Community Ownership: Parents likely have a strong say in how the service operates and what happens to children, all money earnt stays within it, and teachers may be paid better and childcare charges may be lower compared to most (but not necessarily all) private and corporate owned services. (Ask: Is it an Incorporated Society? Does it also have charitable status?)
Small Boutique Centre: Centres with 50 or fewer children make it easier for staff to provide a warm and nurturing environment, for children to have their individual needs met and skills, knowledge, and competencies extended. (Ask: For continuity of care and relationships, do children stay with the same group of children and teachers throughout their time at the service?)
100% Qualified Teacher Funded: All staff counted toward meeting the minimum adult-child ratio requirement must hold a practising certificate as a teacher if the service receives this level of Ministry of Education funding. (Ask: Does the service count teachers trained in the ECE of children birth to 5 years and not primary or secondary school trained teachers?)
Men Included on Teaching Staff (as at last year): There are strong benefits of having both men and women on the teaching team for the quality of care and education a service provides to children. Additionally, gender bias in staff recruitment and employment is not generally acceptable in society today. (Ask: How many teaching staff are employed and what proportion are men?)
(as at last year):
Clean Licence Record (last year and the year before): To be licensed a service must comply with regulations that help ensure children’s safety, care, and a suitable standard of education. When requirements are breached the Ministry of Education may downgrade a service’s licence to provisional or issue a suspension. (Check the lists of services placed on a provisional or suspended licence https://oece.nz/public/information/standards/ published each year)
(last year and year before):
Recommended Highly by 80% or More Families: At least 80% of families recommend the service and rate it as being very good to excellent on a range of aspects of quality. (Note that a response rate of at least 51% families on the OECE parent survey https://oece.nz/public/information/resources/parent-survey/ research instrument within the last three years is necessary here)
3 Reviews on “Fatugatiti Preschool”
Our son attended Fatugatiti since he was two years old right up until his 5th birthday. He really loved his time there, he was immersed in fa’asamoa especially the language and songs. He still looks at his folder that he received when he left. He was embraced by the staff like one of their own. From the academic side to the social side as well. He has an amazing relationship with his brothers, he is very nurturing to those younger than him and I credit Fatugatiti for instilling that into him. It is unfortunate that we no longer live in Auckland because we would have enrolled our youngest son there without a doubt. He isn’t afraid to try new things, he’s always keen to help others and can make friends easily. As parents we all want our children to be able to fit in, make friends and achieve. Our son is achieving very well so far in his learning journey, and it is credit to Fatugatiti for preparing him.
I have been a parent at Fatugatiti Aoga Amata for 3 years now. My youngest child is currently still attending Aoga Amata. I am grateful for all the work the staff at Fatugatiti are doing for our son. I have experienced a huge difference with my youngest son and his older siblings. He has learnt so many things and is very active. My testimony is that Fatugatiti is the best place for a child to learn the values of Culture and Spiritual beliefs. I’m glad my Son attends here. So I thank everyone at Fatugatiti for their awesome service and care for our young children.
My child has started primary school and he was so ready for it. What really helped in my opinion was the weekly visits to the neighbouring primary school. Also the day-to-day lessons he had. Here my child was able to write his own name, count, learn his shapes and colours and learn his alphabet before starting primary. I like the hands-on approach too where learning was achieved through play. We just finished parent interviews 2 weeks ago and my child is in the top reading and writing group in his class and he is progressing really well