leadership opportunities for head teachers to continue to build their knowledge and skills in this area.

An effective process for internal evaluation has been established. Relevant topics are investigated by the four teaching teams. There are some good examples of the process in action. These could be shared across the team to support consistent good quality practices. Ongoing documentation of progress towards meeting strategic goals would more accurately guide the centre's future direction. A framework of policies and procedures guides centre practices and a review cycle has been established.

Key Next Steps

Centre leaders agree that next steps for ongoing improvement include:

  • continuing to develop programme planning and assessment processes to ensure a rich curriculum is documented for each child, in partnership with parents and whānau

  • developing and implementing a process of programme evaluation based on the impact of teaching practice on children's learning.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Young & Amazing 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.

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

9 May 2019

The Purpose of ERO Reports

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.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

Location

Onehunga, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

46256

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

95 children, including up to 35 aged under 2

Service roll

104

Gender composition

Girls 51% Boys 49%

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
other ethnic groups

4%
75%
21%

Percentage of qualified teachers

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:4

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:8

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

March 2019

Date of this report

9 May 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

October 2015

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement

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.

Review Coverage

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.