Cnr Lake Road & Tonar Street, Northcote, Auckland
View on mapAkarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama- indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most (PDF 3.01MB) are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric (PDF 91.30KB) derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Northcote Pre-School Community Trust (Kete Wananga) are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
|
What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
|
He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
|
Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whakaū Embedding |
|
Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
|
Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
|
Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Northcote Pre-School Community Trust (Kete Wananga) serves a culturally diverse community. Children attend from the age of two years. Five qualified teachers, including the owner and a centre manager, support their learning. The owners and a trust govern the service and respond to the needs of their community.
Children settle easily into their play and confidently engage with peers and teachers. Their voices are valued by teachers who listen well to children and document their thoughts and ideas. Teachers respect and enhance younger children’s learning by providing an unhurried pace that encourages children’s exploration and learning.
Children are viewed as capable learners with individual learning needs and outcomes. Those with additional learning needs are well supported by teachers and leaders. Teachers partner with whānau and actively listen to implement specific requests they may have. The teaching team accesses specialised external support to respond to children’s learning needs when needed.
Māori children and whānau have authentic opportunities to contribute to a programme that reflects Māori ways of knowing, being and doing. Teachers and leaders seek out the expertise of whānau to provide a rich, responsive curriculum for the diverse community. Teachers engage in professional learning that supports their response to the unique cultural context of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Children respect, respond to, and learn one another’s languages.
Leaders and teachers prioritise children’s wellbeing, and the service’s philosophy is enacted through care and responsiveness. Relationships are an integral part of the programme. Teaching and learning practices align with the principles and strands of Te Whāriki, the New Zealand curriculum.
The owners and trust allocate funds in ways that align to the service’s philosophy, vision, and goals. They actively pursue ways to remove barriers for children and whānau to participate, and they work to ensure equitable outcomes for children. The service provides ongoing support for many community organisations.
Those in governance and leadership roles create a positive working environment. Relational trust builds partnerships between children, the teaching team and whānau. A long-standing teaching team has contributed to whānau returning through the service’s years of operation.
Northcote Pre-School Community Trust (Kete Wananga) will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Northcote Pre-School Community Trust (Kete Wananga) 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:
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
16 August 2021
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Northcote Pre-School Community Trust (Kete Wananga) |
|
Profile Number |
20120 |
|
Location |
Northcote, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
30 children aged 2 years and over |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
27 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 9, NZ European/Pākehā 2, other ethnic groups 16 |
|
Review team on site |
May 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
16 August 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, September 2016 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Northcote Pre-School Community Trust (Kete Wananga) is licensed to provide all day and sessional care and education for up to 30 children aged over 2 years of age. It caters for an increasingly culturally diverse community.
The service is governed by a charitable trust and operates from the Northcote Community hall. The trustees supports the centre manager to oversee the daily operation of the centre. The manager leads a team of three registered teachers and one teacher in training.
The centre's philosophy is underpinned by the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Teachers aim to work in partnership to empower children and their whānau and to provide an effective learning programme that supports each child's unique interests. Inclusion of all children is important to the team.
The 2013 ERO report noted the respectful relationships, skilful teachers and good provision for children with special education needs. It indicated that teacher appraisal processes, strategic planning, self review, and aspects of the curriculum were areas for further development. The trustees and manager have responded effectively to ERO's recommendations.
Warm relationships between teachers and parents in this centre support children's sense of wellbeing. Children enjoy supportive relationships with their teachers. They are active and motivated to explore in a fun and stimulating environment. They have a sense of belonging and participate in imaginative play. The spacious indoor environment provides specific areas for children's activities. Children freely choose to play indoors or outdoors and know the routines well.
The cultural diversity of the children is reflected in the teaching team. This provides children with opportunities to converse in home languages with their friends and with their teachers. Teachers continue to use their home languages in the centre to model the centre's commitment to valuing language, culture and identity. Teachers respond to children's choices and use open ended questions to engage and encourage children's contributions.
Staff recognise the importance of acknowledging whānau and are increasingly providing ways to promote their culture and heritage in the centre. A strategic goal to develop partnership with families and whānau will also improve and promote bicultural practice in the centre.
The curriculum reflects the centre's philosophy and balances child-initiated and teacher-led activities well. The programme for children is well resourced and offers a variety of indoor and outdoor experiences. Planning and assessment are more responsive to children's interests. Teachers are increasingly aware of how they can respond to children’s cultural heritage in the newly established group and individual planning systems.
Teachers regularly attend external professional learning and development. They now need to evaluate effectiveness of the new planning and assessment system and the impact of the programme on learning outcomes for children. They could also increase the visibility of parent involvement in the programme and assessment.
Through self review teachers have identified ways to support parents and children’s transition to school more effectively. Leaders have identified areas to strengthen teacher's practice. A robust appraisal system has been introduced and teachers are encouraged to reflect on their practice and goals.
There is clear strategic planning that guides centre direction and improvement. Trustees and the manager are focused on improvement and building the capability of teachers. Teachers undertake planned and spontaneous self review that results in positive changes for children. Leaders agree that the next stage is to evaluate and document progress towards strategic goals and make increased links with regular internal evaluation.
Trustees and the manager agree that the key next steps include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Northcote Pre-School Community Trust (Kete Wananga) 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:
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 Northcote Pre-School Community Trust (Kete Wananga) will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
9 September 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.
|
Location |
Northcote, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
20120 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
35 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 21 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
2 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
August 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
9 September 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
April 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 2010 |
||
|
Education Review |
May 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:
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.