Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited

Education institution number:
45760
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
39
Telephone:
Address:

18 Kingswood Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland

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Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited

1 ERO’s Judgements

Akarangi | 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 are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.

ERO’s judgements for Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited are as follows:

Outcome Indicators

(What the service knows about outcomes for learners)

Whāngai Establishing

Ngā Akatoro Domains

 

Learning Conditions
Organisational Conditions

Whāngai Establishing

Whakaū Embedding

2 Context of the Service

Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited is one of three services that are part of the Little Feet group. The owner provides governance and management support. A qualified head teacher leads a team of five staff, which includes four qualified teachers. Most of the children attending are of Indian or Fijian Indian heritage.

3 Summary of findings

Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging at the centre. Their wellbeing is supported by respectful and nurturing relationships with teachers, and friendships with their peers. Play is valued and children’s decisions are respected. Children engage in purposeful play, often in small groups. Teachers are responsive to the needs and preferences of infants and toddlers.

Children’s languages and cultures are highly valued. Teachers often speak with children in their home languages. They integrate te reo Māori and aspects of tikanga Māori into their teaching practices and daily routines. The respect given to cultural diversity and cultural celebrations fosters children’s sense of cultural identity.

Children are imaginative, and they problem-solve and are encouraged to use literacy and mathematical concepts in play. Teachers support children’s oral language development. Aligning the curriculum more closely with the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, would enrich this.

Leaders and teachers have well-established, positive relationships with parents. They provide opportunities for parents to share their aspirations for their children’s learning. Teachers intentionally provide an environment that is inclusive and welcoming for all children and their families.

Leaders and teachers implement a framework of policies and practices. There is an established internal evaluation process that contributes to improvements across the organisation. Leaders and teachers are yet to monitor these improvements and how these changes have impacted on outcomes for learners.

Relational trust between leaders and teachers supports effective team collaboration. Teachers are provided with a range of professional development opportunities and mentoring. A long-term strategic plan informed by organisational goals, values and priorities guides ongoing improvement.

4 Improvement actions

Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

  • To strengthen teachers' knowledge and use of the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki in assessment, planning and evaluation records.

  • To improve how planning and assessment information show the learning outcomes of individual children.

  • To continue to build team-wide knowledge of how to undertake internal evaluation This would include having a focus on monitoring how changes made have impacted on improved outcomes for learners.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited completed an ERO 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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)

  • relevant evacuation procedures and practices.

All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.

6 Compliance

During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following
non-compliance:

  • Ensuring heavy furniture, fixtures, and equipment that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage are secured (HS6).

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

23 June 2023

7 About the Early Childhood Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited
Profile Number 45760
Location Papatoetoe, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

48 children, including up to 10 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

35

Review team on site

May 2023

Date of this report

23 June 2023

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, July 2019; Education Review, May 2016

Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited - 19/07/2019

1 Evaluation of Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited

How well placed is Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Little Feet Childcare Centre in Papatoetoe, provides education and care for children up to school age. It is licensed for 48 children and has separate interior learning areas for children under and over two years of age. The majority of the children are Indian. Teachers reflect the ethnically diverse community they serve.

The service is one of three centres owned by the two directors, who oversee the operational and administrative aspects of all the centres. The directors are supported by the centre supervisor, who manages the day-to-day operations and guides staff in providing learning programmes for children. Three of the staff are registered teachers.

The centre's philosophy is based on children learning through play. Children are viewed as competent, capable learners. Warmth, trust and aroha are woven into the philosophy, which guides curriculum implementation. The programme is guided by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.

Positive aspects noted in the 2016 ERO report have been maintained. These include the welcoming atmosphere and children's strong sense of belonging. The centre has experienced a high level of staff turnover in the past three years, including changes of centre leaders.

The Review Findings

Children are confident, eagerly engage in play and enjoy the company of their teachers and peers. They have fun and show care and concern for others. They know teachers' expectations and have good opportunities to make choices about their play. Children are enthusiastic to learn and are developing a positive attitude to learning.

Culturally responsive teaching practices affirm children's backgrounds and build on their strengths. Teachers provide a language rich environment in which children’s conversation is enhanced and homes language are spoken. Infants and toddlers benefit from nurturing, individualised care.

Responsive and caring relationships contribute positively to children’s emotional wellbeing and sense of belonging. Parent involvement is welcomed and there is an active parent committee. Teachers work together collaboratively. Children’s transitions into the centre and to school are responsive to individual child and whānau needs.

Children learn in an inviting, attractive environment that acknowledges their cultural backgrounds and supports sustained play and exploration. Children’s creative expression through imaginative play and music is valued and supported. They have good opportunities to include literacy, mathematics and natural science as part of their play. The outside area is well equipped and offers a variety of physically challenging activities. Teachers could increase children's access to the outside area and evaluate how effectively it is used to promote learning.

Teachers are developing a collective understanding of assessment, planning and evaluation that is responsive to children’s dispositions and interests, and informs planning. Parents/whānau are provided with good information about the programme and encouraged to contribute their ideas and aspirations for their children. Centre leaders are aware that this is an area to strengthen further.

A sound organisational structure helps to maintain good practices and guide improvements. Policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and updated. The centre's philosophy is well understood, provides a good sense of direction and is evident in daily practice.

Centre leaders acknowledge the importance of building leadership capability. They are supportive and encouraging of staff and have sound human resource management systems. Leaders and teachers use internal evaluation to reflect on and identify ways to improve their practice.

Key Next Steps

Centre leaders agree that key next steps for teachers include:

  • developing a shared understanding about assessment, planning and evaluation that includes teaching strategies for responding to and increasing the depth and complexity of child-led learning

  • building on their professional knowledge about quality education and care for infants and toddlers

  • strengthening bicultural practices.

