2 Pipiwai Road, Kamo, Whangarei
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
ABC Kamo Preschool is licensed for 40 children over two years of age. It provides all-day education and care for children from the local community. The centre operates in a purpose built, open-plan building that includes a large veranda space. Children play together in a mixed age group.
The centre is part of the national BestStart Education and Care Centres organisation, which provides an overarching governance and management framework as well as personnel to support individual centres. This service is one of eight managed by the Northland area manager.
A centre manager is supported by the area manager and other BestStart management services. The teaching team, made up of registered teachers and unqualified staff is new and are working towards a shared understanding of their work. The centre shares the services of an administrator with another ABC centre.
The 2014 ERO review of the centre highlighted confident and happy children who enjoyed friendly relationships with their peers. Teachers' frequent use of te reo Māori provided a good foundation of understanding for children. Programme planning focused on individual children's interests, and parents were encouraged to become active partners in children's learning. The report suggested further developing assessment and planning processes, having higher expectations about children's engagement in play and more collaborative sharing of leadership. Teachers continue to work on these areas.
This review was part of a cluster of six reviews in the BestStart Educare Limited organisation.
Children enjoy being at the centre. They are confident about their decision-making, choosing where they want to play and settling into collaborative, talkative groups to explore their interests. Teachers work closely with them, listening to their ideas and providing suggestions how to explore their play further. Teachers also make good use of digital devices to help children discover information that adds to their learning.
Relationships within the centre are strong. Teachers know whānau/parents well, engaging them in useful conversations and encouraging their contributions to the programme.
Teachers provide long periods of uninterrupted play for children during the day. Teachers are inspired by Reggio Emilia educational approaches that encourage children to lead their learning. They provide both individual planning for children and projects that extend over several days. The project approach is supporting teachers to thoughtfully provide resources and engage children in conversations that deepen their learning.
The systems for assessment and planning as a team are still being trialled by staff. Teachers' focus on continual improvement and development of children's confidence, language and learning is based on shared research and team reflection.
The large playground provides opportunities for children's physical development. Children are thoughtfully transitioned into the centre, and for leaving to go to school. The participation of the service in a Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako (CoL), could facilitate closer relationships with local schools.
Children use the extensive playing spaces well. Teachers have created an outdoor playground that invites exploration and physical play. Children's early sense of sustainable living is extended by opportunities to tend the garden and grow vegetables and flowers. The centre was recently awarded a silver status by the Healthy Heart organisation. Children are able to explore literacy and numeracy through careful arrangement of resources and equipment to attract and interest them.
Teachers' practice has been strongly influenced by recent professional development about Māori language and culture. They use many words and phrases in te reo Māori with children, who clearly understand and respond appropriately. Teachers have encouraged parents/whānau to complete pepeha forms about children's heritage and these are respectfully displayed. Resources and materials within the centre indicate teachers' commitment to recognising and respecting Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles. This is an area teachers have identified for further development.
Teachers are inclusive and welcome children with diverse needs and their families/whānau. Children settle quickly into the centre with support from teachers and external agencies who work alongside them and with parents/whānau. Children's speech and language development is a particular focus. Teachers take opportunities to engage in one-on-one conversations with children to increase their oral language and encourage their responses.
Performance management systems are effective. Professional learning and development is relevant and new learning is incorporated into teacher practice. Ongoing mentoring and coaching is used successfully to build teacher capacity. A new appraisal process encourages teachers to inquire more into the impact of their teaching practice.
BestStart has useful systems for monitoring centre operations. These include regular management meetings and an internal audit process, which is used to identify challenges and develop plans for improvement. In addition, the centre has a strategic plan that is linked to the BestStart vision and strategic direction, as well as the centre's philosophy statements, an annual management plan and action plans.
The centre is being capably led. The area manager plays an important role in supporting improvement. The BestStart centre managers in Northland meet regularly with the area manager. These meetings provide good opportunities for them to reflect on how well their centre is operating and how well children's learning is being supported. ABC Kamo Preschool's manager has placed a focus on developing staff to share leadership roles across the centre.
The centre's three year strategic plan finishes in 2017. A new plan is under development for the next three years.
