5c Henry Street, Avondale, Auckland
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Amanda's in the Bay is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Amanda's in the Bay is a home-based early childhood service and is one of three networks within the well-established Amanda's organisation, based in Auckland. The Napier network is licensed for 50 children. Currently it caters for 12 children between birth and school age in the homes of four educators for up to 10 hours a day. All families are subsidised by Amanda's. A small number of children identify as Māori.
The educators bring care and education experience to their work with children. All are committed to enrolling in the Level 4 qualification that will enable them to meet new legislative requirements. The Education Team Leader (ETL) is qualified and provides support and guidance for educators. Governance of the service is provided by the Auckland office team.
The philosophy for the service emphasises children's sense of wellbeing and belonging as primary aims for home-based care.
This is the second review of this service. The 2016 ERO report noted good practice and suggested refinements in documentation. These included reflecting a commitment to bicultural practice, updating policies and procedures, and developing strategic planning. Strengthening assessment, planning and evaluation and further promoting educational success for Māori children were also identified. The majority of these refinements have been addressed.
Documentation indicates that children, including those up to two years of age, settle in the service and form trusting and secure relationships with educators. The small numbers of children in each home, and the experience and expertise of educators, help to generate an inclusive and nurturing atmosphere.
Children participate in meaningful play programmes based on their interests. They are supported by a good range of resources and materials supplied by the service. The ETL and educators track children's progress and development over time in individual portfolios. These records indicate children's growing relationships with other children in care and are regularly shared with parents/whānau.
The ETL visits educators' homes frequently to provide support and advice to develop responsive programmes. The ETL reports, and children's portfolios include, useful prompts and curriculum advice from the ETL to educators. News about the service is also shared in regular newsletters, and parents/whānau are invited to contribute their ideas about the curriculum and the service.
Educators are using te reo Māori increasingly in their conversations with children and through tikanga practices. Celebrations for Waitangi Day and Matariki further promote Māori children's cultural heritage and identity. Educators could strengthen their use of te reo Māori in their portfolio recording.
The ETL and educators know each other well and usually share excursions into the community, and they attend playgroup together. Good use is made of these times to build educator leadership and share positive early childhood practices. Educators are skilled in supporting children's developing social competence. The service could now add reference to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi as guiding documents that underpin the goals of the service.
Amanda's Home-Based service has developed useful strategic and annual planning to guide practices and enable future planning. Policies and procedures have been updated and now need curating and refining. The service has introduced an online portal as a way of strengthening communication and providing opportunities for parents/whānau and ETLs to share information. The service is also committed to training for educators towards a Level 4 qualification.
Service managers have identified meaningful key next steps to continue to:
refine and curate policies and procedures
pursue relevant training for educators to meet legislative requirements
provide professional development for the ETL in order to keep her up-to-date with planned changes in home-based education and care.
Before the review, the staff and management of Amanda's in the Bay completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region - Te Tai Raki
25 May 2020
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 |
Napier, Hawkes Bay |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46246 |
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Institution type |
Homebased Network |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 50 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
12 |
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Standard or Quality Funded |
Standard |
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Gender composition |
Girls 8 Boys 4 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
8 |
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Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
1 |
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Required ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
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Over 2 |
1:4 |
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Review team on site |
February 2020 |
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Date of this report |
25 May 2020 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2016 |
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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:
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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
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.
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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Amanda's in the Bay home-based early childhood service is a satellite of the well-established Amanda's Homebased ECE service in Auckland. In-home childcare is offered by educators who work in their own homes. One educator can be responsible for up to four children at any one time. This service is licensed for 50 children, with 22 currently enrolled. Eighteen children identify as Māori.
The Education Team Leader (ETL) is a registered teacher who provides support and guidance for six educators currently in this network. Governance is provided through the Auckland-based service. This is the first review of this network.
Children participate in an individualised programme that is responsive to their interests. They learn with and alongside their peers. Educators support children's interests by providing a range of activities.
Educators take a deliberate approach to settling and building relationships, particularly with infants. The small group size, in the home context supports infants' and toddlers' need for strong and secure attachments.
Parents are informed about the programme through newsletters. They are invited to contribute their ideas about aspects of the curriculum.
The ETL makes regular home visits to educators and children to coach educators to develop their practice in providing a responsive learning programme for each child. Supporting children's developing social competence is a particular strength of this network.
The bicultural programme is not strongly evident. There is a need to increase the reflection of te ao Māori through service-wide documentation and be implemented in practice.
Regular playgroups extend the home-based programme. There have been recent positive changes to the planning process. These documents show a shared focus for the programme and draw links to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The ETL has identified a next step is to develop closer links between the playgroup plan and the programme in homes. ERO agrees with this direction.
Assessing children's learning is a collaborative process between the ETL and the educator. The 'Waka Huia' books are a reflection of the child's individual programme. These show children engaging in a range of learning activities and developing friendships with others. It is timely to review the procedure guiding the process of assessment. Consideration should be given to:
focusing on enhancing dispositional as well as skill-based learning
increasing the complexity of children's learning over time to clearly identify the difference the in-home programme is making for the learner
reflecting children's culture, language and identity.
The ELT is supported in her role through networking with others in a similar role. This provides opportunities to share current practice and engage in ongoing learning.
Some policy review has occurred in response to ERO's findings in the 2015 reviews of the Auckland networks. Re-establishing the regular cycle of policy review is essential. Priorities for review include policies that relate to assessment, planning and evaluation, self review and bicultural practice. The child protection policy should also be reviewed to reflect the requirements of the Vulnerable Children’s Act 2014.
The owner recognises the need to develop a strategic plan that sets a clear, time-bound direction for the service. Initial work has begun on this process. Consideration should be given to how educational success for Māori can be promoted through the service's strategic intent.
A recently established framework has been introduced to guide the self-review process. Building an understanding of effective evaluation in order to measure the impact of the changes on improved outcomes for children, parents and whānau is a key next step.
Useful systems have been implemented to effectively monitor the health and safety requirements expected of the service. Educators thoughtfully provide a range of opportunities for the child to be physically active throughout the day and healthy eating is actively promoted.
Since ERO's onsite phase the owner has provided ERO with an action plan. This shows how she will address the priorities for improvement in relation to governance and management outlined in the report. ERO will monitor progress against the plan.
The service provider and the ETL agree that key next steps for improving the service include:
documentation that clearly reflects the service's commitment to bicultural practice and shows how children's cultures, languages and identities are celebrated
assessment, planning and evaluation to support the provision of a high quality curriculum that shows how complexity is added to children's learning
review of policies, to align them with current high quality practice and to ensure they meet legislative requirements
strategic planning that sets a clear and timely direction
consideration of how educational success for Māori can be promoted.
Before the review, the staff and management of Amanda's in the Bay completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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.
To improve practice the owner should:
review policies and procedures to make sure they meet all the requirements of the Vulnerable Children's Act (2014).
The next ERO review of Amanda's in the Bay will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
20 May 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 |
Napier |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
46246 |
||
|
Institution type |
Homebased Network |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 50 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
22 |
||
|
Standard or Quality Funded |
Standard |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 14, Boys 8 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Tongan |
18 13 1 |
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Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
One |
||
|
Required ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
|
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
||
|
Review team on site |
March 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
20 May 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
||
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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
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.
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.