Choosing your child’s childcare or preschool ? Make sure you read the ERO Report !
If you are a parent of a school age child, or a child who attends an early learning centre, then chances are you have heard of ERO, and wondered what it means.
ERO, stands for Education Review Office. It is the government department that evaluates and reports on the quality of the education and care of children in schools and early childhood services.
Both schools and early learning services are generally reviewed every three years. However, if the performance of the service is poor, and there are risks to the education and safety of the children, then ERO will return well before 3 years.
However, where the school or early learning centre demonstrates high quality of it’s teaching curriculum, governance, policies and practices, ERO may stretch the next review out to 4 years. ERO’s reports can be found on their website https://ero.govt.nz/
It can be difficult for a parent to judge whether an early learning centre or school is doing a good job. Parents should visit with their child, and be guided by their own feelings about the staff, parents, children, environment, but they should also carefully read the latest ERO report for that service, as part of their decision process.
Remember – A 3 year review indicates that the service is doing a good job. A 4 year review means they are doing an excellent job.
Jennifer Dahl, is the owner of Kereru Kindy at 10 Oraha Road, Huapai, which was recently reviewed by ERO, and will be reviewed again in 4 years.