Managers and ERO have identified key next steps to continue to guide centre development. Teachers and managers should continue to:
work together to establish shared understandings about effective teaching and learning practices
further encourage parents' contribution to assessment and planning
evaluate the programme in order to make judgements to further children's learning and ownership.
Before the review, the staff and management of ABC Kamo Preschool 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 ABC Kamo Preschool will be in three years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
27 June 2017
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 |
Kamo, Whangarei |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
10148 |
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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 |
40 children, over 2 years of age |
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Service roll |
53 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 32 Girls 21 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
22 |
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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 |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
May 2017 |
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Date of this report |
27 June 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
May 2014 |
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|
Education Review |
March 2011 |
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|
Education Review |
September 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:
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
ABC Kamo Preschool provides full-day education and care for up to 40 children over two years old. Formerly part of the ABC early childhood group, the centre is now part of the Kidicorp organisation and operates alongside the Pipiwai Road Centre on the same site. The centre has recently upgraded the outdoor environment and implemented aspects of the Reggio Emilia philosophy in some play areas. Kidicorp management and personnel systems guide the operation of the centre and staff are supported by a professional services manager who visits frequently. The teaching team is a mixture of fully and provisionally registered teachers, with one teacher still in training. They are led by an experienced and respected centre manager.
Kidicorp has recently initiated a van service to transport children who otherwise might not be able to attend an early childhood centre. This service is well used by Māori whānau and has increased the number of Māori children enrolled in the centre. Teachers continue to develop their understanding of te reo and tikanga Māori and ways of fostering these children’s identity as Māori.
In 2011 ERO identified many strengths in centre practices. Children initiated their own learning and teachers assessed children's progress effectively. They improved their professional practices through self review. Teachers have sustained most of those good practices and continue to evolve their programme planning and teaching strategies.
Children are confident and happy in the centre. They interact positively with other children and have trusting relationships with teachers. Children readily find resources and activities that interest them and work well together independently or in small groups. They make good use of an extensive outdoor area that teachers set up to invite physical, imaginative and social play. Children benefit from many opportunities that enable them to develop early literacy skills in the context of play. They are becoming familiar with waiata and phrases in te reo Māori and are learning to use their pepeha to introduce themselves and greet others.
Teachers know individual children well and plan the environment to support their interests. They expect children to be self managing and to make decisions about their own learning. This approach reflects the centre’s philosophy of promoting independent learning. There are good examples of teachers supporting interests with resources and strategies that extend children's thinking and ideas for play. The challenge for teachers is to provide learning extension more consistently and, when they set up the environment, to always consider the impact of the environment on potential learning experiences.
Programme planning is focused on individual children. Teachers each take responsibility for a designated group of children and identify each child’s interests and learning dispositions. This information is displayed and guides teachers’ arrangement of the environment and choices for equipment and activities. As their planning and assessment processes continue to evolve, teachers should further consider their roles in initiating learning. In particular, teachers can provide new knowledge and skills in relation to literacy, numeracy, science and technology that could provoke thinking and invite more complex play.
Parents are encouraged to be active partners in their children’s learning. Teachers keep families well informed about the programme. They share learning stories digitally and invite parents to share their aspirations. Surveys indicate that many parents are very satisfied with the service, think highly of staff and are pleased with the outcomes for their children. Teachers are keen to build on parents’ contributions to children’s learning, particularly from whānau who use the van service and have few opportunities for conversations with staff.
The centre manager and teachers are well supported by Kidicorp. Regular visits and systems to monitor standards foster ongoing improvements in centre practices. An extensive professional development programme that is linked to teachers’ individual goals reflects a strong commitment to staff. Detailed strategic and annual plans guide centre development and self review is well established. Teachers reflect widely on centre operations, the environment and their practices, with a commitment to ongoing improvement and positive outcomes for children.
The centre manager, Kidicorp advisors and ERO agree that next steps for the centre should include teachers:
Before the review, the staff and management of ABC Kamo Preschool 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.
The next ERO review of ABC Kamo Preschool will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services Northern Region
16 May 2014
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.
|
Location |
Kamo, Whangarei |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
10148 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
51 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 28 Boys 23 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Chinese Cook Island Māori |
22 26 2 1 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
March 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
16 May 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2011 |
|
|
Education Review |
September 2007 |
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:
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.