Next steps for centre leaders include:

  • increasing their knowledge about working with Pacific children and their families by exploring the Tapasā resource

  • developing a more collaborative and evaluative process of internal evaluation that focuses on outcomes for children

  • continuing to strengthen staff appraisal processes by including more evidence of teacher inquiry, targeted observations and teachers' evaluation of their practice.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited 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.

In order to improve current practice, the service provider should:

  • provide greater detail in the report to parents and the local community about how targeted Equity Funding has been spent

  • ensure that all items intended for children to sleep on are covered with or made from non-porous material.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services Northern

Northern Region

19 July 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

Papatoetoe, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

45760

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

48 children, including up to 10 aged under 2

Service roll

47

Gender composition

Boys 25 Girls 22

Ethnic composition

NZ European/Pākehā
Indian
Fijian Indian
Samoan
other ethnic groups

2
25
13
4
3

Percentage of qualified teachers

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:5

Meets minimum requirements

Over 2

1:8

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

June 2019

Date of this report

19 July 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

 

Education Review

May 2016

Education Review

February 2013

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.

Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited - 05/05/2016

1 Evaluation of Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited

How well placed is Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited 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

Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited in Papatoetoe, is one of two centres that is privately owned and operated by the same management group. The centre is licensed to provide education and care for 48 children including 10 children under the age of two years.

The centre roll consists of children from diverse ethnic backgrounds most of whom live locally. The majority of the children are of Indian heritages.

The centre owner/manager oversees the operation and administrative aspects of the two centres. She is supported by the centre supervisor who manages the curriculum, mentors staff and oversees the daily running of the centre. Teachers are all qualified. They reflect the Indian ethnicities of the community.

The centre’s philosophy is enacted in the programme with a strong emphasis on children being socially competent and, where their culture, language and identity are highly valued and promoted. The curriculum is embedded in Te Whariki, the early childhood curriculum and is reflective of the dual cultural heritages of Aotearoa New Zealand.

The 2013 ERO report identified good quality practices with adult-child interactions and noted that children responded positively to adults. These aspects remain a key feature in the centre’s programme.

The Review Findings

Teachers provide an inclusive and culturally responsive programme that promotes children’s interests and strengths. As a result children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and settle quickly to chosen activities. They are confident and can express themselves well.

Children are active learners, they explore the variety of resources to create their own play. Children initiate conversations with each other and with adults. They are independent and play cooperatively together. Friendships are well established.

The programme promotes learning in fun and creative ways. Teachers plan well for the variety of children’s individual interests and development with the identified goals evident in their learning portfolios. Teachers could now consider ways of evaluating children's progress in relation to their learning goals set in individual portfolios.

Infants and toddlers have a separate room for uninterrupted play. However, all children spend a majority of their time playing together in a mixed aged group setting. They play and learn in a family-like environment. Provision for children up to two years promotes independence and exploration.

Teachers are responsive to children and are attentive to children’s verbal and non-verbal communication. The programme encourages children's literacy and mathematics development. It also celebrates children’s identity, language and culture in ways that value children as unique individuals.

The learning environment is well resourced to promote science, biculturalism, literacy and mathematics. The outdoor playground equipment caters for children's physical play. Teachers could further encourage the use of natural resources in all areas of play to enhance and enrich the programme of creativity and imaginative play.

Teachers are committed to implementing te reo and aspects of tikanga Māori in the daily programme. They are working on building up their resources to reflect more Māori values. The centre leader models and mentors teachers to build their knowledge on some Pacific cultures, songs and languages. Children from the various Pacific heritages are supported to be successful learners.

A feature of the centre is the strong relationship teachers maintain with children and their families. Parents and whānau are warmly welcomed. Parents spoken to were very positive about the direction and intention of the centre's programme. Parents and whānau contribute to children’s learning and the overall programme. A committee for parents and whānau is led by parents and is well supported by centre leaders and teachers. Leaders and teachers could use this opportunity to focus committee meetings on promoting positive outcomes for children and building genuine parent partnership.

The centre has clear processes for implementing a regular performance management system. Teachers are supported to build on their leadership capability. Centre leaders are strengthening the appraisal process to include Tātaiako - Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners, which is resulting in positive outcomes for all children.

ERO's 2013 report noted that the centre operated under a sound organisational structure with governance, management and leadership roles clearly defined. This good practice has been maintained. A strategic plan identifying the centre's future direction could be implemented to guide centre developments. Managers could use this strategic plan to review and align with the centre's philosophy and vision.

Key Next Steps

Centre managers and ERO agree that teachers could now strengthen:

  • teaching practices that extend infants and toddlers learning and development

  • assessment practices to ensure that children's progress is more clearly recorded and shows their learning and development over time.

Managers could also strengthen systems, policies and procedures to guide centre improvements and promote positive outcomes for all children. Improvements could include:

  • developing strategic and annual action plans to guide centre progress

  • providing external professional learning to strengthen the centre’s leadership and management capability.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited 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 Little Feet Childcare Centre Limited will be in three years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

5 May 2016

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

Papatoetoe, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

45760

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

48 children, including up to 10 aged under 2

Service roll

55

Gender composition

Boys 29 Girls 26

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Indian

Samoan

Cook Island Māori

Filipino

other

1

3

32

9

3

3

4

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%+

Based on funding rates

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:5

Meets minimum requirements

Over 2

1:10

Meets minimum requirements

Review team on site

January 2016

Date of this report

5 May 2016

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

February 2013

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.